Great Western Coffee Shop

I'm probably travelling from a week on Monday daily from Melksham to [destination] - season ticket makes sense.   I already have a photo card.   Season tickets can be purchased at "any staffed station" (which Melksham is not), but a TVM is an "opportunity to buy" and can't be passed ... except that I don't think it offers seasons?

Questions for the experts, bearing in mind that the confirmation of my week won't come in time to get the season ticket posted to me. 

a) Can I buy the weekly season on the train?  I know I'm allowed to bypass the machine which doesn't take cash if I'm paying in cash, so if I can buy on the train do I need to pay in cash?  And if using a card, can I buy a ticket for the first day and ask the Train manager to use it as part payment against a season?

b) The TVM is halfway along the platform, and the entrance at one end.  If I go onto the platform at one end and join the train at that same end, have I actually bypassed the machine?  [[ I think I know the answer, but it's a question that's been in my pedantic mind ... ]]

That is indeed an interesting question.  :-\

At Nailsea & Backwell, due to previous incidents of vandalism, both ticket vending machines have been relocated to their present positions at the foot of the steps up to platform 2. So, if one lives in Backwell, and intends to travel to Weston-super-Mare (or even, for the sake of argument, Taunton) from platform 1, one will not have passed anywhere near a ticket vending machine - they're both out of sight, on the other side of the embankment. On the other hand, I (for example), living in Nailsea and walking down the station to catch a train into Bristol (or even, for the sake of argument, Shirehampton) from platform 2, will have to pass within a couple of feet of two ticket vending machines to get to the stairs up to the platform. (I could, however, adopt a rather devious approach, and walk through the new station car park and use our one existing disabled ramp, up to platform 2, in order to avoid being seen by those ticket vending machines, but that's perhaps rather tenuous. :P )

That could lead to an interesting discussion with a Revenue Protection Officer, if I were to ask to pay for my ticket on board the train with ready cash?

You shouldn't have an issue buying a Weekly Season on the train. Provided you have your photocard, the Conductor should be able to issue from his Avantix. I see Weekly Seasons sold all the time by GWR Conductors.

If facilities exist at your origin station then strict compliance with the National Rail Conditions of Carriage says you must buy a ticket for at least part of your journey, and then exchange it as part payment for the ticket you require, at the earliest opportunity.

However, I doubt the Conductor will want to do that as he/she may not have been trained in the correct procedure on their Avantix to take one ticket as part payment toward another. So, two options:

Buy the part payment ticket, then buy the Weekly Season and go through the rigmarole of trying to get the original ticket refunded through Customer Services channels. Or...

Only have cash on you on the day (they can't search you for a debit/credit card...  ;)) and buy the ticket you require at the earliest opportunity.

Raises another interesting question.  If I have my employer's credit card with me (available for a limited range of business purchases on his behalf) and take a leisure trip by train - something my company / employer will not pay for - can I technically pay by cash on the train?     I didn't realise what a nest of questions our TVM would bring - just getting to grips with the finer points.

Such a hypothetical question is best put to the operator.

Whether you will get a clear, unambiguous answer...

Can you not buy your ticket online & collect from the TVM?

Unfortunately season tickets, and indeed rovers, can be ordered on line but cannot, currently, be collected from a TVM.  A source of endless annoyance to me as I have to get them posted to me.  If I know of the need/remember in time that postage is free, but invariably I need to pay the extra for next day delivery.

The SWT machines sell 7 day seasons, you just have to enter your photo card number during the process.  Are we sure the FGW machines cannot?

Paul

I'm sure I've purchased 7 days seasons from the TVM at Taplow.

No, we're not sure ..


I've checked and, yes, they can be bought from the TVM ... I made the incorrect assumption they couldn't because I don't think I've seen where the option is on the GWR site, but I'll now take a look for it.

Just for clarity my comment about buying seasons/rovers on line and not being able to collect them from a TVM was in response to Taplow Green's suggestion


I think that was in relation to weekly seasons - but reading again now, possibly not.

I too have a feeling you can buy a seven day ticket from a TVM - I am pretty sure I have seen the option, although never needed to buy one.

I've just dug out an old ticket holder and within it are several 7 day tickets that were purchased from a TVM so yes it's possible.

Definitely possible - call up the destination station fares & the 7day ticket will be listed

Southern allow ordering of their own season tickets online to be collected from a TVM:
https://tickets.southernrailway.com/sn/en/journeyplanning/SeasonMixingDeck

There is also a warning later in the process only to pick them up from their own TVMs.

Far too late to this party! Nothing new to add :(

I buy 7days from FGW/GWR machines all the time! And have done several times on the train from Melksham.

I use another station regularly that IS staffed and definitely a penalty fare zone - people buy on the train everyday without even a raised eyebrow, including multi million pound London 7days. (although once the card machine threw a wobbly) I appreciate the letter of the law but it seems a lot of staff are very accommodating of smaller stations on more quiet routes. Of course there will always be the one so I always make sure I have all my bits of card before I board (edit: and would encourage others to do the same!)


What I wonder is why it is Melksham. not Melksham ?

To confirm - 7 day ticket purchased with no problem at the TVM this morning.   What I would have done as a "first timer" with a picture of myself for an ID card rather than a railway ID card is a different question.   Good to see lots of people using the machine.

grahame I am assuming your railway ID is a "standard" photocard? I have used a supermarket photo printing service in the past with passport sized photos (a few copies 4-up on a 6" x 4" print, prepared with home photo editing software) and have a couple of photocards already made up from a staffed station (saves hassle when in a hurry). Obviously you need to have it in your possession at the machine though!

On a related note I know railcard photo IDs are not meant to be used with seasons. I am not sure of the reasoning behind that.

...and until the other day I didn't realise the barcode on the photocard can be scanned at ticket offices to save them inputting the number.

I think Graham's point was that he couldn't obtain a photocard as he has no ticket office at Melksham?

The ATEs (and some conductors) on the Severn Beach Line carry a stock of Season Ticket Photocards. I don't know whether that is the case across the network, but it can be handy, provided you've got a passport sized photo of yourself on you.

Probably just that railcard photocards do not have the same 'ABC nnnnn and barcode' format of the standard season ticket photocard.   

What I can't quite work out is why they couldn't use similar numbering, and be dual purposed?

Paul   

My photocard is over 25 years old & has no barcode! Still the first one I ever got.

SWT withdrew my old one a few years back, as they wanted to standardise them on the latest numbering system; possibly to make sure they all have barcodes?  He just transferred the photo though, it was all done during the same transaction at the window.

I guess with an older photocard the risk is that you enter a number at a TVM that doesn't like the format, and you're stuck?

Paul

Seems to work for me still in TVMs whenever I've wanted a weekly, and I have no problem quoting the number at booking office windows.....cccnnn format, 3 letters, 3 numbers!

Just soooo last century.  ;D

I'd just be worried that although it might work with your current TOC, another's booking office staff (or TVMs) might be singing from a different sheet...    6 o'clock on a wet Monday morning wouldn't be a good time to find out...

Paul

The rules are that you must have a railways-issued photocard - nothing about how recent it should be - and I'm still easily recognisable from my photo. I don't see that they could reasonably refuse to issue

For those who like living life on the edge and may feel like using a another TOC's TVM to collect their Southern online season ticket, please don't try this at home (see attached image)....

Reminded of this thread, because  BBC South Today have just run a story about someone buying a 7 day season from Basingstoke to Twyford from a TVM, and when prompted for a 'photo card number', he'd entered his Photocard Driving Licence number.

He appears to have been given an opportunity to pay an 'administrative charge', with a threat of a court appearance if not paid, but is clearly rather disgruntled and has got the BBC involved.

The BBC of course have completely misread the issue and have displayed a load of National Railcards onscreen, explaining that the chap should have had a 'Great Western Railcard'.

So, as this shows, should it not be better for the TVM to require a correctly formatted and valid "ABC nnnnn" Railway photocard number?   And should any on screen prompts be more accurate in describing what they are actually asking for?

Paul

Given that a driving licence number is 16-digits and clearly unique, I cannot see how anyone could claim this is not acceptable as proving only one person uses a photocard.

In particular, NRCoC number 15 seems to permit "another form of personal identification".

The choice is not at the passengers discretion though.  They are saying they can ask for other forms of ID for certain ticket types, I think such as getting you to present a credit card to support an e-ticket.

Paul

As an absolute first timer, would you know you needed a photocard? I certainly didn't the first time I got a season ticket. Luckily I was buying it well in advance and from a window at Temple Meads, so it didn't matter.

Very unlikely.  Many bus companies have already scrapped photocards for weekly and (in many cases) monthly passes.