Simple clear advice in plain English

Barcode train tickets coming soon

Tickets can be bought via mobile

  • By Andrea-Marie Vassou
  • News
  • Web
  • 19/12/2008
train
computing-2-8-07/midland-mainline

Passengers will soon be able to use their mobile phones to buy train tickets,

The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) has adopted a nationwide standard for rail ticketing, so that all companies can use the same system. Currently trials are being run with Chiltern Railway, National Express and the Heathrow Express. It is hoped that other rail companies will be adopting the technology.

The application, will work on 90 per cent of mobile phones that have a colour screen, even many that are up to seven years old.

To use the service the first time, people have to get the application by sending a text to a central number. The traveller then receives a text back with the application. Once this has been downloaded and installed the user can use it to send train times and routes for tickets they want to buy. Payment is by credit or debit card over an encrypted connection.

Once payment has been accepted, another text message is sent with the barcoded ticket; this can then be scanned by the train conductor and at the barriers.

Once the first payment has been made, people will only be asked to give the last three digits of their cards security code -the CV2 code.

Ben Whitaker, the chief operating officer of mobile phone applications company Masabi, which is working with Atoc to create the service, said: “The new barcode contains enough information and security for people to buy them immediately before travel and step right into the train.

“The application sits on your phone. You enter Station A to Station B, say that you have a rail card and so on. It's just like a ticket machine in your pocket."

Reader Comments

   

Add your comment

Please keep comments constructive and free from abuse of any kind and swearing. If you wish to link to a product or service online, please do so in such a way that makes it clear that it is not spam. If you are connected to any such product you should make that clear.

We may use your comments in the magazine. We may edit your comments for clarity or to remove unacceptable material. We will attribute your comments but not share your email address.

We request your email address and record your Internet Address (IP address) in order to block spam from our site. We will never share this information without your permission.

All comments are reviewed by the Computeractive Team before being published. Please bear with the slight delay this causes, you don't need to post more than once.

Click here to read our Privacy Policy

Click here to read our site Terms & Conditions

Related articles

Eden Project becomes paperless ticket paradise

New mobile phone ticketing system 'will cut queues and costs' at Cornish eco-attraction

Wave and pay cards wave goodbye to cash

Payments of under £10 to be made via swipe and leave cards

British Red Cross app

15 free Android apps

Our round-up of the best apps that you don't have to pay a penny to download

Content Recommendation

Question & Answer

Q.Why is Windows Backup skipping files?

> Read the answer

Q.Why do my scanned documents display gibberish?

> Read the answer

Q.How can I convert MTS files to edit in Windows Movie...

> Read the answer

Best deals on the web

img

Three Huawei E5331 1 Month Rolling Contract Mobile WiFi

£29.99- Buy it now

img

O2 Pay As You Go Micro SIM Card

£0.99- Buy it now

img

Carcomm Active Mobile Phone Cradle for HTC S710 / Orange SPV C650 / Vodafone Vda V

£49.99- Buy it now

Updating your subscription status Loading

Most popular articles

No matching document

Poll

Do you have Windows 8?

Jargon Buster

Computing terms explained in plain English

VoIP

Voice over IP. The routing of voice conversations over the internet, which is cheaper than the telephone...

Great shopping deals from Computeractive

Information currently unavailable