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How to buy and use a one day Travelcard online.

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dosh39
dosh39 Posts: 9 Forumite
Third Anniversary First Post
edited 12 September 2023 at 12:03PM in Public transport & cycling
I have been unable to find answers on buying Travelcards online despite searching various websites.

Here is my situation...
I am a pensioner who occasionally travels from CMK into London for a day.
I usually buy a one day off peak Travelcard (either Avanti or London Northwestern depending upon the outward and return train availability).
I have a Senior Railcard which is stored on my phone.
I rarely use my phone so don't have data enabled to save money - (Asda PAYG voice & SMS only unless there is free WiFi).

On my last trip, it took a long time queuing to buy a ticket at CMK because only one ticket window was in operation. It meant I missed the train I hoped to use. I would have used one of the machines but don't know how to apply the railcard discount. This issue, plus the current threat to close all ticket offices prompted me to look into how to buy and use a Travelcard bought online.

(BTW I realise that Travelcards may also be phased out before long but that's a different issue).

So here are my questions...

1) The physical Travelcard I buy at a ticket office is printed on card and can be fed into the slot at station barriers. I assume that a Travelcard bought online is digital or on paper. I don't understand how I use it at the barrier. Do I have to transfer the digital ticket from my desktop PC to my phone? How? Does the phone use NFC or Bluetooth or is an image on the display scanned to operate the barrier? Do I need to print it on paper?

2) If I buy the Travelcard from a machine at the station, how to I use the railcard stored on my phone to apply the discount? Do I have to enter a railcard ID number or can the machine scan the ID on the phone? When I use my railcard at a ticket office, the cashier checks the photo against my face to verify my ID. I don't understand how this works with a ticket machine.

3) Similarly how do I use my digital railcard to get a discount if I buy the Travelcard online?

4) If I by the Travelcard a day or two in advance online and then on the day decide not to go. Can I get a refund?

Comments

  • MSE_James
    MSE_James Posts: 1,681 Community Admin
    1,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Cashback Cashier Newshound!
    edited 12 September 2023 at 11:41AM
    1) Day Travelcards are issued on credit card-sized card stock with a magnetic strip. You can't get one as an eTicket. (Some Travelcards can be issued on smart cards, but that's another matter.)

    2) You don't have to prove you have a Railcard at the point of buying a ticket online or from a machine. You need to be able to show your Railcard during the journey if asked to present it. I always proactively show my Railcard whenever my tickets are checked.

    3) You tell the website you have a railcard - that's all there is to it.

    4) There's nothing to be gained from buying a Travelcard before the day of travel - I would recommend buying once you're sure you are making the trip.
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  • dosh39
    dosh39 Posts: 9 Forumite
    Third Anniversary First Post
    edited 12 September 2023 at 12:06PM
    Thanks James - very useful info.

    One other thing...

    When using National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner it often shows the Travelcard as the cheapest option. It appears as a 'Buy Now' link. When clicked, it takes you to the London Northwestern website where you can apparently buy the Travelcard online. From your previous reply I am guessing that if you proceed you are given a reference number that you then have to take to the ticket office or ticket machine at the station to get the physical Travelcard? If that is the case then there is nothing to be gained by buying online.


  • MSE_James
    MSE_James Posts: 1,681 Community Admin
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    Yes, Travelcards bought online need to be collected at a ticket machine.

    You will be given a code to enter (and depending on the retailer, you may also need to insert the same card you used when buying the ticket online) at a ticket machine. 

    This process is called 'TOD' - ticket on departure.
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  • jon81uk
    jon81uk Posts: 3,882 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Also if its helpful, for non-travelcard tickets there will be a square barcode that you scan on a barcode reader on the ticket gates at National Rail stations, this can be downloaded to a phone and scanned from the screen (you don't need data signal at the station as long as you downloaded the ticket) or printed by either yourself or the ticket office and scanned from paper.

    But that only applies to National Rail, TfL don't want to install barcode readers so all tickets valid on their services are either smartcards or on tickets with a magnetic stripe.
  • Can travelcard tickets be bought online and sent by post, if bought far enough in the future?  (Yes there is a delivery fee but that still may be suitable for some people).  Seems to be a option for most other rail tickets, and you get the same credit card sized tickets that you would get from a ticket office, or a TVM (for purchase on the spot or TOD collection)

    NB It is usually the case that you can TOD at any rail TVM in any station, although there is a minimum time you must wait before attempting the collection (should be at your selected station almost instantaneously, but service level is a within a few hours for other stations, generally a non-issue in practice though as by the time you get to a station the ticket will be there).  Collecting at a TVM run by a company other than issuing operator might not require you to insert the exact card used for payment, any bank card may do (I have had varying experience over the years)

    Non-travelcard tickets can also be bought with a railcard discount online.  These can be issued as "e-tickets" (PDFs with scannable QR code, which you can print or just have as an email on your phone.)

    However, I suspect that if you select the "PlusBus" option (available for some cities outside London, sort of a travelcard equivalent) then again you will be forced to "TOD" (or postal)  with the standard rail ticket being your day bus ticket (I think printed on a seperate ticket). Last time I did Plusbus (some years ago, Norwich), the operator website wouldn't offer the Plusbus if there was also a railcard, despitePlusbus is absolutely valid as an add on to a railcard ticket, so I bought a rail ticket without the PlusBus, and I was able to buy the Plusbus at the ticket office in Norwich on arrival (once I explained the problem).  I did get compensation later when I complained to the operator who agreed the ticket selling software online did have a bug where PlusBus wasn't being offered when it should have been . (It is standard software used by most operators, supplied by Rail Delivery Group I think)

    In theory you can "plusbus" at origin station too but that really only works if you have postal delivery or can TOD in advance from a convenient station so you have the PlusBus ticket (you might need to use the bus to get to the station to get your origin Plusbus).  In theory you should be able to PlusBus (at origin) a Travelcard. 

    I'm not clear if you can use a travelcard to "outbound" from London (with or without PlusBus) and return later. There are ways to buy a suitable Travelcard ticket for that kind of journey (online and then TOD in London) but not sure what would happen if the ticket is put through the ticket gates to use the "return" before the "outbound", or whether that is valid per Fares manual).  A manual ticket check (on train or ungated rail station) would not be able to enforce any restriction (there wouldn't be conclusive evidence that you are travelling in the wrong direction)
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