Phone, ticket, railcard, wallet. That’s the mental checklist many of us do when we’re heading off to catch a train. It’s the sort of thing that’s become so ingrained that it’s probably subconscious by now, but on some routes, that particular list might soon become redundant.
Ticketless train journeys are currently being trialled by East Midlands Rail (EMR). Don’t get too excited though, you’ll still need to pay. Instead of buying a ticket, the rail company has been tracking passengers’ locations in order to determine where they get on and off, and by extension how much they’ll need to pay.
This sort of technology already exists, but so far it’s only been tested in Denmark, Switzerland, and up in Scotland. Now, it’s moving to Derby, Leicester, and Nottingham, where 1,000 people will get to try it out, see if it works and, importantly, gauge whether it makes their journeys any easier or cheaper. If you fancy it, you can volunteer to test the tech on EMR’s website.
The scheme aims to fix the issue of overly complicated ticketing systems on British trains. It will eliminate the need for people to buy tickets ahead of time and give them the best possible price at the end of the day, calculating the cheapest price available on the route.
Oli Cox, head of commercial strategy and business planning at EMR, said that he hopes this trial could offer an alternative to the prohibitively confusing fares we have at present, calling them a ‘real barrier’ to travel for many. ‘This trial removes that uncertainty’, he continued, explaining ‘simply tap in and out on your phone, safe in the knowledge you're always getting the best-value fare on the day’.
The Digital Pay As You Go trial, which 500 people have already signed up to, will work through an app. Passengers will let the app know when they get on or off a train, and be provided with a barcode that can be scanned by inspectors or ticket barriers. The system already has the support of the Department for Transport, who believe it could eliminate the need for paper tickets altogether in the long term, so if the pilot goes well, it could be rolled out across the network with more trials set for select Northern Rail services in Yorkshire later this month.
EMR isn’t the only rail provider trying to make travelling easier and better value – yesterday (September 1) Scotrail just scrapped peak fares for good, reducing the cost of some tickets by nearly half.
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