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All modern ticket machines are I miss the ones from the south east that had physical buttons and very few options. Brighton button, Day Return button, insert

All modern ticket machines are I miss the ones from the south east that had physical buttons and very few options. Brighton button, Day Return button, insert cash, done. Even was visible in bright daylight, what a marvel.

seabass-labrax 2y ago
That does indeed sound enticing, but I also really like the Deutsche Bahn ticket machines: not only do these have options for the most usual tickets, they also have the full journey planner system built in. That means you can purchase tickets valid across multiple fare zones - like the National Rail website in Great Britain, but in a vending machine! Additionally, you can use this to find information in advance, like what the platform for arrival will be, which can save some time when making connections. If you're going to put a touchscreen on something, you might as well do it properly! :)
- switch007 2y ago
  I find staff are even better for journey planning. Shame we've mostly replaced them with machines Now we get to stand there tapping 13 times because the touchscreen sucks. And worry about being taken to court because the machine was broken. Yes "most" people have phones but public transport needs to cater to all
ta1243 2y ago
Last ticket machine I used was at Stafford, tap the "Birmingham" button, Offpeak return, tap phone on the pad, ticket prints. Obviously that one was well maintained as the touchscreen was calibrated correctly. But old machines used to be broken too. If you want a ticket to say Gloucester from Stafford then it's something like "other, g, l, Gloucester, Offpeak return, tap phone". The old style physical machines wouldn't sell a ticket to anywhere other than a few locations.
- switch007 2y ago
  We used to have friendly and knowledgeable staff at most stations, who were great. The machines are still overall retrograde Ticket desks worked/better in bright light, if you're blind, deaf, unfamiliar with the machines, wanted to pay in cash etc etc
  - roryirvine 2y ago
    The point this story is trying to make is that the machines themselves are unnecessary - just tap in with your normal contactless credit card, debit card, oyster, or phone to get the best fare.
    - switch007 2y ago
      Apologies for going on a tangent I disagree the machines are not needed. Often when it comes to the railway people argue for things that conveniently ignore edge cases and pretend public transport isn't for all the public. Our railway system is incredibly complicated.

seabass-labrax 2y ago

That does indeed sound enticing, but I also really like the Deutsche Bahn ticket machines: not only do these have options for the most usual tickets, they also have the full journey planner system built in. That means you can purchase tickets valid across multiple fare zones - like the National Rail website in Great Britain, but in a vending machine! Additionally, you can use this to find information in advance, like what the platform for arrival will be, which can save some time when making connections. If you're going to put a touchscreen on something, you might as well do it properly! :)

switch007 2y ago
I find staff are even better for journey planning. Shame we've mostly replaced them with machines Now we get to stand there tapping 13 times because the touchscreen sucks. And worry about being taken to court because the machine was broken. Yes "most" people have phones but public transport needs to cater to all

ta1243 2y ago

Last ticket machine I used was at Stafford, tap the "Birmingham" button, Offpeak return, tap phone on the pad, ticket prints. Obviously that one was well maintained as the touchscreen was calibrated correctly. But old machines used to be broken too. If you want a ticket to say Gloucester from Stafford then it's something like "other, g, l, Gloucester, Offpeak return, tap phone". The old style physical machines wouldn't sell a ticket to anywhere other than a few locations.

switch007 2y ago
We used to have friendly and knowledgeable staff at most stations, who were great. The machines are still overall retrograde Ticket desks worked/better in bright light, if you're blind, deaf, unfamiliar with the machines, wanted to pay in cash etc etc
- roryirvine 2y ago
  The point this story is trying to make is that the machines themselves are unnecessary - just tap in with your normal contactless credit card, debit card, oyster, or phone to get the best fare.
  - switch007 2y ago
    Apologies for going on a tangent I disagree the machines are not needed. Often when it comes to the railway people argue for things that conveniently ignore edge cases and pretend public transport isn't for all the public. Our railway system is incredibly complicated.