Mobile ‘smart charge’ to kill off old tickets

TICKETS for train travel could eventually be scrapped after a trial of ‘smart-charging’ the cheapest price direct to passengers’ phones was unveiled.

A 12-month Chiltern Railways trial will be launched later this year on journeys between Birmingham and London which could see the phasing out of traditional paper tickets and even the end of ‘touch in, touch out’ ticket barriers.

Instead of tickets, beacons at train stations will pick up Bluetooth signals from smartphones in passengers’ bags or pockets at the start and end of their journeys.

Passengers would be automatically charged the best price for their journey on an app linked to a bank account on their smartphones.

The move comes after longstanding complaints by passengers and watchdogs that the rail industry had been too slow to update the outdated ticketing system.

Rail operators have come under fire in recent years for failure to simplify the ticketing system to meet the demands of modern passengers.

Campaigners have been calling for a system that is fair to people working two or three days a week who lose out on the discounts given to those who buy season tickets.

There have also been concerns that with widespread ticket office closures, passengers are forced to rely on machines which often fail to provide the best value ticket.

The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) is part-funding the trial and said technology was now in place to automate the entire ticketing process.

It said there would be “no chance” of customers buying an inappropriate ticket for their entire journey.

Dave Penney, Chiltern Railways boss, said: “Bluetooth sensors and geo-location tracking are used to open ticket gates and determine journeys taken, then the customer is billed at the end of the day with a best-value guarantee ensuring that they are charged the appropriate fare for their journeys.”