Anyone here prefer paper tickets?

[iggy]

Absolutely have no use for paper tickets. Probably one the best things Amtrak ever did next to finally getting Wi-Fi on most trains - is introduction of E-tickets. It amazes me amount of people with cell phones that still use paper tickets. Only decent argument ever given to me was a guy stating he didn't trust his phone battery. Paper tickets are a hassle to keep track of - wear out and look like crap after long trips - you have to stare at advertisement every time you use it. Even when I used an old flip phone - I would send a photo of ticket to phone - had multiple conductors ask me how I did this with older unit.

Prefer booking online skipping station attendant drama - so E-ticketing made my households lives much happier.

Using less paper should reduce Amtrak cost - it reduces environmental waste - because most of you don't recycle that paper. In some cases do to type of paper and printing process - may not be able to recycle - E-tickets take all that out of equation.

If you believe in Amtrak and want to help reduce cost to hopefully improve bottom line - choose E-tickets.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Only decent argument ever given to me was a guy stating he didn't trust his phone battery.

The way the system is set up the Conductor already has your record in the Scanner; so it is just a formaility to scan the bar code and lift the ticket that way. This is what has caused such a stink since some Conductors are simply clicking in pax without ever seeing them. I would think if the battery has gone dead all you need to do is give the Conductor your name, show an ID and he/she can cross reference and lift your ticket without scanning.

 

[iggy]

You are correct. I was just sharing best excuse I've personally heard.

As for tickets getting pulled - I've seen hit and miss on what you have mentioned. On Lincoln Service business class sometimes conductors won't show up - but will lift ticket if they see you get on or they just assume you are there.

Or you run into issue like I did in Joliet IL other day - where only 3 passengers are boarding at open door that is 2 cars away from BC. Only 2 out of 3 were BC ticketed passengers. Female assistant conductor who boarded us never showed up to scan tickets. Later on main conductor comes back to alert Springfield IL BC passengers stop is coming up. I asked him if my ticket had been pulled. Come to find out his co-worker who had boarded us decided to noshow my ticket. Why is beyond me - she was more than aware that I had boarded in Joliet. Not cool considering I'm clawing for every TQP I can earn by end of year for SELECT+.

To main conductors credit = he did ask if I had a ticket coming back - I let home know I was on my way home - so no further tickets. As members here are fully aware - noshowing a portion of trip - can invalidate rest of your journey - at least this conductor was smart enough and polite enough to care and ask.

 

[Thirdrail7]

I preferred the paper tickets as well.

 

[neroden]

I'm fine with paper e-tickets (I don't trust phone batteries either). The "cancellation of later segments" rule is no good, however, due to wayward conductors failing to scan tickets.

 

[NW cannonball]

Likewise. Whether on Amtrak or airlines or megabus - I get a hardcopy paper thing to scan in case the airline kiosk or the Amtrak quiktrak or my phone provider is down.

The best thing about the "e-ticket" is that it can't be lost or stolen. Hardcopy works, Id plus reservation number works.

The "e-ticket" is one of the good things about this "e-everything" world.

But I do keep my e-trak paper hollerith cards as memos.

 

[iggy]

"my phone provider is down"

Exactly why I NEVER trust the APP!! I always take a screenshot of E-ticket from Amtrak APP and have that in my photo gallery. As long as my phone battery is live and phone working - I have a solid copy of my reservation.

"The "cancellation of later segments" rule is no good, however, due to wayward conductors failing to scan tickets."

In my opinion only a complete idiot would disagree with anyone on that. Causes more problems than it might solve - not sure how it actually solves any problem to start with. Operations reality shows this is an extremely bad policy that creates more customer service problems than there should be.

 

[me_little_me]

The best tickets were those printed on stone tablets instead of Apple ones.

One item that is fading away, along with ticket, is the puncher. Each puncher is unique- shape of "head" and location of punch or punches on ticket. And those clicking noise

I preferred the stone chisels they used with the tablets.

 

[jis]

The best tickets were those printed on stone tablets instead of Apple ones.

One item that is fading away, along with ticket, is the puncher. Each puncher is unique- shape of "head" and location of punch or punches on ticket. And those clicking noise

I preferred the stone chisels they used with the tablets.

Yeah specially in those trains that have a hole in the floor under each seat so that passengers can contribute their own reactive effort by sticking their legs through the hole and running on the track Yabba dabba doo!

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum

 

[seat38a]

One item that is fading away, along with ticket, is the puncher. Each puncher is unique- shape of "head" and location of punch or punches on ticket. And those clicking noise.

Well all the conductors on the Surfliners have them, but they use them to mark the seat checks with them. I'm sure they have meanings for the location and number of punches.

 

[railiner]

On a related subject....railroad .employee passes....I lament the old days, when employees could simply flash their annual pass and ride as they wished....

This even extended into the Amtrak era, where the Rail Travel Privilege Card could be used that way on un-reserved corridor trains....

Nowadays, it is a lot more complicated....

 

[oldtimer]

On a related subject....railroad .employee passes....I lament the old days, when employees could simply flash their annual pass and ride as they wished....

This even extended into the Amtrak era, where the Rail Travel Privilege Card could be used that way on un-reserved corridor trains....

Nowadays, it is a lot more complicated....

Amen! the employee pass privileges are very restricted on all trains that require a reservation. First of all they do require a paper ticket and you usually pay 80% of the top bucket price! Sometimes you can get it back if the train does not sell out , very rare for me. I have gone to Springfield IL from Chicago and some of the special rates are much less expensive than the pass lottery.

 

[TrainLoverJoy]

I'm not a Luddite by any stretch and use the Amtrak app when I have no other options or not enough time, but I prefer a ticket printed on Amtrak ticket stock, even though it's technically an eTicket with no cash value. I like having it out and keeping my phone in my pocket. It's also a nice little souvenir. I'll usually have it printed out via QT, but occasionally I'll ask for a paper ticket from a ticket agent. I've only been refused once (especially since I showed the res# from iOS Passbook), and in that case I just walked over to the QT kiosk and printed it up.

Am I the only one who prefers paper tickets?

i definitely still prefer the paper ticket. In fact if I happen to be driving by the Amtrak station a week or so before my trip I'll stop in and print the tickets from the kiosk.....just so I'll have them. It kinda adds to the excitement of another long distance train trip coming up soon!

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

i definitely still prefer the paper ticket. In fact if I happen to be driving by the Amtrak station a week or so before my trip I'll stop in and print the tickets from the kiosk.....just so I'll have them. It kinda adds to the excitement of another long distance train trip coming up soon!

While anymore I usually either load the tickets into the phone or print off at home (AGR Redemptions) it was always exciting to get an envelope in the mail full of train tickets. Since Norman has no Agent or Quik Trak those have been my only options.

 

[FriskyFL]

Paper tickets had their day. Horse & buggy had its day. Polyester leisure suits had their day. None make any more sense, none will be missed.

 

[paxval]

I certainly prefer a paper ticket, mainly as a souvenir of my journey. Granted, it is very rare for me to ever look at them again, but it goes with all of my other train tickets and airline boarding cards from my travels in the world. There is something quite nice about a paper ticket. Feels like more of a trip with one to me.

 

[jis]

Here's a revenue opportunity! After all it does cost more to process a paper ticket!

 

[dlagrua]

The eticket is a good step forward. We book online and use eTickets but always print out two copies. Computers and cell phone sometimes crash and run out of power, so the paper ticket makes a good back up.

The cyber world is great and it has made life far more convenient and has solved many problems. In embracing it you also become a slave to electronic technology . A paper in your pocket can't crash, (but it can be lost) so we try to use both when we can. For those that don't like the eTicket feel; try printing them out on card stock ($2 a pack at Michaels) and the feel of antiquity is back with you!

 

[Frequent Traveller]

I prefer paper tickets because a piece of paper that looks like any other piece of paper can be mislaid (I've seen this happen), but a ticket looks like a ticket. Moreover, when I am travelling on expense account, the auditors prefer tickets rather than pieces of paper.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Along the lines of paper tickets, I enjoy finding and collecting pre-Amtrak tickets (and for that matter vintage airline tickets) where the ticket consisted of a small booklet with everything filled out by hand and then was tucked into an often colorful small envelope. Sometimes the Baggage Claim Stubs will still be stapled to the outside of the envelope. Now that all tells you someone indeed took a trip!

 

[BCL]

I certainly prefer a paper ticket, mainly as a souvenir of my journey. Granted, it is very rare for me to ever look at them again, but it goes with all of my other train tickets and airline boarding cards from my travels in the world. There is something quite nice about a paper ticket. Feels like more of a trip with one to me.

However, the archival life of thermal print is pretty poor, especially depending on how it's stored. I've had receipts in my car that turned brown. I've also had boarding passes and other forms where the print had faded.

Laser/copy toner has issues. Most will stick after a while, especially when placed in contact with vinyl (sheet protectors or binder covers).

I still see some dot matrix printing, but fading or re-inking/replacing ribbons is an issue. High quality inkjets are probably the most stable, although they look kind of fuzzy. Most credit card statements are printed with inkjets, using ink that doesn't run when exposed to water and resists fading.