The MTA has announced that they are currently looking into and planning on developing an E-ticket program that would allow passengers to purchase tickets ahead of time and present them upon arrival. Two different systems are being considered, one that involves per-purchasing a ticket then printing it out, and the other is a bar code that can be displayed via a smart phone and scanned by the conductor. Either of these systems would make it much easier for the average user to take a train. This would decrease the wait time for tickets for those who still would rely on the paper, bought at the station tickets, and would allows those who use the new system to bypass the lines entirely. This could also alleviate stress as people would not need to worry about showing up early for a train and could essentially show up right as the train is about to leave and still get on without being charged extra. The MTA expects the system to start user testing in mid- to late-2013.
I personally think that this is a great idea...yet is also a bit late. While I knew there was no electronic ticketing system, I was actually surprised once I thought about it. Our world is constantly being integrated with mobile technologies and this is the next logical step, but other transportation sectors have already been using electronic tickets. The aviation industry has been using e-tickets for several years now and it would seem to me that that air travel requires more security and planning ahead where e-tickets would be more easily hackable or not necessary for lines. It just seems to me that this is the next logical step for train transportation and I am surprised it has taken this long for an e-ticket system to be even thought of.
Either way I am excited to see how it turns out.
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20121013/NEWS01/310130010/MTA-plans-e-ticket-app?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|PoughkeepsieJournal.com|s
I personally think that this is a great idea...yet is also a bit late. While I knew there was no electronic ticketing system, I was actually surprised once I thought about it. Our world is constantly being integrated with mobile technologies and this is the next logical step, but other transportation sectors have already been using electronic tickets. The aviation industry has been using e-tickets for several years now and it would seem to me that that air travel requires more security and planning ahead where e-tickets would be more easily hackable or not necessary for lines. It just seems to me that this is the next logical step for train transportation and I am surprised it has taken this long for an e-ticket system to be even thought of.
Either way I am excited to see how it turns out.
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20121013/NEWS01/310130010/MTA-plans-e-ticket-app?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|PoughkeepsieJournal.com|s
I am surprised to hear that there has not been an e-ticket system in place to this point. One would think that our underused public transportation systems would strive to provide convenience in order to attract more users. Having used Southern Connecticut's train systems several times, I can attest to the headaches associated with waiting in long lines and spending hours wondering when my 'delayed' train will arrive. The implementation of this new system is certainly encouraging, and I hope that other improvements will be added to the flawed system.
ReplyDelete-Chris
This is a great idea. Mobile e-tickets are common in airlines these days.
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