It always baffels me as to why Amtrak can't use e-tickets like the airline. The page that you get online should be the page you bring onboard. The lead service attendant has a manifest and if someone got the ticket at the last minute the lead service attendant goes onto a handheld computer to see that the resrvation was made. This would save hassels for stations closed at the time of departure,no ticket fees at travel agencies and also no lines at the station. If one forgets their e-ticket the Quick Ticket Machine can print it out.
If Amtrak needs boarding passes one can do it online 24 hours before the train departure. As for AAA discounts Amtrak would be connected to the AAA Membership machine and it would verify the membership so one does not need to bring the card with them.
If Amtrak could save in this way then they could splugre in the dining cars and bring back the stoves.
Someone who has connections with Amtrak make a campaign that says"Electronic Amtrak" Board with no ticket. Amtrak would get more customers as they can book up to 1 hour before the trains scheduled departure providing space availability which is updated automatically.
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
As someone who is indirectly connected with the airline industry I can tell you that going "paperless" has resulted in HUGE savings for that industry. It does involve an initial expense but that is, apparently, quickly recovered in savings. I don't see why it wouldn't work for Amtrak although others here may have more insights.
Frank in CLOUDY SBA
Posted by rY. (Member # 3528) on :
On the other hand, I enjoy the fact that Amtrak is one of the few places where a ticket still FEELS like a ticket. Those paper receipts I get at my local movie theaters (for example) just make me feel like they don't care.
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
rY--
I know how you feel, but you get used to it. And you don't (generally) need to worry about losing or forgetting your ticket. Most airlines will still issue a paper ticket but be prepared to pay quite a bit extra for it.
Frank is still cloudy SBA
Posted by CoastStarlight99 (Member # 2734) on :
I recently flew U.S. Air, and they give you a cheap paper ticket as a boarding pass. I think it is pretty nice what Amtrak does since it is not that hard to retrieve a ticket from them. If you are at an unstaffed station, you can always get your ticket from the conductor.
In Italy, the conductors have a PDA integrated with wireless cell phoen technology that has an up to the minute manifest of all passengers and employees.
Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
The only reason I can think of for AMTRAK not issuing e-tickets is that, at some of the more remote stations (Essex, MT; Stanley, ND; Sanderson, TX, etc.), there may not be Internet access (or cell phone access) available to verify tickets and reservations, etc.
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
quote:Originally posted by RRRICH: The only reason I can think of for AMTRAK not issuing e-tickets is that, at some of the more remote stations (Essex, MT; Stanley, ND; Sanderson, TX, etc.), there may not be Internet access (or cell phone access) available to verify tickets and reservations, etc.
I think it might be more a case of having to learn how to do it differently from the way it has already been done.
I mean......what would the conductors do with their time if they aren't sorting tickets all over a table in the lounge car trying to reconcile their paperwork?
(Note - Tongue firmly in cheek. If Amtrak could save tremendous $$$$$$ by going to e-tickets I am all for it.)
Posted by DeeCT (Member # 3241) on :
quote:Originally posted by notelvis:
I mean......what would the conductors do with their time if they aren't sorting tickets all over a table in the lounge car trying to reconcile their paperwork?
What would they do??? Hopefully those parts of their job description they seem not to have time for now. I am concerned about the first few days while they go through "caffeine withdrawal". (Where and when will they have time and place to complain about their jobs.) Just think --- this could free up a table for the 8 every 15 minutes Diner Lite idea. (An unintended consequence for sure.)
I for one like the idea of e-tickets. Like Notelvis, I say go for it if it will save $$$$.
Now need to go pry tongue loose from cheek.
Posted by Tanner929 (Member # 3720) on :
Well if ol timers are for e-tickets then well the time has come. When Airlines first went to e-tickets and I would print out itinerarys reciepts and boarding passes. Heck now you can forget the print out have a copy made at the koisk and all you have to worry about is lost luggage. I guess you lose the "suvioner" stub but we've got over it. Has Trainlady and Sojourner voted on this???
Posted by ehbowen (Member # 4317) on :
quote:Originally posted by RRRICH: The only reason I can think of for AMTRAK not issuing e-tickets is that, at some of the more remote stations (Essex, MT; Stanley, ND; Sanderson, TX, etc.), there may not be Internet access (or cell phone access) available to verify tickets and reservations, etc.
Personally, I think Amtrak ought to embark upon a program of turning every station into a Wi-Fi hot spot; then all you need to do is give the conductor a wifi equipped PDA and it can automatically update the passenger list while the train is stopped in the station.
Posted by dilly (Member # 1427) on :
Let's see. . .
So Amtrak (like the airlines) introduces e-tickets to save on the cost of electricity, ticket printers, paper, and ink. . . only to pass the entire cost onto the passenger, who has to print the e-ticket at home using their own electricity, their own printer, their own paper, and their own ink.
How can that be considered progress? And cost-wise, how does it benefit the passenger?
Like just about everything else in 21st century commerce, e-tickets are simply a corporate shell game, designed to pass one of the traditional costs of doing business onto the customer.
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Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
Tanner--
My experience (most often on Continental but also on Southwest) is that your boarding pass, whether from a kiosk or printed out at home, is returned to you once it's been scanned at the gate. You still get your souvenir, Tanner.
The e-ticket operation has generally made things so much easier. Yesterday I needed to book my sister from Crescent City, CA to Ontario, CA on United Express. She doesn't have access to a computer and you pay extra at UA (and most carriers) to book with a live person. I did the whole thing (using her credit card #) including enrolling her in Mileage Plus and getting her seat selection and requesting wheelchair assistance online. I just called her with the record locator # and she's set to go. I did caution her to double check at CEC about the wheelchair.
I think even "ol' timers" like me will live long enough to see most of the country with wi-fi access. A hot topic in Southern California now is power companies resisting municipalities' requests to use their poles for placement of wi-fi antennae.
I wish I could lay my hands on the figures I saw (I think it was in Air Transport World) on the savings that electronic ticketing and check-in have made for airlines. The difference in the cost of a "real person" check-in and an online checkin was something like $3.00 versus 12 cents.
Frank in sunny SBA
Posted by rY. (Member # 3528) on :
I might also mention that I (deliberately) don't keep an operational printer at home. Now, before anyone goes thinking the wrong ideas about me, I have 4 operational computers and over 2 Terabytes of storage in my condo. I just don't print stuff out here (and you can make your own judgments on whether paperless is forward-thinking or pathetic).
I guess if Amtrak went e-ticket, I'd have to invest in a printer. But (and I'm reiterating here), I mostly just like the feel of REAL tickets.
Posted by PaulB (Member # 4258) on :
quote:Originally posted by sbalax: Tanner--
I think even "ol' timers" like me will live long enough to see most of the country with wi-fi access. A hot topic in Southern California now is power companies resisting municipalities' requests to use their poles for placement of wi-fi antennae.
The future is already here. With my Verizon internet card for my laptop, I can get online anywhere there's a cell signal. I've even got online in the middle of nowhere between Deming, NM and El Paso. Now all that's needed is for them to make it faster (out in the sticks it's worse than a 56k modem.)
Posted by CHATTER (Member # 1185) on :
quote: Let's see. . .
So Amtrak (like the airlines) introduces e-tickets to save on the cost of electricity, ticket printers, paper, and ink. . . only to pass the entire cost onto the passenger, who has to print the e-ticket at home using their own electricity, their own printer, their own paper, and their own ink.
How can that be considered progress? And cost-wise, how does it benefit the passenger?
Like just about everything else in 21st century commerce, e-tickets are simply a corporate shell game, designed to pass one of the traditional costs of doing business onto the customer.
It can be considered progress because there is no perceptible change in the amount of an individual's electric bill, or the frequency with which printer cartridges or paper must be changed, due to the printing of an occasional Amtrak ticket. Additionally, it allows a passenger to receive a ticket immediately, rather than going to an Amtrak station and waiting in line, or waiting for it to arrive by mail. These are true benefits to passengers.
Simultaneously, it would represent a considerable cost savings to Amtrak, which could use any cost reduction it can achieve, to keep, itself operational.
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