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[email protected] · September 17th 14, 08:35 PM posted to uk.transport.london

In article ,
(Paul Corfield) wrote:

On Wed, 17 Sep 2014 20:42:54 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message , at 14:24:48
on Wed, 17 Sep 2014, remarked:
Now that CPC is fully rolled out, I expect we'll see more
information about both TfL's position on this issue and also war
stories from disappointed would-be travellers.

One question that occurs to me is whether railcard discounts will be
available with contactless cards if so, how?

Currently a bald "no". From the TfL FAQ:

"If you're eligible for discounted travel, you should carry on
using your existing Oyster card or Oyster photocard.

Discounts can't be added to contactless payment cards. This
includes all National Railcard discounts."

I thought so but wonder why. If the processing is all in the back office
why can't railcards be associated with the accounts there? Or is that
another one of your apparently simple developments we'll have to wait
for? :-)

It is indeed "apparently simple" About two lines of code could apply
such a discount to a suitably registered contactless account.

Maybe they have issues with the idea that people could lend such a card
to another unqualified family member (or even friend) to get cheaper
travel. A bit like a discounted Oyster, I agree, but maybe they already
have too much leakage from those and don't want to compound the felony?

I suspect the main issue is how, if people set up accounts on line,
TfL can possibly verify that someone saying they have a Railcard
actually does have one. I doubt there is any system to system link
between TfL and whatever system RSP have for railcards (if they even
have one!).

The way round that at present is that you physically present yourself
and your entitlement and a ticket clerk enters all the relevant
details. With a move to scrap ticket offices there has to be some way
of adding entitlement - and yes I know that is via a roving member of
staff logging on to a passenger machine and doing what the ticket
clerk currently does! However is anyone going to want to show a bank
card to a staff member to punch in to a ticket machine? I guess
someone could, at the relevant point in the process, stick their card
in the card reader so details are transferred electronically but it
all seems a dreadful faff.

I suspect discount entitlements will not move across to CPCs at all.
They'll remain on Oyster and later "dumb" Oyster with TfL simply
migrating the vast majority of entitlements as part of a card
"switchover" process when current Oyster is decommissioned (Phase 5 of
the Future Ticketing Project).

I don't get this. A contactless card will be linked to an account in th TfL
back office. So if a cardholder shows contactless card and railcard to staff
member why shouldn't they record the discount on the account just as they do
now sort of?

--
Colin Rosenstiel