On Sat, 04 Aug 2007 10:35:18 +0100, Paul Corfield wrote:

Still not 100% certain about how ITSO cards will work. I know Captain
Deltic did a short article in MR a number of months back and there were
certainly issues with the SWT product "profiles". If you wish to hold
something like a season ticket on a smartcard then that's fine and
fairly easy to deal with whether zonal or line of route. It is either
valid in certain places at certain times / dates or it is not. In
addition you've typically paid for it up front and the product is on the
card.

What is more intriguing is whether ITSO cards will allow people to
travel in the same manner as PAYG does - record entry and exit and fare
is deducted from your "credit" balance on the card. I assume it must
allow this sort of facility or else why bother. If not then I see little
gain because people will still have to queue to purchase a "ticket" that
will be held on the card for validation purposes.

Indeed, and this is the key question. And I don't see how it could
work. The system is practical on LU, because it's a relatively small
network (so has a relatively low edge-to-edge fare) and is almost
fully barriered, so anyone failing to touch out can be charged the
maximum fare, and a deposit to the tune of the difference between
minimum and maximum fares can be demanded beforehand. But what would
happen on SWT if a passenger does not touch out - charge the London to
Weymouth or Exeter fare? (Or with eventual integration across all
TOCs, the Penzance to Wick fare?) And do I need to place a similarly
large deposit to get the card, to cover any journey I might make with
it?

The only practical use that I can think of that's not totally
pointless is that the card would store a "template" for a ticket that
the user buys often.

For example, suppose I often buy CDRs from Southampton to Bournemouth.
I would obtain a smartcard that contains a "template" for a
Southampton to Bournemouth CDR, as well as a cash balance. Each time I
touch in at the barriers at Southampton, it automatically "purchases"
a CDR to Bournemouth using the balance on the card, the ticket being
stored on the card. This would be accepted by on-train grippers with
hand-held card scanners. It would also let be out of the barriers at
Bournemouth, and through the barriers at Bournemouth and Southampton
on the return journey - but I would not be *required* to make any of
these touches in order for the correct fare to be charged.

If I also often bought SDRs from Southampton to London, I would need
to carry a separate smartcard containing that template (with a
separate balance?).