Misplaced Pages

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

A ticket machine, also known as a ticket vending machine (TVM), is a vending machine that produces paper or electronic tickets, or recharges a stored-value card or smart card or the user's mobile wallet, typically on a smartphone. For instance, ticket machines dispense train tickets at railway stations, transit tickets at metro stations and tram tickets at some tram stops and in some trams.  Token machines may dispense the ticket in the form of a token which has the same function as a paper or electronic ticket. The typical transaction consists of a user using the display interface to select the type and quantity of tickets and then choosing a payment method of either cash, credit/debit card or smartcard. The ticket(s) are then printed on paper and dispensed to the user, or loaded onto the user's smartcard or smartphone.

Ticket and fare formats

For most of the twentieth century, ticket machines issued paper tickets, or tokens worth one fare each. Later, fare value was loaded onto stored-value cards (first paper, later smart cards). Passengers could load any amount within a range; it did not necessarily have to correspond to any particular single fare. The cards could be reloaded until their expiration date, again with any monetary amount within a given range.

To encourage usage of ticket machines and reduce the need for salespersons, machine prices may in some cases be lower than those at a ticket counter.

Timeline

• 1904: first self-service ticket machines on the Central London Railway, now part of London Underground
• 1954: Toronto Subway opens and has tokens in machines from day one
• 1977: San Diego–based airline PSA introduces vending machines for airline tickets

Staff-operated machines

Mechanical ticket machines were used by bus drivers and conductors since the late 1920s. Their functions may include printing tickets, recording of sales and payments. Some manufacturers are MicroFx, Almex, Setright, AEG, CAMP (Compagnie d'Ateliers Mecaniques de Precision), Gibson GFI Genfare, Parkeon, Xerox, Beckson and Corvia (Ticketer).

Since the 1970s (jobs), electronic computer terminals and printers are used.

Handheld ticket machines are used on buses in India to sell tickets, validate smart cards and renew passes. These machines replaced the earlier manual fare collection system where tickets were often punched to indicate journey and fare stages.

Enforcement

In many countries where trains and urban transport tickets operate largely on the honor system (with enforcement by roving inspectors or conductors), there are also machines in stations (or in vehicles) for validating tickets. This is for the situation where one buys a ticket in advance and decides to use it later. Usually, the ticket is time-stamped to determine its validity period. A common problem is forgetting to validate and then being fined as if one had no ticket at all. Such machines are generally not used in the United States. Nearly all American mass transit networks operating on the honor system expect their users to buy tickets immediately before use; regular riders can avoid that inconvenience by buying period passes in advance (often from the same machines that sell daily or one-time tickets). Recently, however, a handful of commuter rail systems like Metrolink have adopted the use of validation machines for at least some ticket types.

Issues

Ticket machines that are out of service or accept 'exact change only' result in losses for transport providers.

Applications

Ticket machines are also often used for amusement parks, cinemas (in those cases sometimes called ticketing kiosks), car parking (see pay and display), as well as those that issue free tickets—for example, those for virtual queueing.

Japan uses ticket machines in restaurants, cafes and other establishments. Customers select an item on the machine, insert money into the machine then receive a voucher that can be exchanged for their order, unlike a vending machine where the customer would receive their item. Some ticket machines are standalone machines while other versions of the machine are located at the counter.

Gallery

• Opal card ticket and top-up machine in Sydney, Australia
• A ticket and Presto card top-up machine at a suburban train station in Toronto
• Ticket machine in Warsaw, Poland
• A VR ticket machine at the Helsinki Central Station in Helsinki, Finland
• Ticket machines in Wu Kai Sha station of Hong Kong's MTR
• Machine for Metro-North Railroad, a metropolitan New York City commuter rail system, United States.
• A ticket machine at the Jordanhill railway station in Scotland
• Ticket Machine in Olomouc, Czech Republic

See also

• List of tram and light-rail transit systems
• Self service
• Ticketing kiosk

References

1. M. A. C. Home, Automatic Fare Collection on the London Underground and London Buses, Chapter 3
2. "A brief history of TTC tokens".
3. Lehman, William (2013-02-04). US Airways. Arcadia. ISBN 9781439650028.
4. Sen, Somit (4 December 2010). "BEST tickets will be issued electronically". Times of India. Mumbai. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
5. Sheth, Priya (4 August 2011). "The coloured bus ticket is now a collectible!". The Hindu. Mumbai. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
6. "[Vending machine powerhouse Japan! ] How to use a ticket machine that foreigners do not know".

External links

• Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1936), "Ticket and change machines", Railway Wonders of the World, pp. 471–474 Illustrated description of these machines on the London Underground
• Financial Self Service Kiosk Solutions and Online Banking Services, Electronic Kiosks, 2014, retrieved February 20, 2014 - Financial services Kiosk

v t e Public transport
Bus service	Bus driver list Bus rapid transit Express bus Guided bus Trackless Tram Intercity bus Open top bus Charabanc Public light bus Rail replacement bus Share taxi/Taxibus Marshrutka Pesero Shuttle bus Transit bus Trolleybus
Rail	Passenger rail terminology glossary Airport rail link Commuter rail Elevated railway Funicular Heritage railway Heritage streetcar High-speed rail Higher-speed rail Inter-city rail Interurban Maglev Monorail Narrow-gauge railway People mover Railbus Metro/Rapid Transit Medium-capacity rail system Rubber-tyred metro Regional rail Street running Suspension railway Tram Cable car Horsecar Light rail Tram-train
Vehicles for hire	Auto rickshaw taxi Boda boda Combination bus Cycle rickshaw Demand-responsive transport Microtransit Paratransit Dollar van Dolmuş Hackney carriage Jeepney Limousine Motorcycle taxi Marshrutka Nanny van Personal rapid transit Pesero Public light bus Pulled rickshaw Share taxi Songthaew Taxi Tuk tuk
Carpooling	Car jockey Flexible carpooling Real-time ridesharing Slugging Vanpool
Ship	Cable ferry Ferry Gondola Hovercraft Hydrofoil Ocean liner Vaporetto Water taxi
Cable	Aerial tramway Cable ferry Cable railway Elevator Funicular Gondola lift bicable tricable Inclined elevator
Other transport	Airline Airliner Carsharing Bicycle-sharing Scooter-sharing Elevator Escalator Horse-drawn vehicle Hyperloop Inclined elevator Moving walkway Personal transporter Robotaxi Shweeb Slope car Trackless train Vactrain
Locations	Airport Bus bulb Bus garage Bus lane Bus stand Bus station Bus stop Bus turnout (bus bay) Dry dock Ferry terminal Hangar Harbor Interchange station Kassel kerb Layover Metro station Park and ride Port Queue jump Taxicab stand Train station Tram stop Transit mall Transport hub
Ticketing and fares	Automated fare collection Bus advertising Contract of carriage Dead mileage Exit fare Fare avoidance Fare capping Fare evasion Free public transport Free travel pass Integrated ticketing Manual fare collection Money train Paid area Penalty fare Proof-of-payment Reduced fare program Transfer Transit pass
Routing	Circle route Cross-city route Network length Non-revenue track Radial route Transport network
Facilities	Checked baggage First class Sleeper Standing passenger Travel class
Scheduling	Bus bunching Clock-face scheduling Headway Night (owl) service On-time performance Public transport timetable Short turn
Politics	Airport security Complete streets Green transport hierarchy Farebox recovery ratio Rail subsidies Security Street hierarchy Transit district Transit police Transportation authority Transportation demand management Transportation planning Transit-oriented development (TOD)
Technology and signage	Destination sign Passenger information system Platform display Platform screen doors Smart cards CIPURSE Calypso Ticket machine Timetable Transit map
Other topics	Boarding Bus rapid transit creep Crush load Dwell time Hail and ride Land transport Outline of transport Passenger load factor Public good Request stop Service Sustainable transport Timing point Transport economics Micromobility
Transport portal

• Tickets
• Vending machines
• Street furniture