Ascom EasyTicket
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| System information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ascom EasyTicket TIS9000 |
| Machine type | Self-service machine |
| Type of ticket stock | Continuous roll |
| Manufacturer | Ascom Transport Revenue |
| History | |
| First introduced | March 2003 |
| Machine number range | 1001-1016 5001-5003 |
| Window number range | Upwards from 61 |
| Machines in use | 7 |
| Locations/areas/train operating companies | |
| Current users | Gatwick Express |
| Former users | Southern South West Trains Central Trains Arriva Trains Wales Chiltern Railways First Capital Connect |
The Ascom EasyTicket is a railway ticket issuing system used in Britain, consisting of a series of self-service (passenger-operated) machines at railway stations. Having been introduced in 2003 on a trial basis by several Train Operating Companies (TOCs) at various stations, the system did not spread into common usage, and most machines have since been removed.
Ascom AG was created in 1987 through a merger between three major telecommunications companies in Switzerland, although its origins can ultimately be traced back to the establishment of the Swiss Federal Telegraph Workshops in 1852.[1] The Autelca AG division, which had been acquired in 1963 by one of Ascom AG's constituent companies, was involved in the manufacture of ticket vending machines (TVMs); it provided British Rail with the B8050 self-service machine, hundreds of which were installed at stations across Britain from 1989 onwards.
The EasyTicket system was developed while the Transport Revenue division, as it was then known, was still under Ascom's ownership; but as part of an attempt to focus on the telecommunications sector, the division was sold in August 2005 to Affiliated Computer Services, Inc for 130 million Swiss Francs.[2]
Origins
The company's first attempt to move on from the successful B8050 machine was the B8070, a small evolutionary upgrade initially developed and delivered in 1999. In the meantime, however, a more significant, revolutionary design solution was being sought: Ascom realised that the late-1980s B8050 technology was no longer suitable for the modern railway environment, given the increasing use of credit and other payment cards, the anticipated adoption of the Chip and PIN secure-payments system, new disability regulations and the effects privatisation had on fragmenting and expanding the fare structure on Britain's railways.
The EasyTicket system (official code number TIS9000)[3] was developed with these considerations in mind, and features:
- Two different machine heights, with one having a specially lowered screen, coin/card slots and ticket dispenser suitable for wheelchair users
- Touch-screen technology with a series of sub-menus
- Instructions in six different languages, selectable at the start of the transaction process
- Cash-and-card and card-only models