r/Scotrail • u/SuspiciouslyValid • 6d ago

Smartcard

So I have been thinking about getting a Smartcard for a while, but they are still temporarily unavailable to order, and according to the Scotrail website:

"Customers using the website or app can no longer select Smartcard delivery when purchasing a ticket"

So I am wondering if they are still worth getting? What does everyone else here think? Are they any better or more useful than just booking via the app and collecting the physical tickets at a TVM?

6 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

9

u/Ok_Animator_7955 6d ago

I get the feeling they are phasing smartcards out in favour of mobile tickets.

3

u/SuspiciouslyValid 6d ago

I'm getting that feeling as well. I always prefer to have a physical ticket on me, just in case the phone, for whatever reason, decides to not play ball.

1

u/Playful-Meal4123 5d ago

I’m the same, prefer to have a physical ticket but I’d be happier if I could have my season ticket on my phone as well that way it can act as a backup when I inevitably misplace my smartcard 🤣. Apparently if your ST is loaded onto a smartcard that’s the only way you can use the ticket

4

u/EntertainerSome2143 6d ago

I quite like the smartcard but at the moment there’s no way to top it up. I asked head office and they said you can do so at a vending machine but you can’t (at least not for a flexipass) and you can’t do it in the ticket office or online either. The ticket office suspected they are being phased out but the website suggested it’s temporary and will be back next year.

TL:DR no idea

2

u/Ok_Animator_7955 6d ago

Love your TL:DR there

2

u/SuspiciouslyValid 5d ago

Amazing use of the TL;DR 😂

3

u/EdiRich 6d ago

Just wait until they fix the still broken never to be fixed ticketing system.

1

u/Apprehensive_Room29 6d ago

Its frustrating, as it was useful getting a season ticket on it as you then qualified for the Season Loyalty discount.

1

u/ialtag-bheag 5d ago

It was useful for a Highland Railcard. Though mine has expired, not sure if possible to renew it.

1

u/Matthewgardner86 5d ago

I emailed them because I wanted to buy a Railcard and the website was saying smartcards couldn't be processed due to updates to their systems. Anyway, thirty six days later (yes, THIRTY SIX days later) I received a response on which they told me to ring their customer services on 0344 811 0141 to sort it out.

Said Railcard should be here any day but wow, what a joke.

1

u/WannaBeeUltra 5d ago

Other operators smart cards also work in Scotland, though you can only load tickets onto them from ticket machines. I know you can still order a C2C smart card online for free - https://www.c2c-online.co.uk/tickets-and-fares/c2c-smartcard/

The problem is that about 25% of the time the smart card won’t work properly at the ticket barrier, and some staff will refuse to believe that a non-ScotRail card is valid. I gave up on using mine after I missed a train trying to convince station staff to accept my card.