Farewell to Ticket Punches: The Decline of Stampers - First NRW Transport Association Eliminates Machines
Dismantling of obsolete equipment - First traffic alliance in North Rhine-Westphalia removes devices following deprecation - Downfall of Designers - Dissolution of NRW Transport Association
Take a seat and get comfortable, because the era of stamping your bus or tram passes is reaching its end, and not just in North Rhine-Westphalia. Westfalentarif, one of the major transport associations in NRW, has announced a massive purge of these antiquated stamping devices from public local transport. The trend, though, isn't restricted to NRW; it's visible across the landscape.
From August 1st, Westfalentarif will abandon tickets from its essential range that require validation, while come November 1st, those dreaded stamping machines in buses, trains, and at train stations will be turned off and eventually removed. Until then, passengers still can use tickets equipped with a "punch field." After November 1st, those tickets will cease to be valid.
VRR Plans a Cashless Future, If Not Yet Here
In the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR), the demise of paper tickets and the subsequent elimination of stamping machines is on the horizon but not yet scheduled or implemented, according to a spokesperson for VRR, NRW's largest transport association. Therefore, fans of good old-fashioned paper tickets can still lay hold of them in the VRR.
Initially, cashless payment will reign supreme in all VRR vehicles. This progressive shift is expected to unfold at all VRR transport companies by early 2027. In the long run, ticket sales in vehicles will exclusively be cashless. Across regions where cashless systems already exist, tickets can be paid for with debit and credit cards, as well as mobile payment methods like Google Pay or Apple Pay. Proof of travel authorization isn't a cause for concern during inspections either.
Rhein-Sieg Still Stuck in Limbo
In the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS), tickets that still require validation are still being peddled, a spokesperson said. The VRS and Aachener Verkehrsverbund AVV are currently engaged in discussions regarding a planned tariff reform, which is set to be implemented next year. As for the AVV, a spokesperson mentioned, "We're heading in that direction in the long run as well." In the Städteregion Aachen, the bus company Aseag no longer offers validation-free tickets, but the older Aachen bus company's stampers remain.
In the AVV area, WestVerkehr in the Heinsberg district and Rurtalbus in the Düren district still offer validation-free tickets, while the Zweckverband go.Rheinland still provides stamping machines at train stations.
Westfalentarif: Expecting Cost Savings and Simplicity
Starting August 1st, Westfalentarif will only offer tickets with validity from the time of purchase or with a fixed start date and time. For occasional travelers, several digital options for bus and train travel are available, such as the Smartphone Tarif eezy.nrw, the TagesTicket24, and the single ticket without a "punch field." Tickets can be obtained at ticket machines, customer centers, on buses and trains, the online shop of the transport companies, and via app.
Westfalentarif anticipates cost savings due to the elimination of the labor-intensive maintenance of validators and the simplification of the ticket landscape for passengers. Although validators at train stations will remain in the transition area to neighboring transport associations, the multi-journey ticket and the single ticket with the "validator field" will vanish in many places, except in Bocholt, Unna, and Paderborn.
The policy change in community transport, notably Westfalentarif, extends beyond just NRW, as the elimination of stamping machines for ticket validation signifies a broader trend throughout the industry. In the near future, finance for public transport in Westfalentarif will primarily be cashless, resulting in the eventual removal of these machines and the shift towards digital ticketing methods.
With the demise of stampers, the transportation sector is not only modernizing its ticketing systems but also streamlining the finance aspects of its operations, thus promoting efficiency and simplifying the experience for travelers.
