Amtrak Conductors Adopting iPhones to Verify Tickets

Manderby · May 7, 2012

ubersoldat said:
Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) has online tickets with 3D barcode since May 2000 (!).

Same here in Switzerland, I don't remember the year they introduced e-tickets though. But I somewhat remember that some tickets even worked with MMS before the iPhone. With the iPhone, everybody here knows: Shake the SBB-app to show the ticket and place it on a flat surface for scanning.

But I think this article is about the train company itself using iPhones for scanning.

scoobydoo99 · May 7, 2012

MacRumors said:
The number of industries that Apple is disrupting with the iPhone and iPad is growing by the day.

Might I recommend a dictionary or just a basic high school English class?

You didn't mean "disrupting".

GSPice · May 7, 2012

rnizlek said:
Why does Amtrak need saving? From what?

If you're talking about the fact that Amtrak accepts a subsidy:

We subsidize federal highways to the tune of $40-$50 billion per year.
We subsidize aviation to the tune of around $10 billion per year.
We subsidize Amtrak around $1.5 billion per year.

The reality is that every form of transportation in this country is subsidized. There's a reason that you don't pay a toll when you pull a car out of your driveway - you are driving on subsidized infrastructure.

Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is open to debate (and this isn't a political forum so I'm not going to go there), but we need to compare apples to apples. Greyhound couldn't generate a profit if it had to build the highways they run on or airlines wouldn't be in business if they had to build airports. But that's the standard people hold Amtrak to.

You'd never understand that, though, listening to a lot of pundits on TV. (If you want a good, informative read, try Anthony Pearl's New Departures: Rethinking passenger rail policy for the 21st century).

Whoa. Um, google "Amtrak" and "bankruptcy".

Virgule82 · May 7, 2012

We've had something similar in Norway too for a while, it works quite well. You can use an app on your own phone (iOS or Android) so you don't have to deal with ticket machines.

Eduardo1971 · May 7, 2012

Looking forward to using this on the Pacific Surfliner here in Southern California.

Glideslope · May 7, 2012

Yvan256 said:
The fact that such a simple App requires iOS 4.0 or later is a fail in my book.

We're not talking about a game with a 3D engine or social networking requirements here.

No, but it needs to be good at "Phoning Home".

japanime · May 7, 2012

I wonder if Amtrak will also begin allowing customers to use PDF versions of their tickets on iPhones (and other smartphones) rather than needing a paper printout of the ticket.

ubersoldat · May 7, 2012

japanime said:
I wonder if Amtrak will also begin allowing customers to use PDF versions of their tickets on iPhones (and other smartphones) rather than needing a paper printout of the ticket.

did you read the article?

"You don't even need to print the document and bring it with you," said Matt Hardison, chief of sales distribution at Amtrak,

daxomni · May 7, 2012

GSPice said:
The iPhone can do many things, but it cannot save Amtrak.

Or American Airlines. Or Greyhound. Or Interstate 10.

Anything else you'd like to add to the list?

vincenz · May 7, 2012

Dear MR, please have Jordan Golson proofread his articles before submission.

IJ Reilly · May 7, 2012

Nice innovation! Next thing you know, the trains will be running on time!

WadeHM · May 7, 2012

You would think they would beef up physical security first since they are just now advancing into the tech age. As it is now, you don't even need to buy a ticket in advanced. As a regular Amtrack rider from Michigan to Chicago, I just get on the train and when the conductor comes to collect tickets, I just tell them round trip to Chicago and pay cash right there.

----------

daxomni said:
Or American Airlines. Or Greyhound. Or Interstate 10.

Anything else you'd like to add to the list?

The economy, jobs, whales.

jlgolson · May 7, 2012

vincenz said:
Dear MR, please have Jordan Golson proofread his articles before submission.

Feel free to submit your corrections to jlgolson@macrumors.com.

mrsir2009 · May 7, 2012

I wonder why they can't use iPod Touches, as they are way cheaper than iPhones, and I'm sure they could use an onboard WiFi network to keep them connected with the train's computer system.

ElusiveMind · May 7, 2012

rnizlek said:
We subsidize Amtrak around $1.5 billion per year.

The reality is that every form of transportation in this country is subsidized. There's a reason that you don't pay a toll when you pull a car out of your driveway - you are driving on subsidized infrastructure.

Have you ever bought gasoline? Ya know the thing that is taxed 60-70 cents a gallon to pay for highway construction?

Yeah... thought so

TrentS · May 7, 2012

Huh?

Disrupt? I think you might have used the wrong word there, pal.

Trent

nsbio · May 7, 2012

"Government owed" - type of the day for sure!

faroZ06 · May 7, 2012

iOS programming is the best type of programming to know at this point. Middle and high schools should have that as a class.

I'm in the process of self-learning Objective C because APCSA, the only CS class I can take right now, is Java, which is useless.

CShort · May 7, 2012

Nfc

Europe and other nations have been doing this for many years with NFC. Amtrak create their own barcode scanner on 1 'expensive' platform? Rather than adopting a more universal model? There's an Apple fanboy in manangement.

rhp2424 · May 7, 2012

scott911 said:
no more B-E-L-I-E-V-E ?

a sad day, indeed.

faroZ06 · May 7, 2012

bananas said:
Why not iPod Touch? Do they really need the cellular connectivity?

The iPod touch is underrated. Not everyone needs a super-advanced cellphone.

A 4G iPod touch would be really nice (without the phone or SMS).

iSee · May 7, 2012

Yvan256 said:
The fact that such a simple App requires iOS 4.0 or later is a fail in my book.

We're not talking about a game with a 3D engine or social networking requirements here.

Wrong (you fail).

99% of active devices is a goodly target.

JHankwitz · May 7, 2012

Yvan256 said:
The fact that such a simple App requires iOS 4.0 or later is a fail in my book.

We're not talking about a game with a 3D engine or social networking requirements here.

Why would they purchase 1,700 iPhones with iOS 3 installed? Also, they would need an OS able to handle the attached scanner. I don't think they planned to incorporate such a feature way back at iOS 3.

iSee · May 7, 2012

ElusiveMind said:
Have you ever bought gasoline? Ya know the thing that is taxed 60-70 cents a gallon to pay for highway construction?

Yeah... thought so

Uh... You do understand that you are supporting what the poster wrote, right? If not you might want to think about what subsidy is.

MattInOz · May 7, 2012

mrsir2009 said:
I wonder why they can't use iPod Touches, as they are way cheaper than iPhones, and I'm sure they could use an onboard WiFi network to keep them connected with the train's computer system.

Why rely on the forth hop central system that if it breaks down cuts effective communication, when for such a small price the company gets a direct line of communication with ever staff member on the train.

Amtrak Conductors Adopting iPhones to Verify Tickets

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