Regarding multicourse tickets

Kara657

I am having troubles with validation of paper multi-journey tickets. My journey is starting from a metro station so there is no validation machine. When I was buying the ticket the officer told me that I can write by hand when there is no machine available. But I had trouble with some sbb conductors during ticket check. One of them said that I should first write by hand from the top of the ticket then validate (overwrite) with the machine when I am changing from metro to train. But at the back of the ticket it says write by hand starting from bottom. So I am confused right now. Which way is correct? Thanks.

Danhiel

Kara657 “write by hand starting from bottom” is correct (T601 2.1.7)

French text (the only metro is in Lausanne):
S’il n’y a pas d’oblitérateur, le jour de validité doit être inscrit au stylo (à l’encre ineffaçable) dans un champ libre, de bas en haut.

Kara657

I think so. So then some SBB controllers should be informed about that.

RolandP

Hello Kara657

The ticket inspector is right. You must not fill in the field by hand, passengers are not allowed to do so, only travel center agents or conductors are allowed to manually validate it. It is stated in the tariff accordingly (and there is a CHF 10 surcharge if passengers manually validate it).

There is certainly a ticket stamp machine available, otherwise you have to complain with tl or Mobilis. If there is indeed none, I suggest not manually validating and to use the one at the train station.

Kind regards,
Roland

Danhiel

RolandP Sorry, I don’t understand your answer. How can you say something when the tariff and the instructions on the back of the card say otherwise? The tax of 10 CHF concerns only the not authorized manual inscriptions (Inscription à la main par le voyageur non autorisée).

In this case a manual inscription is authorized. Otherwise, why would it be specified that the ink must be indelible? Do agents and conductors usually use delible ink? No, in Lausanne ticket stamp machine were never available, and, if I remember correctly, my parents had already had this problem around twenty years ago. If you are in the bus or the metro and your ticket is not validated, you have to pay a surcharge of 100 CHF. You cannot justify the lack of validation due to the impossibility to make manual inscriptions, otherwise everyone would have an unvalidated card in their pocket to justify traveling without a ticket and avoid surcharges.

Danhiel

And an extract of the Mobilis tariff:

6.1.1.4 Les titres de transports sous forme de carte comportant plusieurs trajets ou les titres de
transport en prévente ne sont valables que s’ils ont été timbrés à un oblitérateur avant le
début de la course. Au départ des stations ou arrêts sans oblitérateur, le voyageur inscrira
manuellement avec un stylo indélébile en partant de la case du bas, la date de validité en
observant les coordonnées pré-imprimées (par exemple 01 juillet 2019 14h15).

Danhiel

To be complete, another option is available in Lausanne:

2.7.2.2 Carte à 10 billets prépayés : cette carte qui contient l’équivalent de 10 billets prépayés est
à présenter devant un valideur qui imprime un titre de transport Mobilis sur papier sécurisé
CIT. Les valideurs sont disposés dans les bus tl, dans le métro m1 ou à l’entrée des
stations du métro m2. Lorsque l’émission du titre de transport se fait dans un bus ou une
rame de métro m1, le billet doit être acquis par le voyageur dès son entrée dans le
véhicule. Pour le métro m2, le billet doit être acquis avant de monter dans la rame. Pour
les voyageurs munis d’une carte à prépaiement mais n’ayant pas de titre de transport
valable, les dispositions du T600 chapitre 12.1, s’appliquent.

Kara657

I am really confused. I got the info that I can write by hand from tl officer. Where are the validators in m1? Secondly, there was a Q/A forum where people ask questions to SBB workers. Isn’t it available anymore?

RolandP

Hello Kara657

Such a forum has never existed. If you want an answer from SBB, then you have to write to their customer service using this form:

https://sbb-tickets.cc/en/help-and-contact/customer-service/praise-comments/reklamation.html

However, your question concerns Mobilis, so Mobilis would be your point of contact:

Service client 021 621 01 11

The confusion comes from the fact that the validation by hand by a passenger seems to be allowed for Mobilis multi-course tickets. Their tariff is allowing it, as stated in @Danhiel ’s post. I find it rather special that validation machines are not available on buses or on the metro, provided they are missing at the station. And, Lausanne isn’t a small city…

For national tickets, however, although mentioned on the back of the card, the national tariff T652 does actually not foresee a manual validation by the passenger. And this is why you might face this discussion on IR and IC trains, as many ticket inspectors are not aware of the fact that you can manually validate a Mobilis ticket. I am a living example 🙂

I will check internally about the correct procedure for ticket inspectors.

Kind regards,
Roland

Kara657

Thanks for your replies. So national multi-journey tickets cannot start from a metro station? Because there is no machine in stations.

RolandP

Hello Kara657

Well, it is a grey area that is simply not entirely and clearly defined. It is unpleasant for you as a customer. Do it as you did in the past. When you enter it manually, always from the bottom to the top. The final decision is with the ticket inspector.

You may ask SBB Customer Service what to do, their answer would be interesting to know.

Kind regards,
Roland

Danhiel

Kara657 In my opinion, the validity of a ticket don’t depend of the presence of a machine in the station. You have other situations where it is necessary to enter manually the date and time, for example if the machine is out of order or if you start your journey in a foreign country and you don’t change at the border station. The ticket inspector should evaluate if the explanations of the customer are credible.

I’m not 100% sure, but I think that we have the same situation in Geneva.

Krist

But what do you do if you board at a station without validator, or where the validator is not working?