Eurailmag - #15 - March 2007 - (Page 39)

Services n March 12, 2004, the SNCB was the first operator to launch a new application in Europe, offering users the opportunity to purchase and print tickets online for domestic travel. The tickets were nominative, paid through the Banksys payment system (replaced by Ogone in 2005), and printed at home. In November 2004, the service grew to enable passengers to renew their travel cards, and in November 2005, the Prepaid Online Ticket service was introduced. This allows companies to buy tickets online for their employees or customers. Payment is only processed after the invoice is received. This service is offered to companies, associations and individuals with a Prepaid Online Ticket contract. O ticket appears onscreen and is also sent by email to the customer, who can also print it immediately off the screen or off the email later on. Secure and user-friendly Tickets are protected against fraud with product and bar codes. On-board controllers can then easily detect fakes. Tickets carry the name of the user and are available 31 days prior to travel. They cannot be exchanged or reimbursed. In addition, Ticket On Line is available 24/24, with a help desk open to answer any queries. Customers no longer need to carry cash and Organe ensures the online payment method is secure. ONLINE DOMESTIC TICKETS Online tickets are offered for a wide range of SNCB products, such as standard, family (parents and children), 50%, weekend, seaside day trips, day trips to Ardennes, seniors, plus special offers. Passengers can also renew their Cartes Train travel cards (subscriptions), i.e., Carte Train Scolaire, Carte Train Réseau, Carte Train Trajet, Campus and Railflex online. These cards can also be used for travel with regional Belgian transport operators such as STIB, TEC and De Lijn. Results Since the launch of Ticket On Line in March 2004, up to June 2006, 273,731 tickets and 4,617 Cartes Train renewals were sold. In 2005, these figures rose to 101,132 tickets and 2,839 renewals for the year. Growth continued in 2006 – in first six months, sales of 106,845 tickets and 1,589 renewals already overtook results for the whole of 2005. ONLINE SALES OF INTERNATIONAL TICKETS Since March 1999, passengers have been able to reserve international tickets online. Every year, more passengers choose this channel for making their travel plans. Since January 2003, a new application with an integrated payment method has further improved the customer experience. Tickets are sold online, on the SNCB website, for the following international trains – Eurostar, Thalys, TGV Brussels / France, TGV France / Northern Italy, TGV Paris / Luxembourg, TGV Paris / Switzerland, ICE Brussels / Frankfurt, standard IC trains running between Brussels/Luxembourg and Brussels / Amsterdam, plus 18 other destinations in The Netherlands, standard EC trains – “Vauban” to Brig, “Iris” to Zurich and “Jean Monnet” to Basel, plus the SNCB’s Treski ski-train. In the near future, this product range will be extended to include the German rail network, and the purchasing interface further simplified. Simplicity Purchasing tickets online is simple – users simply visit www.sncb.be and click on Traveling in Belgium. They then click on Ticket On Line to access the purchasing window. There is a second option, too. Users doing a timetable search on the website can also buy the ticket at the same time. The purchasing process is equally simple – users make their choice, specify their details (destination, return or single ticket) then pass the order (giving personal details). For payment, they select either credit card or Bancontact. Next, they enter their payment details on the Organe secure page. The procedure can be cancelled at any moment up to the final step. The transaction is confirmed when the ticket is delivered. Once payment is accepted and confirmed, the EURAILmag Business & Technology Issue 15 © SNCB http://www.sncb.be http://www.uitp.com/helsinki2007 http://www.ica-traffic.de http://www.ica-traffic.de

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Eurailmag - #15 - March 2007

SOMMAIRE
NOTICE BOARD
COATINGS
NEWS
SERVICES
INFRASTRUCTURE
HIGH-SPEED LINES
TUNNELS
PEOPLE
ROLLING STOCK
WEBSITE DIRECTORY

Eurailmag - #15 - March 2007

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