Amtrak considering eliminating QuickTrak machines

I just completed an Amtrak satisfaction survey resultant from my very recent trip from Newark, NJ to Kansas City, MO and return for the all volunteer run 2016 World Science Fiction Convention.

A few of the questions concerned QuickTrak ticking machines. One of the questions stated that since most Amtrak passengers now use etickets, Amtrak is considering elimination of QuickTrak machines. My response was that it would not adversely impact me since I use etickets. (I have used them since they became available).

I can see where elimination of the machines would result in considerable cost savings to Amtrak.

My opinion is that the machines will probably not be missed a whole lot.

Could be a hassle for MARC riders for a little while if they're eliminated though.

Maybe Amtrak could leave the Quick Track machines in in Marc territory (and charge MARC, if they don't already).

They don't seem very necessary any more. A couple weeks ago I was on an Amtrak train and couldn't find my eticket at first; the conductor offered to play 20 questions and was maybe a little disappointed that I found the ticket. And back in December the conductor at a different stop just called out the names of the ticketed pax from the step and boarded us in the order he'd found seats for us (there were some couples and families of four and such, and he'd prepared). They have a list of all the ticketed pax on their little device and can just as well ask names and check ID as use the QR code on the ticket, so I could see it being a big wasteful expense to keep the machines going for just a few people who can't either print their ticket beforehand (like me) or use a smartphone (not like me).

I'd prefer that Amtrak keep them.

I fly a few times a month, always with e-tickets, but I still use airline kiosks for all sorts of things: ticket changes, printing boarding passes (often easier than calling up a boarding pass on my phone), upgrading, etc.

Can't Amtrak keep the machines and add additional functions to them so that you never have to wait in line for a live human? That'd be ideal.

They can certainly phase many of them out, I think; unless even in big terminals like WAS their usage rate is abysmal, and then maybe getting rid of them is a better option.

I think it would be very foolish to remove them. In fact, airlines have been adding more kiosks inside their terminals.

1 - E ticket only works if your phone is charged and operational. What if my phone was damaged?
2 - E ticket is not great for seniors

They can add more in MARC territory, to be honest. The only way to get a monthly w/o going to Odenton or an Amtrak station w/staff is with the QuickTrak machine, and they don't accept e-tickets on MARC trains. Plus, the Odenton station doesn't have them and the Commuter Direct staff there get swamped every 1st of the month (namely because MARC monthly tickets can be purchased 3 months in advance).

It may be worth studying which stops are e-ticket/printed ticket. You can probably get away from even needing dedicated ticket paper and have a better (ie more maintainable) machine that only needs plain office paper, ink-jet cartridges, and a cellular or ISP connection.

jamesinclair wrote:I think it would be very foolish to remove them. In fact, airlines have been adding more kiosks inside their terminals.

1 - E ticket only works if your phone is charged and operational. What if my phone was damaged?
2 - E ticket is not great for seniors

In that case, simply bring your ID and get on board.

Generally as long as the conductor can look up your name, you're set. Seen it quite a few times.

The more I think about it, the more I think QuickTrack machines, while once a great improvement have basically been replaced by e-tickets and the ability for conductors to verify your ticket on board.

Keep them for rare cases, but I think phasing them out probably makes sense.

I carry an old smartphone phone. It doesn't run any modern apps or a modern browser. 75% I use eticket for adv purchase discount weeks in advance, 25% the kiosk when I know I will be taking the train only 2 hours or less from departure, sometimes as low as 10 minutes from departure, I use the QuickTrak kiosk. The kiosk is faster to go through than the website if I have no discount for using the website/eticket/adv purchase.

With the exception of the commuter railroads that use Amtrak for ticketing (MARC and SLE), I don't see much use for QuickTrak machines anymore. When I used one in Pittsburgh it hadn't been used in such a while that the stock had begun to yellow in the machine.

SouthernRailway wrote:I'd prefer that Amtrak keep them.

I fly a few times a month, always with e-tickets, but I still use airline kiosks for all sorts of things: ticket changes, printing boarding passes (often easier than calling up a boarding pass on my phone), upgrading, etc.

Can't Amtrak keep the machines and add additional functions to them so that you never have to wait in line for a live human? That'd be ideal.

+1. Appropriately programmed kiosks could do all sorts of useful things besides just selling tickets (and I would note that in most of the places that I have been in Europe--where 1) the population has always tended to be more smart-phone savvy than us and 2) they actually know how to run a passenger rail system--there are ticket machines all over the place, including at little podunk country stations, and they are heavily used). A kiosk could offer the chance to upgrade to business class (or even a sleeper) if space were available; it could print tags if a passenger were checking a bag; if Amtrak were to ever start charging for baggage, the kiosk could be the place to pay; if there's a diner, the passenger could make a reservation for a particular seating. In this way, they could create some last minute flexibility. I will suggest that while some of these things could be done via a smart phone, there would be greater functionality/ease of use with a dedicated kiosk.

Greg Moore wrote: Generally as long as the conductor can look up your name, you're set. Seen it quite a few times.

Is that the most efficient use of time?

The world in general seems to be moving away from human interaction and towards kiosk interaction, due to the high cost of labor.

Amtrak doing the opposite would be quite baffling.

As Station Aficionado mentioned, the Kiosks could do much more than they do today. If theyre not getting used enough, make them more useful.

That being said, I could certainly see a station with 8 kiosks going down to 3 or 4

I have a smartphone, so I have no need to use QuickTrak. However, I always use them for one purpose, which may be considered wasteful. If one takes one's e-ticket, and scans it into the QuickTrak, the QuickTrak will allow one to print a proper ticket. I always do this, as I like to have them as a record of my journeys. I've always thought this rather strange. Seems like a waste of paper, but I can't help myself.

The world in general seems to be moving away from human interaction and towards kiosk interaction, due to the high cost of labor.

You are correct, but there has been backlash and some companies are actually looking to increase human interaction as a differentiator for customer service.