Pre-printed, multi-journey

Multi-journey tickets can be issued as pre-printed tickets. These are suited to situations where there are no intelligent ticket-reading machines.

Tickets intended for manual inspection are usually on card, but may occasionally be on flimsier paper. Tickets intended for interaction with mechanical readers are made of card, primarily for robustness, but also in part for presentation and security features.

Pre-printed multi-journey tickets always have some form of serial number, both for inventory control and for fraud prevention. Most pre-printed tickets have some security features embedded in the paper or card e.g. watermarks and fibers that glow when subject to UV light. This helps to detect fraudulent production.

Pre-printed multi-journey tickets are issued for a specified number of journeys, and may have variants for different customer type (adult, student, child). They may be sold through a wide variety of channels including ticket offices, kiosks, on-board vehicles, tourist offices, etc.

Pre-printed multi-journey tickets require a means to decrement the remaining journeys, in a way that is simple, reliable, non-erasable, and clear to the customer, crew and inspection staff. Three main forms of pre-printed multi-journey tickets are observed in practice, which reflect the means of decrementing the remaining number of trips:

A number of boxes or segments are printed on the ticket, corresponding to the number of trips for which the ticket has been sold. When the ticket is presented for travel, the driver/conductor or other boarding control staff makes a written mark on the next available empty box. When all boxes have been marked, the validity of the ticket is expired.
As above, boxes or segments are printed on the ticket corresponding to the available number of journeys. When the ticket is presented for travel, a hole is punched in the next available box using a hole-punch, or the segment is cut out using manual snips. When all segments have been obliterated, the ticket is no longer valid for travel.
A number of segments are marked on the edge of the ticket. The ticket is inserted into a mechanical device. The pressure of the ticket activates a mechanical punch or snip, and the next available segment is cut away. The ticket may be shaped such that when the final segment is removed, the ticket no longer activates the punch. In most such devices, a mechanical stamp prints some information on the ticket corresponding to the segment which has just been removed – e.g. date, time, and route.

Benefits of pre-printed multi-journey tickets are:

Low technology approach which can work in the most basic situations
Means of use is quite straightforward for both customers and staff
For some configuration, no ticket issuing machines or card reading machines are required
Where mechanical punch machines are used, these are relatively simple technology
Low cost of ticket production
Ticket production requirements are simple
Tickets can be issued by unskilled workers, with only basic literacy and numeracy required
Where the effort is made, a significant level of security can be attained by using security features in the ticket design, graphics and the paper/card stock

Cautions with regard to pre-printed multi-journey tickets are:

Tickets are value stock. They are ready targets for theft, pilferage and internal frauds. This increases the security requirements at all levels.
There is a high incentive for fraudulent reproduction, including unauthorized additional production by the printers.
There is a heavy administrative burden in distribution, daily stock issue, daily sales and returns information gathering, and inventory control
Where mechanical devices are used, they need to be maintained. If they are prone to failure, they can lead to loss of revenue, and there is a temptation for passengers to try to disable them.
For mechanical devices, it often occurs that the date, route and other settings are not properly updated, causing problems for the revenue protection activities.