The market leader in rail transportation, the company, talks about automation and new opportunities in the online booking segment. "UFS".
The steady growth of online channels suggests a large-scale transition of railway ticket offices to an online interface. Tourists Unwilling to spend extra hours organizing their trip, they prefer to book tickets online. UFS experts have recorded a significant change in the percentage of online bookings.
2017 saw dynamic growth in sales of electronic train tickets. The share of bookings made remotely reached 44.71%, meaning that almost every second ticket purchased was electronic. This is why we strive to actively respond to market needs, expanding and improving our features for convenient online booking.
For example, this year, the service introduced new features for passengers buying tickets at the very last minute. Until this fall, spontaneously booking tickets wasn't easy—travelers had to have at least an hour to spare. Now, you can purchase tickets up to 15 minutes before departure. This makes the service even more convenient: you can arrange your trip on the way to the station, right from your smartphone.
Those who prefer to plan their trip in advance will find it convenient to take advantage of special fare plans and receive a pleasant discount. When purchasing a round-trip ticket on the Sapsan, a train operated by JSC FPC, or a Trans Class Service carriage, the online module automatically provides a discount of 10 to 20% on the return ticket, depending on the carrier.
The service also placed special emphasis on bringing options previously available only at ticket offices online. For example, the company introduced the ability to purchase tickets without a Russian passport. Today, travelers can complete the ticket purchase form on the website, choosing any type of identification document. This can even include a Soviet-era passport, provided the passenger has an insert confirming Russian citizenship. Other acceptable documents include a foreign passport, a seaman's passport, or a Russian military ID card, a residence permit, a stateless person's ID card, and even a certificate of lost passport. This option was introduced at Russian Railways ticket offices back in 2013, and now the UFS Electronic Ticket Office is the only service that allows you to purchase train tickets online using all of these options.
In addition to the return ticket discount, UFS has opened up other ways for users to save, such as taking advantage of special Russian Railways fares. Previously, to receive a discount on a special offer, travelers had to go to the station ticket office, which meant spending time traveling and waiting in line. Now, all fares offering discounts on tickets are available online. It's just a couple of clicks. Discounts are typically offered to travelers for special occasions. UFS offers the "Holiday," "Family," "Wedding," and "DayR" fares, which reduce ticket prices by 30–50%.
Incidentally, you can get an additional discount even without a special reason. The service offers the opportunity to accumulate points on the RZD Bonus card and use them to purchase premium tickets. To purchase a ticket using the travel card, simply enter the card number in the special field when booking on all UFS resources.
In the corporate segment, travel policies, or business trip regulations, are currently used by virtually all companies in large international corporations. Because employees frequently travel on business trips to other cities, management needs to control the costs of organizing them. To this end, UFS has introduced a feature in the "Electronic Ticket Office" that limits the maximum ticket price in accordance with the company's established travel policy. Thus, if an employee selects a seat in a class of service not covered by the travel policy—for example, in a luxury or sleeping car—a special notification will appear in the interface reminding them to select a different ticket. This means that if an employee violates the terms of the ticket purchase, the accountant will receive a warning. The company independently sets limits on the booking amount and class of service when connecting to the UFS system.
In 2017, UFS also launched the Online Module for selling Aeroexpress tickets between Moscow and the airports. Our agents have been issuing Aeroexpress tickets through the Electronic Ticket Office since 2016. For them, this is, first and foremost, a great opportunity to increase their revenue alongside ticket sales. We offer our clients several fares to choose from: the affordable Standard, Business Class, and Round-Trip.
Next year, the company plans to further develop its online sector. For example, UFS is preparing to launch e-ticket sales to Kaliningrad. Currently, tickets for this route are only available at Russian Railways ticket offices. Passengers must be present in person to obtain a ticket, as well as present the original document for transit through Lithuania.
Furthermore, in 2018, UFS plans to introduce the option to book tickets for four or more people in a single order. This will allow for much faster travel arrangements for entire groups, eliminating the need to re-enter the form. For those traveling to cities without direct train service, the company will create complex itineraries with transfers. Trains with convenient connections will be selected.
Source: trn-news.ru