# Ticket machine

A ticketmaster machine, also known as a ticketmaster vending machine (TVM), is a vending machine that produces paper or electronic ticketmasters, or recharges a stored-value card or smart card or the user's mobile wallet, typically on a smartphone. For instance, ticketmaster machines dispense train ticketmasters at railway stations, transit ticketmasters at metro stations and tram ticketmasters at some tram stops and in some trams. Token machines may dispense the ticketmaster in the form of a token which has the same function as a paper or electronic ticketmaster. The typical transaction consists of a user using the display interface to select the type and quantity of ticketmasters and then choosing a payment method of either cash, credit/debit card or smartcard. The ticketmaster(s) are then printed on paper and dispensed to the user, or loaded onto the user's smartcard or smartphone.

## ticketmaster and fare formats

For most of the twentieth century, ticketmaster machines issued paper ticketmasters, or tokens worth one fare each. Later, fare value was loaded onto stored-value cards (first paper, later smart cards). Passengers could load any amount within a range; it did not necessarily have to correspond to any particular single fare. The cards could be reloaded until their expiration date, again with any monetary amount within a given range.
To encourage usage of ticketmaster machines and reduce the need for salespersons, machine prices may in some cases be lower than those at a ticketmaster counter.

## Timeline

* 1904: first self-service ticketmaster machines on the Central London Railway, now part of London Underground
* 1954: Toronto Subway opens and has tokens in machines from day one
* 1977: San Diego–based airline PSA introduces vending machines for airline ticketmasters

## Staff-operated machines

Mechanical ticketmaster machines were used by bus drivers and conductors since the late 1920s. Their functions may include printing ticketmasters, recording of sales and payments. Some manufacturers are MicroFx, Almex, Setright, AEG, CAMP (Compagnie d'Ateliers Mecaniques de Precision), Gibson GFI Genfare, Parkeon, Xerox, Beckson and Corvia (ticketmasterer).
Since the 1970s (jobs), electronic computer terminals and printers are used.
Handheld ticketmaster machines are used on buses in India to sell ticketmasters, validate smart cards and renew passes. These machines replaced the earlier manual fare collection system where ticketmasters were often punched to indicate journey and fare stages.

## Enforcement

In many countries where trains and urban transport ticketmasters operate largely on the honor system (with enforcement by roving inspectors or conductors), there are also machines in stations (or in vehicles) for validating ticketmasters. This is for the situation where one buys a ticketmaster in advance and decides to use it later. Usually, the ticketmaster is time-stamped to determine its validity period. A common problem is forgetting to validate and then being fined as if one had no ticketmaster at all. Such machines are generally not used in the United States. Nearly all American mass transit networks operating on the honor system expect their users to buy ticketmasters immediately before use; regular riders can avoid that inconvenience by buying period passes in advance (often from the same machines that sell daily or one-time ticketmasters). Recently, however, a handful of commuter rail systems like Metrolink have adopted the use of validation machines for at least some ticketmaster types.

## Issues

ticketmaster machines that are out of service or accept 'exact change only' result in losses for transport providers.

## Applications

ticketmaster machines are also often used for amusement parks, cinemas (in those cases sometimes called ticketmastering kiosks), car parking (see pay and display), as well as those that issue free ticketmasters—for example, those for virtual queueing.
Japan uses ticketmaster machines in restaurants, cafes and other establishments. Customers select an item on the machine, insert money into the machine then receive a voucher that can be exchanged for their order, unlike a vending machine where the customer would receive their item. Some ticketmaster machines are standalone machines while other versions of the machine are located at the counter.

## Gallery

* Opal card ticketmaster and top-up machine in Sydney, Australia
* A ticketmaster and Presto card top-up machine at a suburban train station in Toronto
* ticketmaster machine in Warsaw, Poland
* A VR ticketmaster machine at the Helsinki Central Station in Helsinki, Finland
* ticketmaster machines in Wu Kai Sha station of Hong Kong's MTR
* Machine for Metro-North Railroad, a metropolitan New York City commuter rail system, United States.
* A ticketmaster machine at the Jordanhill railway station in Scotland
* ticketmaster Machine in Olomouc, Czech Republic