Goodbye to paper boat, train tickets

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Passengers who want to board Turkish boats, buses and trains will going forward be provided electronic tickets as opposed to conventional paper tickets. The move comes at the bequest of Finance Minster Mehmet Şimşek and the Finance Ministry as a cost saving measure.

Last year alone 138 million tickets and 10 million passenger lists were printed on paper.

With this new regulation, any passenger that wants to board a boat, bus or train in Turkey will need to have an email account as e-tickets will be mailed to them electronically via email.

The new regulation is on the way to the prime ministry for approval.

According to an article in daily Vatan, travel agencies have been particularly hard hit by the costs associated with printing paper tickets for customers. Once the regulation goes into effect, travel agencies will be able to archive their existing paper tickets in an electronic format. Additionally firms, including travel agencies, which want to provide electronic tickets, will have to have an “official financial seal,” which is tantamount to an electronic signature, according to the source.