The Digital Ticketing Revolution

More than 80% of all UK train tickets sold are now digital (for Trainline bookings that figure is 90%) and the last paper tickets were issued on London’s buses more than a decade ago when TfL (Transport for London) switched to Oyster and contactless payments. Ryanair is just one of many airline operators now expecting passengers to present digital boarding passes for their flights.  If airlines, train operators and bus companies can convert their customer databases to digital tickets, so can you – and once you have made that switch from paper to digital, you are never going back.

This season, digital tickets are in and paper tickets are out.

Remember rummaging through your coat pockets at the tube station barrier for your ticket? Or having to wear a faded wristband all weekend at that music festival? And carrying a crumpled A4 PDF to the theatre when you chose the print-at-home ticket option?  Thankfully, those days have all but disappeared.  

PassEntry delivers digital tickets – easily accessible inside your Apple Wallet or Google Wallet—that have gone from novelty to near-universal standard across live events, transport and travel. 

It doesn’t even feel revolutionary. It just feels obvious.

If paper was the problem, digital is the solution

Paper tickets are not a tradition worth preserving. They are a friction that we have learned to live with. Digital tickets don't just remove that friction — they open the door to an event or travel experience that's faster, smarter, more connected, and more human.  

The digital ticket presents you with the opportunity to engage directly with your customers – adding live updates, schedule changes or urgent notifications. 

No Ticket, No Problem: Digital tickets define the future of events

Once you've experienced frictionless entry by tapping your phone at the gate or turnstile, or scanning a QR code, instead of queueing to present a paper ticket, you know that you don’t just prefer it - you won’t ever be going back. 

The relationship between you and the event or journey changes. It becomes something you look forward to from the moment you buy your ticket, not something you start worrying about the night before.

Event organisers feel it too. Instead of treating ticketing as a logistical headache to be managed, they start treating it as an opportunity to connect with their customers, safe in the knowledge that those customers will enjoy a frictionless experience. 

Ticket? Your phone has it covered

The environmental savings are huge. In the UK alone, the event and travel industries used to print millions, if not billions, of tickets each year. Each one used paper, ink, and often came in a plastic sleeve. 

The move from paper ticket to digital wallet pass is not going to single-handedly reverse climate change, but it's certainly going to help. 

Paper tickets were never just about the paper; they came with a huge amount of additional baggage.

Lost tickets. The cost of finding the booking reference and reprinting that ticket.

Fraud. Counterfeit event tickets flood resale markets, leaving fans out of pocket and out in the cold.

Queues. Manually scanning tickets is slow, tickets and stubs tear easily, and some events still use handwritten guest lists.

Waste. Reams of card are needed to produce ticket(s) that live in your pocket for a handful of hours and then sit for years on a landfill site.

Long Live the Lock Screen

Of course, change is never instant. Some people still want a physical memento of a special journey or event. Some venues will be slow to upgrade their scanning infrastructure. Some people will find change daunting. But focus on the positives.

For your Customers it means peace of mind. Their digital ticket lives in their phone's Apple Wallet or Google Wallet — beside their boarding pass and loyalty cards. It updates in real time. If an event location or boarding gates changes, the pass reflects it.

For You it means access to your customers like never before. Digital tickets generate real data — when people arrive, how they move through a venue, which sessions fill up first. They provide the foundation for better, smarter, more personalised events and travel opportunities.

For Security it's a game-changer. dynamic codes that expire and regenerate make counterfeiting virtually impossible. Each scan is logged. Each transfer is tracked. 

Bath Rugby – Case Study

BathRugby, one of the oldest and most successful rugby clubs in the world, has launched its new digital ticketing platform. Powered by PassEntry’s new PassShare™ technology, the platform seamlessly connects ticket purchase, sharing and wallet marketing activations in a single, digital journey. 

More than 90,000 digital wallet passes have been issued to date. For Bath Rugby fans this means a faster, smarter and more rewarding experience.  Stored in the Apple or Google wallet, match-goers can instantly access tickets and securely transfer them to friends and family. By eliminating print-at-home tickets and manual exchanges, PassShare™ ensures each pass is securely verified and tracked. The digital journey also reduces support queries, enhances operational efficiency and strengthens brand continuity.

Direct Ferries – Case Study

Direct Ferries, the world’s largest ferry booking website, has embarked on a digital transformation voyage in partnership with PassEntry. Clients can now book digital tickets with 230 ferry operators on more than 4,000 routes around the globe.

Almost 500,000 Direct Ferries digital tickets have been issued on routes in Europe, Asia and beyond. Ferry operators face unique challenges – responding to unpredictable weather and fluctuating seasonal demand. PassEntry software is built to handle this complexity. The digital tickets include real-time customer updates whilst the PassShare™ system simplifies group bookings with intelligent pass distribution.

Millions of passengers can now simply add-and-sail by storing, accessing and using their tickets directly from their digital wallets, whether they're boarding a channel crossing or catching an island ferry.

Talk to us at PassEntry when you’re ready to transform your ticketing.  The best thing about the digital ticket revolution is that it’s about so much more than replacing the paper version – it’s about all the extra benefits your business will enjoy. 

Trust us - once you’ve moved to the digital ticket in your Apple or Google Wallet, you’re never going back.