Can”t proceed to checkout of BLS web site

  • rdrabenstott
    Participant
    4 posts
    10 July 2019 at 13:04:32 #822770

    Anybody else having trouble purchasing train tickets/passes from BLS web site?

    I have a shopping cart full of quite a few train tickets/passes and when I click the green “Proceed to Checkout” button in the shopping cart page, it takes me right back to the same shopping cart page. If I’m not already logged in, the behavior is slightly different, but I still get stuck on the shopping cart page. I sent an email to them through their “Contact Us” form on their web site. They say they will respond quickly, but it has been three days and I haven’t heard anything.

    I can’t wait to purchase them when we get there, because we will be coming from Paris to Basel and we have a very short time to make our connecting train in Basel (one of the tickets I want to purchase).

    Thanks for any suggestions/feedback you may have!

    Rebecca

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    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    10 July 2019 at 13:54:48 #917441

    Hi Rebecca,

    Welcome to MySwissAlps! I know the BLS website quite well but never purchased there. So I can’t help with this specific issue I’m afraid. You could try a different browser, but you’ll then need to fill the shopping cart again. If this is about a regular point to point ticket, then there are many other websites you can purchase from as well: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/switzerland /price.

    rdrabenstott
    Participant
    4 posts
    10 July 2019 at 16:38:08 #917442

    Thank you for your reply Arno. I have tried both Chrome and Firefox over the past several days and I get the same issue every time with both. I guess I’ll use another website. I was hoping not to have to enter the info all over again. It takes a while if you have a family of travelers and several tickets and passes to buy. But I guess at this point, that is the easiest path. Thanks again.

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    10 July 2019 at 19:35:14 #917443

    You’re welcome! Do let us know where you ended up buying if possible. We have heard of issues with some credit cards, but it looks like in your case you had an issue even before attempting to pay.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    10 July 2019 at 22:50:03 #917444

    May ask if you really have a short time in Basel, or is that you think you have a short time? That may sound odd, but Swiss trains are frequent. On most routes from Basel there are about 2 trains per hour, so it is normally possible to spend longer at Basel and get a later train.

    Buying a complex collection of tickets can often be easier face to face at a travel centre/ticket office and the major Swiss city stations all have efficient travel centres.

    rdrabenstott
    Participant
    4 posts
    11 July 2019 at 2:04:18 #917445

    Thank you for your concern 1960man. We are choosing to attempt a short connection (about 5 minutes) in Basel because we have a full day of travel ahead with a stop in Bern where we’d like to spend as much time as possible. So, I don’t think 5 minutes is enough time to buy a ticket. 🙂

    rdrabenstott
    Participant
    4 posts
    11 July 2019 at 2:22:11 #917446

    Ok, after many hours this week trying to purchase train tickets, this is what I’ve learned. Hopefully it will help somebody else.

    This weekend I purchased our international tickets on the SBB web site. My first three credit cards failed, but the fourth one worked. I have no idea why.

    After getting perpetually stuck on the shopping card page on the BLS web site, I decided to purchase our domestic point-to-point tickets from Trainline.eu. The Trainline web site was by far the best experience. The web site was quick and painless and my first credit card was accepted (this same card was refused on the SBB web site).

    But I couldn’t purchase my Berner Oberland passes on Trainline, so I tried the BLS web site again. This time I didn’t login to my Swisspass account. I checked out as a guest and it worked!

    Whew!

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    11 July 2019 at 6:30:04 #917447

    Thanks for letting us know! The domestic SBB website is geared to Swiss residents and sometimes has issues with foreign credit cards because of missing security features on those cards. The other websites we have listed are used to dealing with tourists. I’m glad you managed to finalize your purchase. Purchase options for the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland are listed here: http://www.myswissalps.com/re gionalpassberneseoberl and/price.

    Enjoy your trip!

  • The thread ‘Can”t proceed to checkout of BLS web site’ is closed to new replies.

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