A self-service vending terminal located at transit stations that allows passengers to buy fares without a human agent. These machines accept various payment methods and issue paper tickets, smart cards, or receipts. Transit agencies rely on them to reduce queue times at service desks and lower ticketing overhead costs.
Heard on the job
The ticket machine on platform three is out of paper again, so direct passengers to the main concourse.
Also heard as
- TVM
- ticket vending machine
Do not mix it up with
- Ticket stamping machine: A ticket machine sells the fare, while a stamping machine validates an already purchased ticket.
Related terms
Ticket stamping machine
A device that validates a physical transit fare by printing the current time, date, and location on it.
Gateline
A physical barrier of automated ticket gates that separates the paid and unpaid areas of a transit station.
Single ticket
A fare instrument valid for travel in one direction between two points.