Ticket (admission)

A ticket is a voucher to indicate that one has paid for admission to an event or establishment such as a theatre, movie theater, amusement park, zoo, museum, concert, or other attraction, or permission to travel on a vehicle such as an airliner, train, bus, or boat, typically because one has paid the fare. Also a ticket may be free, and serve as a proof of reservation.

The first known tickets were used in the Greek period for events, like theaters.

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  Ticket (unseparated) of the Kurkino in Berchtesgaden
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  CeBIT Home 1998 student day ticket with barcode
• A ticket to the 2003 Rugby World Cup sporting event. The black ball in the top centre is a hologram, used to prevent counterfeiting
  A ticket to the 2003 Rugby World Cup sporting event. The black ball in the top centre is a hologram, used to prevent counterfeiting
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  A pass allowing free passage on the SS Christopher Columbus steamship, ca. 1896

A ticket may be bought at a ticket window or counter, called box offices in the entertainment industry (this term is also used for the total receipts). The ticket check may also be there, or it may be separate.

A ticket may be valid for any seat ("free seating") or for a specific one. Sometimes, e.g. for some train journeys, both are available, with an increased charge for a reserved seat. Free seating in a train means the risk that one has to stand, but in e.g. a cinema it means a seat is guaranteed, just not a specific one.

Paper or card is generally used, although plastic may be used instead for durability. Some have a barcode or magnetic stripe for keeping simple data stored on them, higher end ones use chips to store more data and prevent counterfeiting.

Counterfeit tickets are a problem at high-priced concerts and other events, so holograms are used on tickets for the Olympic Games, Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup and other high-profile events.

The fraudulent practice of passing-back a ticket can be overcome by making the ticket in the form of a tamper-proof wristband.

Free tickets are applied in virtual queueing. In a place where one has to wait one's turn, there may be the system that one takes a ticket with a number from a dispenser. This system is usually found in hospitals and surgeries, and at offices where many people visit, like town halls, social security offices, labor exchanges, or post offices.

Another form of virtual queuing is where the ticket carries a time-slot on it, rather than just a sequentially incremented number. This type of ticket would allow someone to do other things and then return for a roller-coaster ride, say, without having to actaully stand and wait.

A pass is a special ticket, representing some subscription, in particular for unlimited use of a service or collection of services. Sometimes the pass replaces the tickets, sometimes it entitles the holder to free tickets. In the latter case typically at the ticket check both the pass and the ticket has to be shown.

Alternatively, there is the discount pass, for services such as those above: for a fee per unit time (or as a benefit on other grounds) one gets a discount on each purchase. Alternatively, a multi-use ticket (either valid a limited time, or indefinitely) may provide a discount. For example, a pass for entering a cinema 6 times within a year may cost the price of 4 or 5 tickets. A multi-use ticket may or may not be personal. If not, there may be a limitation to the number of people who can use the same multi-use ticket at the same time.

See also

• Ticket machine
• Public transport ticket systems