Train companies’ plans to close hundreds of station ticket offices across the UK have sparked controversy.
Under proposals which are out for consultation, some ticket kiosks would remain in large stations but elsewhere “customer help” staff would be positioned on concourses to sell tickets, offer travel advice and help people with accessibility.
Concern has already been voiced by rail users including those who rely on ticket offices for help with additional needs and in-person advice on how to make a purchase, digital or otherwise.
The plans, set to be rolled out over the next three years, are being opposed by unions and disability groups.
“If you need a train, or any support at a station, there’s potentially not going to be anyone around to ask,” said Lynne Turnbull CEO of charity Disability Positive.
“There will be lots of people, older people for example, who are not technology-savvy and so it’s just another barrier that will prevent people from using public transport.”
Currently around three out of five stations have a ticket office although not all of them are staffed full-time.
Train operating companies have drawn up the closure plans in response to Government pressure to cut costs.
They say that if a passenger was unable to purchase a ticket, they would be able to buy one during the journey, at a ticket office en route or at their destination.
“The ways our customers buy tickets has changed and it’s time for the railway to change with them,” said Jacqueline Starr, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), the rail industry body.
“With just 12 per cent of tickets being sold from ticket offices last year, and 99 per cent of those transactions being available on ticket vending machines or online, our proposals would mean more staff on hand to give face-to-face help with a much wider range of support, from journey planning, to finding the right ticket and helping those with accessibility needs.”
A public consultation has been launched via independent watchdog Transport Focus to collect regional passengers’ views, with 1 September as the closing date. Go to www.transportfocus.org.uk
Members of the Transport Forum group at Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce have been discussing the issue – and there is no consensus of opinion.
The Daily Focus reader poll will run until 5pm on Friday, 18 August.
If you have extra comments on the plans to close ticket offices, please leave them at the bottom of this page.
I experienced the issues of an unmanned station in Paris some years ago. With only a little French, I was struggling to understand how to use the ticket machine and had to ask other passengers how to get the ticket I wanted. Some of them were not pleased with the delay!
When I was coming back to Crewe from London shortly before the pandemic, heavy rains had made some of the railway lines unsafe. The train I had tickets for and many others had been cancelled. Without a signposted ticket office and journey advisor I would not have found out the information needed to catch the last train to Stafford that night, from which I was then able to take a taxi to Crewe. Stafford Station was besieged by passengers detrained because no further main line trains could travel north after 10.30 pm that Saturday night. Having someone available at the ticket office to explain the situation was invaluable, where we would have struggled to find a railway employee in the milling crowds.
These incidents are in addition to the very helpful role of ticket office staff in advising which route, selling tickets, recommending the right leaflets and timetables.
And as a woman over retirement age who often travels on her own, I appreciate the security of knowing there is a safe place in a station should I feel intimidated, the ticket office.
If you think that ticket offices are only about ticket sales AND you think that everyone should have the ability and competency to purchase tickets online or via a machine, you have missed a huge part of the story.
I remember being in Stoke station when a bare-footed woman ran to the ticket office for help.
She’d been held captive following an Internet date and had, literally, just escaped.
It’s an extreme example – but it showcases the importance of having a physical safe space for people to go for help and refuge.
Anyone travelling back on the last train from Manchester Piccadilly can vouch for how intimidating it can be.
Having a sanctuary is so important, as other public spaces – including local police stations – have ceased to exist…
This is a classic example of targeting savings from the wrong end of the service, typically taking the supermarket approach of self service kiosks with a member of staff overseeing them for the inevitable computer says no events. Speaking with a knowledgeable ticket office staff member who can assist with missed trains, re-routing, confusing timetables etc simply cannot be replaced by machines. When will corporations wake up and smell the coffee that good customer service comes in access to humans not kiosks and chatbots! Apart from these considerations look at the betterment of society by encouraging human interaction and providing occupation in the form of employment. We deserve better