Ticket Office Closure Consultation – Response from the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) Executive summary •
The proposals from the train companies would lead to nearly 1000 ticket offices being closed. Despite the spin from the Government and Train Companies that their proposals are about ‘getting staff from behind the glass’ this is a mass de-staffing of stations. 2300 station staff jobs are at risk of redundancy as a result of these plans, which is nearly a quarter of all station staff at these companies.
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RMT believes that at all stations where it is proposed that ticket offices will close (or hours will reduce) these plans represent a significant detriment for passengers compared to current arrangements. For instance, Northern is proposing to reduce station staffing provision by nearly 6500 hours a week; at 16 of East Midlands Railway’s 29 stations that currently have ticket offices, there would no longer be any guaranteed staffing hours; Avanti is proposing to reduce its ticketing assistance hours at its 19 stations by 350 hours a week.
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Under these proposals, passengers will no longer easily be able to buy the right ticket for their journey.
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Passengers requiring assistance will no longer receive this in a timely and reliable manner, and ‘Turn up and go’ will be a thing of the past.
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It will be more difficult for passengers to get information required for their journeys at stations, including during disruption.
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Passengers will feel less safe and secure at stations.
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There will be significant confusion for passengers about whether they may be penalised if they can no longer get the ticket they require at a station.
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Access to facilities at stations will be significantly restricted or even withdrawn.
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Importantly, as the arrangements governing ticket office hours are the only statutory regulation of station staffing, if the train companies are allowed to go ahead with these plans, there is nothing to stop them making even more cuts to staffing, facilities and stations in the future.
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Therefore, the proposals by 13 train companies to close ticket offices (or reduce hours) must be rejected in their entirety by Transport Focus and London Travelwatch.