Railway Ticket Offices Reprieved... For Now

No doubt that many of you will have already heard this news in the media... I, and presumably, many others who had taken part in the consultation, have been contacted about the reprieval, I shall cut & paste their missive below:

"Over the summer a local public consultation was run with Transport Focus and London TravelWatch on proposals about how tickets are sold on the railway and customer service.

Many of you took part in that consultation and we would like to thank you for making your feedback available to us and the passenger bodies to support their work. We know it has been immensely valuable.

Today, Transport Focus and London TravelWatch have updated us they are supportive of the principle of redeploying staff from ticket offices to improve the overall offer for customers.

However, they have also made clear that they are not able to approve these changes as there is feedback related to the rail industry as a whole which has not been completely addressed.

All proposals have now been withdrawn and will not be introduced.

The consultation did, however, raise interesting ideas on related issues, such as expanding the types of products that can be sold at ticket machines. Where possible, with the wider industry we will look to introduce ideas such as this.

Thank you once again to everyone who took part in this consultation."

Railway Consultation: 680,000 Responses!

Since my last blog about this consultation, a further 220,000 people responded to the extended consultation, meaning that they have a lot to respond to themselves now! 680,000 responses are now being analysed and they plan to send their conclusions to train operators by the 31st of October (Transport Focus). Transport Focus and London TravelWatch will also publish online the public response with an overview of the response numbers, and issues raised in the consultation. 

No doubt we shall hear a few grumbles from the operators!

Railway Ticket Offices: 1 Day Left for Consultation.

As I said in my blog in early July, there is a public consultation concerning changes to ticket offices and staffing at railway stations, with an original end date for the consultation in July, but that was extended until tomorrow, Friday the 1st of September. The media has been full of this consultation and the concerns of people with disabilities in particular, and you still have a chance to have your say!

I'm cutting and pasting from Transport Focus below with more information:

Transport User Voice September 2023 – Ticket office consultation

31 August 2023

Last day to have your say

With one day to go before the public consultation on proposed changes to ticket offices ends, Transport Focus and London Travel Watch have received more than 460,000 responses. 

Transport Focus is reminding passengers to respond to proposals before the deadline.

The consultation on train operator proposals to close the majority of ticket offices in England ends on Friday 1 September, following an extension on 26 July.

The consultation provides people with the opportunity to have their say on proposed closures to ticket offices and changes to how operators sell tickets at stations would mean for them and how they might be impacted.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said:

“More than 460,000 responses to the consultation have already been received, but it’s not too late to have your say. 

“There’s a really big decision to be made about the future of ticket offices and it’s vital that we hear from as many people as possible.”

Over the coming weeks, the two watchdogs will continue to analyse carefully the train operator proposals and consultation responses before they report their decisions on whether object to the plans.

Transport Focus and London Travel Watch will be considering issues such as whether the station will continue to be staffed, accessibility, the alternative options for buying tickets and whether passengers will continue to be able to access station facilities like lifts, waiting rooms and toilets.

It is a regulatory requirement as part of the process that the watchdogs and passengers are consulted.

What happens next?

Transport Focus will scrutinise the train company proposals in detail against a set of criteria.

We will look at factors such as whether the station will continue to be staffed, accessibility, alternative options for buying tickets and whether passengers will still be able to access station facilities like lifts, waiting rooms and toilets.

We will publish our response to each train company’s proposal on our website, the number of responses we have received, and the main issues raised in the consultation.

Railway Public Consultation end 26th July.

If you would like to express your opinions you have less than 2 days left to, as the public consultation regarding how tickets are sold and customer services at railway stations finishes tomorrow, Wednesday the 26th of July 2023. The main idea appears to be to move staff "out from behind traditional ticket office windows, which would close, onto station concourses" (website). From the consultation document linked, it appears that there are no plans to alter the situation at Hastings Railway Station, although many stations close by could well be effected, including Rye, Lewes, Cooden Beach and Eastbourne. Go to the website for further information and FAQs. 

Railway Public Consultation

There is a public consultation until the 26th of July 2023 regarding how tickets are sold and customer service at railway stations. The main idea appears to be to move staff "out from behind traditional ticket office windows, which would close, onto station concourses" (website). From the consultation document linked, it appears that there are no plans to alter the situation at Hastings Railway Station, although many stations close by could well be effected, including Rye, Lewes, Cooden Beach and Eastbourne.

Go to the website for further information and FAQs.