You might not want to use a ticket office. But plenty of people do.
This means closing them will reduce revenue by a larger amount than you'd save in staffing costs.
Also theres all the equalities issues. We have to make reasonable adjustments for the elderly and disabled - so from an equalities perspective we need to keep them open.
You might not want to use a ticket office. But plenty of people do.
This means closing them will reduce revenue by a larger amount than you'd save in staffing costs.
Also theres all the equalities issues. We have to make reasonable adjustments for the elderly and disabled - so from an equalities perspective we need to keep them open.
Someone who is 80 today was 60 when internet started to become a universal service. If they are 70 or 60, they were 50 and 40 years old respectively. It is incorrect to assume someone of old age is by default uncomfortable with online services, let alone with operating a ticket machine.
For many disabled people using an app or a machine is also easier than talking to someone behind a thick glass.
My only problem with closing the ticket offices is that a) I sadly don't expect "more trains for less" - from experience it's more likely to become "same poor service for the same pricy fare but also without a ticket office"; and b) even though a cashier won't do anything if something happens on the station, his or her presence is what make some people feel safer.
You might not want to use a ticket office. But plenty of people do.
This means closing them will reduce revenue by a larger amount than you'd save in staffing costs.
Also theres all the equalities issues. We have to make reasonable adjustments for the elderly and disabled - so from an equalities perspective we need to keep them open.
Someone who is 80 today was 60 when internet started to become a universal service. If they are 70 or 60, they were 50 and 40 years old respectively. It is incorrect to assume someone of old age is by default uncomfortable with online services, let alone with operating a ticket machine.
For many disabled people using an app or a machine is also easier than talking to someone behind a thick glass.
My only problem with closing the ticket offices is that a) I sadly don't expect "more trains for less" - from experience it's more likely to become "same poor service for the same pricy fare but also without a ticket office"; and b) even though a cashier won't do anything if something happens on the station, his or her presence is what make some people feel safer.