Mick Lynch: Rail ticket workplace closure session was ‘a sham’
T
he session into proposals for a widespread closure of railway station ticket workplaces in England was “a sham”, in line with a union boss.
Mick Lynch, common secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, claimed the method was designed to make sure the plans are carried out regardless of sturdy opposition.
More than 680,000 responses had been submitted to the session, which ended on September 1.
Mr Lynch informed the Commons Transport Select Committee: “We think the whole thing has been a sham designed to be rammed through while people were looking the other way.
“It all goes back to the Secretary of State (Mark Harper).
“The Secretary of State initiated these changes through the contracts he has with the TOCs (train operating companies).
“He directs everything they do these days, every letter that’s sent, he gets access to.
“Of course, if the watchdogs object (to the closures) on the limited basis they’re allowed to, the decision will end up with him as well.
“It’s a controlled show.
“The whole thing is designed so that they can force this through in a way that they want.”
Katie Pennick, campaigns and communications supervisor at charity Transport for All, stated many individuals “have not had a fair opportunity” to touch upon the proposals.
She informed the listening to that many operators didn’t make session paperwork accessible in accessible codecs equivalent to braille or British Sign Language.
“Any consultation, but especially one on proposals that will disproportionately impact disabled people, is rendered useless if it’s not accessible to the very people who will be impacted,” she stated.
She added: “I’m really disappointed to see the opaqueness of these consultation documents and the number of misleading statements there were in the documents, particularly around staffing.”
Mr Lynch described claims by operators that ticket workplace employees can be redeployed on to station concourses and platforms as “nonsense”.
He stated: “They’re not taking them out of the ticket office to work on the platforms. They’re taking them out of the ticket office to make cuts, to cut the jobs out of the system.”
He added that employees “will not be there” at off-peak durations, and folks travelling then “will be left to fend for themselves”.
Anthony Smith, chief government of watchdog Transport Focus, which is analysing the session responses, informed the listening to his organisation is “not in any way opposed to the principle of redeploying staff out of ticket offices on to a more visible role on to stations”.
He stated this might profit many passengers “if done properly”, however warned “it’s got to pass quite a high hurdle”.
Christopher Brooks, head of coverage at charity Age UK, informed the committee there’s a “lack of understanding” about how tough it’s for people who find themselves not web customers to purchase tickets from machines at stations.
He stated: “It is extremely difficult to expect someone to use a TVM (ticket vending machine) and be able to use the interface, however intuitive some tech-savvy designer thinks it is.
“It is very, very difficult – probably impossible – for many, many people who are offline.
“Over a fifth of over-65s are not internet users so to expect people to go into the station and do that is an extremely tall order.”
He added: “There’s a significant number of people, millions of pensioners, who will find it very, very difficult if we go down a more automated route.
“It will obviously have the impact that it will put some people off travelling altogether.”
There are sure sorts of ticket you’ll be able to solely get for the time being from a ticket workplace. You have to have the ability to get them from a ticket merchandising machine
Transport Focus’s Mr Smith stated: “If it’s the case that the ticket office is either closing or the ticket office is being reduced in hours very significantly, I think the ticket vending machine has got to be able to replicate pretty much what the ticket office can do at the moment.
“So, I think we would argue that you would want to delay (changes) until you’ve got that capacity in place, otherwise people are being disadvantaged.
“There are certain types of ticket you can only get at the moment from a ticket office.
“You have to be able to get them from a ticket vending machine.”
He stated it’s tough to foretell the influence of a widespread closure of ticket workplaces.
He informed MPs: “The impact is very, very hard to judge because some people at the moment turn up at a ticket office because it’s nice and easy, and they can’t be bothered with digital and fiddling around with apps.
“If that option is removed, they may well just move to digital and get on with it.
“There’s a group of people, I think, (who) will find it quite difficult and will need some adjustment and some support.
“There’s probably a group of people who will think ‘I can’t be bothered, it’s just too complicated’.”
Primarily we’re following the wants of our clients and the calls for of our clients
Simon Moorhead, chief data officer on the Rail Delivery Group, which represents prepare operators, informed MPs that closing station ticket workplaces is partly about chopping prices.
He stated: “Cost is a part of it, but primarily we’re following the needs of our customers and the demands of our customers.
“This year, around 80% of the tickets that have been issued are either bought online through digital channels or they are with customers tapping in and tapping out from gate lines or machines on platforms.”
Avanti West Coast managing director Andy Mellors stated it the corporate is proposing to slash the variety of employees it has at Glasgow Central station by greater than a 3rd as a part of plans to shut its ticket workplace there.
He informed the committee: “We have about 27 staff, I think it is, at the moment at Glasgow Central.
“These proposals would, if they were enacted in full as we proposed, reduce that number by about nine or 10.
“I must stress that we are only one of the organisations that provides customer support and presence at that station.”
He added that the proportion of Avanti West Coast journeys produced from Glasgow Central utilizing a ticket purchased from its workplace on the station is 1%.