Please find below my submission to the train station ticket office consultation.
As the Member of Parliament for Mid Sussex, I would like to comment on behalf of the many concerned constituents who have written to me objecting to the proposals to close ticket offices and move staff onto station concourses.
Since the announcement of the consultation, I have received over 30 emails from constituents objecting to the proposals. I have not received one positive email supporting the plans.
Whilst I note one of the reasons for the proposals is the fall in the use of ticket offices nationally, I would like to highlight the number of tickets sold at ticket offices at the four stations within my constituency over the last year. There were 55,621 tickets sold at the ticket office at Haywards Heath station, 21,009 sold at East Grinstead station, 17,636 sold at Burgess Hill and 4,045 tickets sold at Wivelsfield station over the last year. These figures show the continuing demand and need for ticket office services locally, particularly from those needing travel advice and extra support.
It is my understanding the Passenger Assist programme, which helps disabled and mobility impaired customers navigate stations and board trains, will not be affected by the changes.
However, this has not been well communicated and has done little to alleviate my constituents’ concerns. The primary concern of the majority of constituents who wrote to me with their objections was the impact the changes would have on the elderly, disabled and vulnerable.
I have enclosed below a selection of feedback from constituents.
My wife is in a wheelchair, and it is already hard, and unpredictable, when we travel by train. We routinely rely on the ticket office staff to call up to the platform and ahead to other stations to enable ramps to be organized for us to board and leave trains. Taking away the ticket office is just straightforwardly going to reduce the ease of what is already difficult travel.
Not everybody has access to the internet nor indeed a smart phone and those without, would have great difficulty, therefore, in obtaining tickets. Even customers who do have access to technology, do not always find it easy to order the correct tickets online.
The websites, as I have found, can be confusing and are sometimes down through a technical fault. As for buying tickets from a machine at the station, again these do not always work and are also not easy to use.
Older people, the less able, and tourists will, in particular find it much more difficult to buy tickets. It will be extremely problematic for them if they need to hunt for assistance particularly in stations with multiple platforms and those with connecting bridges and tunnels. Presumably these assistance personnel will have multiple tasks and may not always be readily or speedily available.
Below are the current ticket office hours at stations within my constituency, and the proposed ticket assistance hours.
East Grinstead station
Current ticket office hours: Weekdays 05.55-20.15, Saturdays 06.20-20.25, Sundays 07.45-16.00
Proposed ticket assistance hours: Weekdays 06.00-20.00, Saturdays 06.00-20.00, Sundays 06.00-20.00
Haywards Heath station
Current ticket office hours: Weekdays 05.55-20.45, Saturdays 05.55-20.45, Sundays 07.10-21.15
Proposed ticket assistance hours: Weekdays 06.00-23.30, Saturdays 06.00-23.30, Sundays 06.00-23.00
Burgess Hill station
Current ticket office hours: Weekdays 06.10-19.35, Saturdays 06.40-20.05, Sundays 09.00-16.35
Proposed ticket assistance hours: Weekdays 05.15-01.15, Saturdays 05.15-01.15, Sundays 05.50-01.10
Wivelsfield station
Current ticket office hours: Weekdays 06.10-19.33, Saturdays 06.10-19.35, Sundays 09.10-16.45
Proposed ticket assistance hours: Weekdays 06.10-19.35, Saturdays 06.10-19.35, Sundays 09.10-16.45
I also understand from Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), despite the minor changes being made to hours staff will be available to provide assistance, there will be two staff roles removed from the train station at East Grinstead and three removed from the station at Burgess Hill.
Whilst some of GTR’s larger stations in the southern area, like Brighton, South Croydon and Haywards Heath could potentially retain additional ticketing facilities, my constituents do not believe this will make up for the loss of ticket office facilities at their other local stations.
For many, being able to speak to a member of staff at the ticket office about their planned journey before they travel is essential to ensure they are able to obtain the best ticket and travel by the best route. A significant proportion of those who contacted me highlighted experiences they have had where ticket office staff have been able to provide the necessary assistance they required which they had not been able to get from trying to answer their query online.
Thank you for your consideration of this submission and for the opportunity to make strong representation on behalf of my constituents. I ask that GTR take note of the views expressed by my constituents, both in my submission and their individual submissions to this consultation and ensure they are taken forward to the next stage of this process.