Ticket Offices

Great news ! I signed too although I don't travel by train very often, but when I do I prefer to speak y someone rather than use a machine! Having said that I did use a ticket machine recently - no problem!

I usually book seats online, but find the office useful for times when online bookings can't cope. As an example, a while ago I was going away for the weekend with a friend. We were travelling together, but she was getting on at a different station from me. There was no facility to book two seats together unless we were getting on at the same time and place. Even the man in the ticket office struggled, but he was able to sort it out, as he had access to a screen that wasn't online. I doubt it would have been possible to do it ourselves.

Ticket office staff have an amazing knowledge of what is a really complicated set up, and can sort out the impossible.

I always use the ticket office when travelling further than my freedom pass permits. The staff are very helpful and look for the cheapest option. A ticket machine cannot provide that personal service. I am delighted with this outcome. 😊

Personally when I travel by train, I go to the ticket office unless there's a queue, as someone talking to the ticket person may take a while. During that time quite a few people may have used the machines, hence the skewed statistics.

750,000 people responded to the survey, approx 1 in 80 for every man, woman and child in UK.

The Covid Inquiry seems to be showing that those in power care little for the needs and welfare of the elderly and the disabled. This urge to close ticket offices shows much the same. But people rallied, and made it difficult for a cost-cutting govt to ride roughshod over us.

Great news .

Gosh, a response to public pressure! You’d think there was an election coming or something, wouldn’t you?

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

That brought a smile to my face when I heard the news yesterday.
Somebody or other was bleating on the radio that only 12% of train tickets are bought from ticket offices and I just wanted to scream “That’s because 4/5 or more ticket windows are regularly SHUT at my local station”.

Brilliant news. I signed the petition and emailed my MP, who is a Conservative and stuck to the Government line, alas.

Excellent news indeed.

I used to travel to Lancaster to visit my sister when she lived there. I used to buy my ticket at the ticket office (there were no machines then). I asked for a return to Lancaster and the man behind the screen advised me to buy a ticket to Morecambe, it being cheaper, and just get off at Lancaster.
A machine wouldn't give you that sort of information.
I am so pleased they have scrapped the ticket office closures.

So very pleased about this. I did sign the petition and wrote a letter or two as well.
I travel by train a lot and always use a ticket office rather than a machine because I get up-to-date travel information that way too. The people at my local station are always cheery and I would miss it greatly if it closed.

I used ta ticket machine in KX last weekend (yes, part of the nightmare!) and something went wrong. I went straight to the ticket office (LONG queue} and was told the machine I had used belonged to a 'private' company therefore he could not help me. Had no idea there was such a thing as a private company dispensing in the station. How confusing is that and why is it allowed?

Yes very glad to hear this news.

That’s wonderful news. The ticket offices are so helpful - not everyone has a season ticket or can get what they want from a machine (if it’s working).