IN THE FACE of protest from consumer organisations and staff, NS Reizigers has postponed to 2010 the closing of staffed ticket offices across its network. Under a programme costed at 50m guilders, NS had hoped to replace these offices by 2003 with ticket vending machines, redeploying staff to assist passengers as well as investing in CCTV and help points for 200 smaller, unstaffed stations.
Two types of machine are envisaged: one to sell a wide range of fares including seasons, and a second for faster transactions selling only the most popular tickets from each station. Staffed service counters would be retained at 30 major stations to provide passengers with information and assistance. The Wizzl convenience stores at 60 stations, which also sell tickets, would remain.
