UK: The House of Commons Transport Committee has written to Rail Minister Huw Merriman saying proposals to close station ticket offices ‘go too far and too fast’, and risk excluding travellers with access needs.
The Committee says any proposed changes should be carefully piloted to understand their impact before being rolled out network-wide.
The letter dated October 20 follows an evidence session held in September as part of a wider inquiry into the legal obligations for accessible transport.
The Committee says the consultation process is an insufficient mechanism for a network-wide change on the scale of the proposed ticket office closures. It also raises concerns about the ‘inconsistency and inaccessibility’ of the consultation materials and the initially ‘inadequate’ timescale.
It says the lack of information and analysis made available by train operators, the Rail Delivery Group and ‘especially’ the Department for Transport about the cumulative impact on the rail network has been ‘unacceptable’.
The Committee accepts that the way passengers buy tickets has changed significantly, and it is ‘rational’ to consider how resources should be allocated. However, the letter raises concerns about safeguarding the needs of a minority of passengers who have legitimate concerns about whether closing a ticket office would remove the support they need.
The letter adds that it is ‘perplexing’ that the proposals were put forward before the simplification of ticketing promised by the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail.
The Committee has asked the minister for a response addressing its concerns by November 15.
