It has recently been announced that the rail industry is to consult on the closure of ticket offices across the country.
Historically these offices were the default point of sale for rail tickets – however, as technology has advanced, and many sales migrated to online or self-service systems their continuing role has been raised under the broader modernisation agenda.
The North of England has a diverse and extensive railway network – ranging from the huge stations in cities like Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester to the rural unstaffed stations that dot our extensive areas of countryside.
Likewise vending machines are a common sight across the network and if you stand at a gate line in Leeds, you’ll spot the number of passengers passing through with barcode tickets on their phones – a system heavily invested in by the industry.
Nonetheless, ticket offices do still provide a recognisable customer touchpoint, particularly for those with accessibility concerns or for those who are new to a region and likely confused by the recognisably complex rail fare catalogue. It is important that this passenger facility not be diminished and that any reform to ticket offices sits alongside robust, and clearly timelined, plans to make the retail of simplified fares easier to access for users.
In the past year Transport for the North, with colleagues across the Rail North Partnership, has been broadly supportive of a movement to a ‘stations as a place’ concept where the staffing of a railway station becomes less about retailing decreasing volumes of tickets and more about providing support and services (including retail) out and about on the station.
This concept, however, is dependent on the simplification of rail fares, the delivery of pay-as-you-go on the railway and the greater integration of rail fares and ticketing with local modes for onward travel – a state we are not yet at, though progress is being made with the likes of the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) and Transport for Greater Manchester Trailblazer deal.
Transport for the North acting as ‘one voice’ for the North on transport matters will need to consider the strategic context the consultation operates in, aligning with programmes like GBRTT’s Fares, Ticketing and Retail Programme, alongside facilitating authorities across the North in feeding in their respective placed-based and user-centric concerns and mitigations.