Ticket office closure plans split public opinion

Hundreds of station ticket offices across England could close over the next three years as part of cost cutting measures by rail operators, it has been announced.

With a 21-day public consultation under way to collect views on the proposed changes, BBC News headed to Barnsley and Hull to find out what rail users think of the plans.

Jim Griffin, 43, was travelling to Dodworth via Barnsley when he stopped to share his thoughts on Thursday.

The sales executive said he appreciated being able to ask ticket office staff for advice when he travels for work.

The dad-of-five from Leeds told the BBC: "They do a good job, it's not just selling you tickets, they give you a lot of advice and they are generally lovely people as well. It's nice to see a friendly face at the station."

Commenting on the possible closure of the Barnsley ticket office, he added: "It will be a great loss."

Lewis Baker, from Rochdale, uses trains almost every day and said he usually gets his tickets at the counter.

The 57-year-old called the planned ticket office closures "a disgrace" and said he worried the changes would bring additional costs for travellers.

"A lot of stations do not have ticket offices anymore, so you have to buy tickets on the train," he said.

"But when you buy them on the train you do not always get the cheapest ticket, so it will just end up costing more money."

Wakefield civil servants Carol Taylor and Anita Tingle-Kitchen said the closures would not affect them directly as they were used to purchasing their tickets online.

Mrs Taylor, 62, said: "It's the way of the world. For our age group we can manage but I do feel for folk who need to speak to somebody or would actually struggle to get on an app.

"My father would not have a clue, he would be panicking about it and he would ask me for help."

Royston retiree Gary Seymour, who was on his way to renew his rail pass at the Barnsley ticket office, said he does not feel comfortable using the ticket machines or websites.

The 67-year-old said: "It's about that personal contact and if that ticket office was closed, it would feel a bit desolate.

"I don't feel confident using the ticket machines because a lot of fraud could take place or you could get mugged. Ticket offices are safer."

In Hull, Pishdaad Modaressi, who had travelled from Bradford, said he worried ticket machines might not be able to answer all a traveller's questions.

The 27-year-old said: "I have a father, he's above 60 now... He likes to talk to someone, have a bit of banter and get the ticket and, you know, ask questions.

"Because the ticket machine or the app will not tell you things you might want to know, like for example, 'What's the best route to take? How can I save money on my ticket?' or, like my dad always says, 'What's the most scenic route I can take?'."

Fred Gallucci, 31, said while he personally might not struggle purchasing tickets online or by card others might.

He told the BBC: "People still use cash, it can be a bit more difficult sometimes, not everyone has a bank card. I mean, there are lots of factors that strike me as a bit exclusionary."

He said he also worried people may lose their jobs as a result of the closures and what the knock-on effect of that would be.

"Those people will be paid money, they will spend that money in their local communities, they will pay taxes," he said.

Ben Mitchell, 31, agreed that a move away from ticket offices would not be customer friendly.

He said: "I was in there [Hull station] today with my dad and I overheard someone say that he'd missed his train and he'd need to be issued with a new ticket and, you know, if there's no one there in person, you'd have to pay for the new ticket, I assume, if you're doing it by a machine, but they just replaced his ticket, no cost.

"How do you go about sorting those issues out if there's no one physically there to speak to?"

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