'Closing train station ticket offices will stop disabled people from travelling'

28 June 2023 , 08:27

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Almost 1,000 train stations are set to close their ticket offices which is bad news for disabled travellers (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

This week on how are the government planning to ruin disabled people’s lives - train station ticket offices!

Last night the RMT Union and Association of British Commuters revealed that despite over a year of pushback from unions, activism groups and campaigners, the Department for Transport plan to announce mass train station ticket office closures - almost 1,000 stations - as soon as next week.

Under new plans, closures would begin with 21-day consultations, which the Rail Delivery Group cites fall under Schedule 17 of ticket retail regulations. However as the ABC pointed out, Schedule 17 only covers ticket retail meaning the accessibility concerns are being completely ignored.

The argument for closing ticket is offices is that just 1 in 8 tickets are bought at ticket offices, however, this is massively misleading for two reasons.

Many ticket machines are not accessible for disabled people (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The first reason is they’re trying to downplay how many tickets are actually bought at train station offices. 1 in 8 isn’t a small amount, but the figures are even more significant.

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A bit of back of fag packet maths tells us that as approximately 990 million train journeys were made between 2021 and 22, around 118 million of those were made possible by train station ticket offices. Definitely not a small figure.

There are many reasons that ticket machines are inaccessible to disabled people, from touchscreens being hard to see and use to the fact that many of us prefer cash to help us budget better.

As Caroline Stickland, CEO of disabled peoples campaign group Transport for All, told me: “The government have said that the majority of tickets can be bought on ticket vending machines. But if those machines aren't accessible, our view is that doesn't really matter."

The move will make it much harder for disabled people to seek help while travelling (Getty Images)

Secondly, this is implying that train station ticket offices are used solely for buying tickets. In reality, many station offices are a safe haven for disabled and vulnerable people, they’re where we seek information and assistance.

This is why Transport for All started this Campaign Not Just The Ticket, to highlight the important roles the ticket office plays.

The operators are saying that the move would get staff out of the office and onto the train station floor, but this will make it so much harder for disabled people to seek help. Offices are where we find out important information such as changes.

Are we supposed to use our limited energy to trail all over a station looking for help? How will blind people who rely on assistance being in one spot be able to use the station safely, are they expected to just trust that a stranger offering help and support is who they say they are?

There could also be a financial impact (Getty Images)

Without assistance from people there to help us at stations disabled people will be unable to get to work, access healthcare, and enjoy our lives.

However, that’s not all - there are some tickets which make it cheaper for disabled people to travel that you can’t buy at most machines, for example, the 50 per cent wheelchair user discount.

“When we factor in the fact that disabled people will face almost £1,000 a month higher costs, we're adding an extra financial burden on disabled people,” said Stickland.

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The forced closures of station ticket offices show once again how much this government cares about disabled people and for all the “get back to work” schemes they have no intention of meaningfully helping us live our lives.

And even worse, bringing it back to people’s jobs, whilst they have to go through the consultation process of closing offices and bringing staff out onto the station floor, the rail companies are not required to inform the public or government that they will be getting rid of staff entirely. The government has vaguely assured this won’t happen, but there’s no legislation to stop it as yet. This will make stations even more dangerous for disabled people.

Consultations leading up to the closures are expected to start next week (Getty Images)

Stickland says: “We welcome the reassurances that the government has given in that respect, but we feel that there does need to be some sort of stop mechanism of guidance and legislation to back up those warm words.”

So where do we go now? Well, the consultations leading up to the closures across 1,000 stations are expected to start next week. These will be separate to each station so while this may take a lot of energy depending on how many stations you use regularly.

In a lot of these “consultations” the governing bodies try to make it as hard to get your voices heard as possible, however, Transport for All assures me that they are creating a tool to make responding to the consultation process easier, which I will be sharing.

I would urge you that if you can please do. I also recommend making as much noise as you can on social media. We need as much pushback to this as possible.

The government and rail companies are attempting to take away disabled people’s freedoms in the name of profit. We can’t allow them to.

Rachel Charlton-Dailey