Station ticket office closures - consultation

Mon 31 Jul 2023, 16:25

Nicolette, the Radio 4 programme is called You and Yours, and there was a substantial discussion of the topic of Rail Ticket Office Closures at the start of the programme today. 

The emphasis today was on those with disabilities and those unable to use smart phones or online booking sites, and I'm sure that the phone-in tomorrow will also concentrate on those topics. 

One issue raised was the claim that after the closure of the booking offices, disabled passengers would be able to exercise their "Legal Right to Turn Up and Go". Apparently, after the closures anyone disabled should be able to turn up at any station at any time of the day and be helped to get on or off the train, relying only on apps such as Passenger Assistance by Transreport.

I had never heard of this legal right, and the details are here: https://www.orr.gov.uk/monitoring-regulation/rail/passengers/passenger-assistance/passengers-disabilities 

Given the importance of the legal and disability issues, I doubt that architectural or heritage issues will be addressed. Instead, I think the programme would like to know whether or not disabled or elderly passengers would have the confidence to use Charlbury and/or other stations if relying only on the legal right and the app.

To contact You and Yours, it's not necessary to go online. One can simply email youandyours@bbc.co.uk and make your point and give your details, so that you can be phoned back. 

As is also pointed out on another thread (Station Booking Office - Protest Now, last entry July 27th), the official date for protesting about booking office closures has been extended to September 1st. The official addresses to protest to are: https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/ticket-office-consultation/ (which includes a form to complete) or TicketOffice.GWR@transportfocus.org.uk