FIGHTING TICKET OFFICE CLOSURES

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2022 :: RMTnews 10 RMT activists and supporters held a day of action last month across the country in response to the government and rail industry’s plans to close nearly all ticket offices around the rail network. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that the planned closure of nearly 1,000 ticket offices were clearly about protecting the profits of train companies by further de- staffing the rail network. “As well as thousands of job losses this will obviously create accessibility problems for the elderly, people with disabilities and overseas visitors who may not have English as their first language. “Without ticket offices and on station support, huge swathes of passengers could be excluded from the railways altogether. “The planned closures are part of a wider industry attack on jobs and services at a time when the private rail industry is taking in excess of £500m in profits annually and many rail bosses have £1 million plus pay packets,” he said. Backing the campaign, We Own It director Cat Hobbs said that passengers wanted a human being they can turn to for help, not just a machine. “Instead of abandoning passengers with a second-class service, this government should be making it easy for people to take the train,” she said. Research has shown that the presence of staff is of critical importance and the government’s watchdog, Transport Focus, has found that ‘there is a consistent message coming through about staff - put simply, passengers like and value having staff around”. Even many leading Tories have backed campaigns to protect ticket offices, in January 2016 Home Secretary Priti Patel said about Abellio services: "The number of unexpected ticket office closures has been unacceptable and extremely inconvenient to passengers”. The has written to the incoming Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP FIGHTING TICKET OFFICE CLOSURES Tories plan to close nearly all ticket offices across rail network