That this House notes that 31 October 2024 marks one year since the Conservative Government scrapped plans to close nearly 1,000 ticket offices and cut around 2,300 station staff jobs; commends the campaign led by the RMT union, alongside many groups including those representing disabled and older people, which resulted in an unprecedented response to the public consultation; notes with concern that research, which was commissioned by the previous Government and undertaken in early 2023, was suppressed despite showing clear support for ticket offices and station staff; welcomes the current Government’s release of the research, which found that more than half of respondents said having a ticket office at the station they travel from is important and that 81% of respondents said staff presence was important for ensuring their safety; further notes that older respondents, who were also more likely to have no smartphone internet access, use only cash or have a health condition affecting their mobility, hearing or dexterity, had the highest preferences for buying tickets at ticket offices; understands that the rail industry’s Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook identifies staffed ticket offices as having a positive impact on passenger demand over Ticket Vending Machines alone; is concerned at reports that new stations already in development, including those with significant projected passenger footfall, are being built without ticket offices; and therefore calls on the Government to ensure that new stations are built with ticket offices and are staffed.
Signatories (28)
- Cat Eccles Sponsor
- Grahame Morris
- John McDonnell
- Rachael Maskell
- Cat Smith
- Mary Kelly Foy
- Andy McDonald
- Richard Burgon
- Ian Lavery
- Neil Duncan-Jordan
- Kim Johnson
- Apsana Begum
- Charlotte Nichols
- Rebecca Long Bailey
- Jon Trickett
- Chris Webb
- Jim Shannon
- Ayoub Khan
- Shockat Adam
- Ellie Chowns
- Jeremy Corbyn
- Kate Osborne
- Siân Berry
- Carla Denyer
- Imran Hussain
- Ian Byrne
- Dawn Butler
- Steve Witherden