Ticket offices serving a total of 27 million passengers a year at 11 railway stations in Croydon and Sutton are under threat of closure.
Facing the axe: Selhurst’s ticket office could be among the first to close
Commuters, already fed up with spiraling ticket prices and delayed and over-crowded trains, risk seeing their customer care further reduced.
The closure proposals come from Govia Thameslink, and are subject to a consultation run by London TravelWatch, due to begin on Monday.
The first set of ticket office closures, planned for June, will see ticket staff taking to the platforms at Selhurst and South Croydon Stations, instead of working behind a desk and with the support of computers linked to the network ticketing system.
The proposals could be halted, or delayed, if as many people as possible object to proposals in the statutory consultation.
The 27-million figure covers both exits and entries to the stations in 2014-2015, and comes from the Office of Rail and Road.
Other stations where their ticket offices face the axe include Sutton, which serves 6.8million passengers per year, Norbury, Thornton Heath, Sanderstead, Purley and Coulsdon South.
Andrew Pelling is a Labour councillor for Waddon, many of whose residents use South Croydon Station for their journeys to and from work. “We need to be convinced that we really will see staffing levels maintained,” he said. “South Croydon cannot always feel like a safe place for passengers to use on dark evenings, and the well-lit and staffed ticket office acts as a reassurance to rail users.
Andrew Pelling: rail passengers are entitled to feel safe and know where to find station staff
“There is always a need for an obvious place to find rail staff when you have ticket enquiries. Passengers can’t be expected to go searching for ticket staff.
“This all seems about reducing and depersonalising passenger care. You can’t get much communication out of ticket machine when it’s not working.
“London Overground, which is run by Transport for London, has really managed to improve staffing at West Croydon and Norwood Junction. This proposal by Govia and a threat of further service reductions underlines the growing demand that London’s commuter raiilways should be run by TfL under the Mayor of London.”
Ticket office closures
Stations affected (and passenger numbers per year)June 2016:
Carshalton Beeches 1,020,594
Selhurst 1,626,736
South Croydon 1,294,342Later closures:
Norbury 3,433,808
Thornton Heath 3,266,642
Purley 3,205,666
Coulsdon South 1,753,430
Sanderstead 1,225,664
Wallington 2,178,902
Carshalton 1,425,636
Sutton 6,778,932
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TfL is not the best example to choose when it comes to ticket office closures. The number left open on the tube is probably in single figures now.
http://diamondgeezer.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/last-ticket-office.html
The Tube ticket office closures have been unpopular and are deeply resented, especially since Boris Johnson pledged before he was re-elected in 2012 that he would not close any ticket offices.
TfL’s management of the Overground services has been very good, however, as experienced by grateful commuters from West Croydon and Norwood Junction. And these stations have fully staffed ticket offices.
Haven’t you noticed that virtually no one pays by cash these days ? Ticket office staff being moved onto the stations to help safety, customer service.
Ticket offices remain essential for passengers to buy tickets and ask questions on the spot. It is also a lot quicker to get your ticket from a knowledgeable person than using a plodding machine.
I really object to the way TfL have got rid of ticket offices at important tourist locations such as Victoria. It makes the stations feel closed.
Where there is no presence, the hoodies and hoodlums hang around.
Govia are profiteering here. They should remember one thing — the Public pay their wages.
I am so busy attempting to catch one of the convoys of TfL controlled buses that I don’t have time to make much of a comment. However, I do recall a court case last year involving a City banker(I was going to use another description),who defrauded the public purse of over £18,000 by taking advantage of an unmanned, thus non-open ticket facility somewhere in Kent. I can’t recall if he paid back the money but just how many examples of this form of theft are likely to arise if this stupid closure proposal comes to pass? Incidentally, isn’t it Govia Thameslink which is being threatened with the removal of it franchise because of its appalling service record?
One thing I’ve never known is why Oyster cards and updates aren’t available at the Southern ticket window. The only things I’ve used the ticket window at South Croydon for are refunds when the trains were delayed by more than half an hour.
You can use your Oyster card at South Croydon.
The Oyster zones stop at Coulsdon South, Caterham, and Tattenham Corner. Last month Oyster PAYG (but not travelcards, seasons etc) was enabled at the stations down to Gatwick. Why can’t you buy or top up Oyster cards at Southern booking offices? My guess is TfL won’t pay GoDire the same commission they pay newsagents to do it, so Govia won’t play and in any case they want you to buy their Key smartcard. Despite all that you can top up Oyster at the ticket machines on Southern stations within the zones.
That nice Mr Whitgift, sorry Barwell, is having a meeting about transport in the borough on the 18th. You can ask him, you could also ask why he claimed to be able to move Croydon into zone 3 when TfL have said there’s no chance of it happening. You could also ask how much would be saved by taking the railways into public ownership. You could also ask why so few stations in Croydon are wheelchair accessible