So this is OBS, then, basically? Or a slightly modified version with some additional training?
Given the low usage at stations like Aughton Park and Town Green (and some of the quieter Southport line stations) destaffing (with the OBS selling tickets) must surely be on the agenda as well as fare increases - or at the very least reduction in the number of shifts - it's hard to justify Aughton Park having a staffed booking office at 10:30pm when Milton Keynes Central isn't! And it'd be much harder for a ticket office strike to be of any consequence, as there is no safety implication of a strike nor does it disrupt service in any way (and passengers would be in favour as the likely outcome of that would be a free ride).
This must surely now have an effect on Northern and suggest that OBS is going to be the only likely solution - that's two DOO disputes which have now been resolved ("resolved" in the case of SN, I suppose) in that manner.
To be fair, OBS would suit Northern quite well, they could sell tickets without faffing with the doors.