northwichcat
Veteran Member
No you didn't, you said many.
Even less reason for you to complain that you are an exception then.
No you didn't, you said many.
We could call that "Recommendation-led research" to give it an almost-credible Civil Service ring to it.Like all good government reports, McNulty wrote the recommendations and conclusion first, then set out to find evidence to support it.
Even less reason for you to complain that you are an exception then.
In some ways I am lucky being in the North are trains are old are infrastructure ancient so alot of this DOO garbage (IMHO) will not happen for 20+ years my main concern is for the likes of Booking office staff etc who will end up on the scrapheap because of Mcnumpty, these are sad times for the railway, everyone agrees about saving money but hardly anyone mentions the human cost of the £1000's made unemployed by "progress", All governments are hypocrites they go on about "saving money" take peoples jobs away then complain about High unemployment, most costs are for tenders that are ridiculously overpriced (electrification with gantry that looks like an artist developed) when things could be so much cheaper (Gantrys on whats left of the Woodhead line for example) both do the same thing 1 costs 500 the other 150 so they go for (usually the 500) not very accurate example but you see my point (I hope) although Privatisation brought money into the railways they are taken alot more out from the Passengers and the government for their shareholders (it is a business after all) and there lies the problem) yes alot of railway staff are well paid, I do OK but not anywhere near the amounts drivers get (I don't begrudge them that although I am slightly jealous) but more money is wasted around TOC's and Network Rail then is anywhere needed, concentrate on them first.
To be honest, considering around 90% of transactions made at a ticket office can be made at a ticket machine, I think it is reasonable for ticket office staff numbers to be reduced. At the moment, yes, there are certain transactions that can only be made at a ticket office - e.g. refunds, rovers, buying a ticket with an origin from a different station, etc... However, most of these could be programmed into a ticket machine, and those that cannot - such as refunds - could dealt with online.
However, before this can happen, there must be a big shift towards using ticket machines. It's not happening at the moment, so some marketing would help!
The one thing I don't agree with is DOO on InterCity trains. I can't imagine what it would be like to be on an 11-car DOO Pendolino, with hundreds of passengers on board, during severe disruption.
Rather than buying tickets in libraries and shops, ticket offices should follow the M To Go example and offer more services than just tickets!
Many people do not like using machines, so it's not just a question of marketing. Many improvements need to be made to TVM's before they cna be thought of as anything other than a supplement to a ticket office.
Rather than buying tickets in libraries and shops, ticket offices should follow the M To Go example and offer more services than just tickets!
Rail Fares and Ticketing Review: Initial consultation said:204. Research has also shown that certain user groups find self-service ticket machines particularly difficult to use:
-Those passengers who are unfamiliar and feel less confident with the technology, including older passengers for example only 20% of Senior Railcard holders choose to buy their tickets from a self-service machine compared with 59% of 16-25 Railcard holders27;
Do any ticket machines allow you to buy an advance ticket? I know you can collect them from the ticket machine if you buy online but some people do still buy advance tickets at the station.
Yes, particularly at smaller stations. In a number of smaller towns, tourist information centres have closed as well (indeed, not only in smaller towns!). Surely these and ticket offices might be natural services to merge in a lot of places...
Many people do not like being prevented from paying by cheque either, but they've got no choice. If it benefits the business, and the majority of customers accept it, then it will be implemented.
I agree that TVM's are nowhere near good enough (at the moment) to replace ticket offices. But eventually they will be. They'll have to be if the rail industry wants to reduce costs.
The statistics below are also very interesting:
To be honest, considering around 90% of transactions made at a ticket office can be made at a ticket machine, I think it is reasonable for ticket office staff numbers to be reduced. .
Well, I've never tried but I do know from my local station that they seem to be usually used for picking up tickets purchased over the net or to the most popular local destinations - but what is often forgotten when we ware all tapping away on our laptops and phones is that there are still a large number of people who do prefer to use the booking office because they might not have the internet or feel confident enough to use it....probably the elderly and those who are geographically challenged (of all ages). I would hate to see booking office staff disappear - they are really, really helpful at my local station when I have a query - and I know a little bit about the rail network. For those people who don't thay can be invaluable.
Yes, I'm just not sure if there are any that actually let you book an advance ticket rather than just collect one that you have already booked online.Well, I've never tried but I do know from my local station that they seem to be usually used for picking up tickets purchased over the net
I always thought the TOCs were the villains of the piece on fares, but now I realise it's DfT, eg. they define Peak hours, not the TOC.
I always thought the TOCs were the villains of the piece on fares, but now I realise it's DfT, eg. they define Peak hours, not the TOC.
Are you sure ? In the past TOCs have changed the periods of Peak hours. They are also not consistant across the network.
The DfT though do set the times where TOCs can restrict regulated fares.I agree. I do not think it's DfT that changes the restriction codes on tickets, I doubt they have the competence to make those sorts of decisions.
I agree. I do not think it's DfT that changes the restriction codes on tickets, I doubt they have the competence to make those sorts of decisions.
Are you sure ? In the past TOCs have changed the periods of Peak hours. They are also not consistant across the network.
So the TOCs are not allowed to offer regulated fares in the peak even if they want to?The TOCs have some flexibility (which no doubt they exploit), but the 1030 London arrival time for off-peak tickets is DfT-regulated (ie VT and the rest didn't extend it from 0930 just to keep fares high, which was my impression).
At least that's my reading of the doc.
You can't catch a train from most Post offices or Libraries.
I'd like to see them introduce DOO on CrossCountry, East Coast, First Great Western and Virgin Trains! :roll: There would be havoc!
In the long term driverless trains could be used and just have a member of staff on board for emergencies.With different rolling stock, there's no reason why that wouldn't happen eventually. It wouldn't mean there would be no staff on the train though.
Well, nobody except the Competion Commission, under the last Government's direction, and they reported that the Roscos were definitely not the rip off people keep going on about.