Do you use ticket offices?

[deltic]

Having answered never I had to use one today to change an advance ticket that had been brought online from Trainline as dictated by my company which then between buying the ticket and now has scrapped its account with them!

 

[NorthernSpirit]

You wouldn't be allowed to on ATW. If there are facilities for buying tickets at the station you are legally (by their interpretation) required to buy there, red line

Though if your paying by cash and there is only a card option on the TVM then you can as you haven't had an opportunity to pay. If that's not allowed...

As someone who lives in Yorkshire but frequently visits the South West, most stations in Yorkshire are unstaffed and some don't even have any ticket purchasing facilities (e.g. Brighouse, Mirfield, Pontefract Monkhill / Baghill / Tanshelf, Brockholes or Marsden to name a few) then you buy onboard. Slaithwaite does have a ticket machine (on the Huddersfield bound platform) but only accepts card and on one occation when I once boarded there I asked the guard to buy onboard as the machine only acceptes card and I'm wanting to pay cash.

If I'm starting my journey from lets say Huddersfield, then the first instance is to purchase the required ticket from the ticket office and if that's closed one of the four TVM's providing that their working (with one occation none of them were and actually asked the guard to buy one as the ticket office was closed and the TVM's were out of action). If say I was starting my journey from Westbury then I'd do the same as I would in Huddersfield - buy before I travel.

 

[Parallel]

I use ticket offices where possible. The TVMs at my local station are hideously unreliable, and once didn’t give me the outward portion of my train ticket.

 

[bearhugger]

I put very rarely, as I currently have Station Adopter passes for Northern & TransPennine Express that covet most of the journeys I make. I used the Northern app to buy a ticket for a local journey today for the first time to see what it was like using an eticket or mticket or whatever they’re called. The only time I’ve used TVMs are to collect prebooked tickets bought online (ToD). If I had to, I would rather use the ticket office and give them commission.

 

[Graham Hall]

Just like bearhugger I have a station adopters pass for Northern, so most journeys are made using the pass. But today I travelled to York on transpennine and bought the ticket from the office at Thornaby.

 

[fireftrm]

I have no choice

 

[The Ham]

About 15 years ago my local station had 1 permit to travel, 1 TVM (old style where you pushed a button for a single to the next station or the next button down for a return) and 1 window for a member of staff.

It now has 2 TVMs (touch screen so you can pick to travel to any station, including weekly season tickets), 1 video TVM and 1 window for a member of staff.

The main reason being is that passenger numbers have increased and there is a need for that many places to buy/collect tickets. Also partly as about 15 years ago if you brought online you had to have the tickets posted to you.

There could be some stations that may see the a reduction of staff, but my guess would be that most will just see more machines added and the same number of staff retained.

 

[SaveECRewards]

Of course I use ticket offices Never used them often in the past, but thanks to the amazing VTEC eCommerce team they've done an excellent job encouraging me to use the ticket offices.

One of the issues is the new website and ticket machines don't issue VTEC catering vouchers (they cost £4 each and worth £5 on board), I tend to get these when travelling on a weekend (limited complimentary catering) or in standard. It was so handy in the past been able to add them onto an online order.

Also if I'm buying on the day I normally have a quick glance of the ticket office and unless the queue is massive I'll use a counter. The new VTEC ticket machines are so dreadful I'd rather avoid using them whenever possible.

In smaller stations where you walk past the ticket office anyway I'd normally use them if there's little or no queue.

When East Coast renovated Newcastle station they seemingly relocated the ticket office to the least convenient location possible. Despite this it's often busy.

So ironically, thanks to VTECs 'innovative' eCommerce strategy I'm using ticket offices more this year than I have previously.

In the East Coast Rewards days I'd even buy tickets at short notice on the website (via my phone) on the way to the station. It's not worth the hassle doing that for a few Nectar points! Despite what most ticket buying websites claim I've been able to collect tickets immediately after purchase.

 

[CharlieSpotted]

I have to use a booking office when travelling with my partner in order to get the correct ticket for her. I hold a nTrain pass on a Swift card, and when she travels with me in the Midlands she's entitled to a £1 "Friends & Family" fare. This fare isn't available from ticket machines, so I have to use the ticket office.

(Incidentally, they rarely scan my Swift card to check if it's still valid... it is, of course, but there's no way for them to tell just by looking at it...)

 

[xotGD]

A lot of posters here only use the ticket office to buy Rover tickets. I suggest this is not typical behaviour among the travelling public!

 

[F Great Eastern]

If I'm travelling on Greater Anglia or GWR I normally use e-tickets in their app since I travel with them both far more than any other train operating companies and it's easier for me.

The others I'll mostly buy online and collect at the station since I don't want to install an app for every single operator just to use an e-ticket once or twice when I'll never use the app.

The only time I'll use a ticket office is for a ticket that is not available from a TVM such as a Anglia Plus rover or if I am at a station that does not have a TVM or they are out of service.

I've been to a ticket office more in the last 5 years to endorse a missed Advance connection than to buy a ticket though.

 

[Gareth Marston]

A lot of posters here only use the ticket office to buy Rover tickets. I suggest this is not typical behaviour among the travelling public!

Indeed given we can go weeks in-between selling Rover tickets here @ Newtown I don't think you can draw any general conclusions from Rail UK Forums posters ticketing buying habits!

 

[mikeg]

Haven't voted yet, mostly because there's not a sometimes option. I hold a season ticket (bought from the ticket office) so if I'm going to York I won't use the ticket office as I already have a valid ticket. However if I'm going elsewhere I usually use the ticket office. The TVM at Thirsk is ratehr unreliable and slow and it's often quicker just to use the ticket office. In addition, the ticket office can sell tickets from different origins, split tickets etc. and I am often keen to support it for this reason.

Only generally book online if booking advances. Never bought once of those from the ticket office. Thirsk ticket office are generally good, very knowledgeable*, Northallerton ticket office less so** but that doesn't mean there's not good people there too. Never had either of these stations be obstructive so far, though if Thirsk is the one we're talking about the staff know I have a reasonable level of ticketing knowledge.

*There's one member of staff I get on well with, has a good level of knowledge, for example knowing about the change in rules ca. a year ago with split ticketing and seasons - he admits to not knowing about the routeing guide having being briefed on it on its introduction - but says there's another person threre who follows it closeley.

**For example, trying to charge an anytime return to a friend on the 0745 going to Manchester, until my friend asked them to look up the ticket restrictions for the SVR.

 

[Silver Cobra]

I'm a very infrequent user of ticket offices. The last time I used a ticket office was around May 2016 when I requested some seat reservations on a VTEC and VTWC service for my All Line Rover bash during the summer of that year (the ALR itself was purchased through GWR's website). I generally purchase my tickets through GWR's website for most journeys, VTEC's and VTWC's websites for specific journeys with them for their seat selectors, or from the TVM at Arlesey when doing short hops to Stevenage/Biggleswade.

 

[r37]

My local station doesn't have a ticket office so I use the TVM unless the ticket I want isn't available or it's out of order (which is quite often) in which case I buy on board.

When travelling from other stations and using their ticket offices I've had several issues of staff not believing the ticket I want is valid, and trying to sell me a more expensive one. The TVMs don't ever argue with me though!

 

[Bletchleyite]

My local station doesn't have a ticket office so I use the TVM unless the ticket I want isn't available or it's out of order (which is quite often) in which case I buy on board.

When travelling from other stations and using their ticket offices I've had several issues of staff not believing the ticket I want is valid, and trying to sell me a more expensive one. The TVMs don't ever argue with me though!

That is precisely why I prefer a TVM or online.

The main thing a ticket office can do that I can't do elsewhere is an excess, and if it's a route excess (half the difference per direction) they almost always do it wrong. Roll on single fare pricing where there'll be no need to bother, just buy a single in each direction by the relevant route / for the relevant time restriction, and if you're not sure don't buy it until just before travel.

 

[PeterC]

The bulk of my rail travel is within the London travelcard zones so I never need to use a ticket office.

 

[Gareth Marston]

My local station doesn't have a ticket office so I use the TVM unless the ticket I want isn't available or it's out of order (which is quite often) in which case I buy on board.

When travelling from other stations and using their ticket offices I've had several issues of staff not believing the ticket I want is valid, and trying to sell me a more expensive one. The TVMs don't ever argue with me though!

Most journey planners from Euston to the Cambrian will try and route you via Stafford on the Mid Wales to London leg this has tight connections at Wolves and Stafford and costs more than the Birmingham leg to allegedly save 10 minutes. Staff at AYW, MCN, NWT and the Conductors on the Cambrian will only sell the cheaper via Birmingham fares with the more comfortable connections. Staff on the Cambrian have saved customers many times more money over the years by doing this than any forum member has by DIY TVM and Internet purchasing.

Late running trains in the afternoon are usually good for people returning to London having bought their tickets online getting anxious about their connections with their more expensive Any Permitted tickets.

 

[bavvo]

I selected 'very rarely', but occasionally would be more accurate. Usually book online and collect, but for quick local journeys I like to use the ticket office on the basis of 'use it or lose it'. I'd use it more, but it's only open in the morning peak.

 

[Alicatt]

I have to use the ticket offices as I cannot use my senior citizen's rail card online or in ticket machines - it's a bit of a pain as some of the ticket offices are not coincident with the stations they serve

 

[Philip]

Quite a few comments relating to people not wishing to use ticket offices because of difficult staff. This is true but it needs to be said that frequently difficult and awkward passengers results in the staff seeming difficult and awkward. A classic is when a passenger is kicking off at the office clerk because they had previously searched online and seen an advance purchase ticket cheaper than what the booking office is offering. The reason being the passenger simply hadn't checked properly. Asking for numerous splits in the middle of rush hour at only single/double-manned offices is another one.

 

[jfollows]

I use my local ticket office almost always - the exception being when I'm going to London when I've usually bought a ticket in advance and either had it posted to me or have already picked it up from the machine. I don't want to rely on a machine issuing a ticket on the day of travel in any way, but I live close enough and the exercise is good for me so that I can collect tickets from the machine in advance of travel.
Otherwise, when I do use the ticket office, they are invariably good. Some of them recognise me by sight, and know that I usually know what I'm asking for. The reaction on asking for split tickets (to Birmingham or Derby, for example) is one of interest and enthusiasm, it's not a problem in any way.
I don't buy tickets in advance (other than to London) because I can't rely on deciding to travel in advance, I can save money with split tickets and would rather only part with my money when I am sure I'm travelling, in other words just before I catch my train.
I once bought a Cheshire Day Ranger at 08:50. I spotted the slightly quizzical look so I said "it's valid from 08:45", at which the chap happily issued the ticket. I said "please double check if you like" to which he said "no, you're the one buying and using the ticket, so if you're sure then no problem" which I appreciated.
I'll be buying my Virgin-only first day return for the 08:2x to Manchester next Tuesday morning and expect to get the same good service from them as normal.

 

[ooo]

I have to use the ticket offices as I cannot use my senior citizen's rail card online or in ticket machines - it's a bit of a pain as some of the ticket offices are not coincident with the stations they serve

Are you sure about that? GWR gives it as an option online

 

[Bletchleyite]

You certainly can use a Senior Railcard in all sales channels.

 

[Gareth Marston]

Quite a few comments relating to people not wishing to use ticket offices because of difficult staff. This is true but it needs to be said that frequently difficult and awkward passengers results in the staff seeming difficult and awkward. A classic is when a passenger is kicking off at the office clerk because they had previously searched online and seen an advance purchase ticket cheaper than what the booking office is offering. The reason being the passenger simply hadn't checked properly. Asking for numerous splits in the middle of rush hour at only single/double-manned offices is another one.

In my experience the customers who make life awkward for their fellow travelers tend to come along like buses you dont see one for a coupe of days then you get 3 at the counter within an hour. As a percentage there extremely small but can really screw up ticket sales/customer service at the booking office window for a short period. Most people coming in look at whats in front of them not realizing things could have been going on all morning up to until they walked in 2 minutes ago.

The internet is usually the source of most aggro at the booking counter window and peoples misinterpretation of what it says.