Council could formally oppose plans to close rail ticket offices

Bristol City Council could formally oppose the controversial closure of every railway ticket office in the region.

A motion to full council, tabled by Labour councillor for Brislington East Tim Rippington, says the cull of booths at stations including Temple Meads, Bristol Parkway and Bath Spa would disproportionately affect disabled and older people and would make platforms less safe.

The proposal, which is likely to be debated and voted on at the meeting on Tuesday, says closing ticket offices would lead to a rise in antisocial behaviour because of fewer staff and should be “condemned”.

Cross-party local politicians, including Labour’s West of England metro mayor Dan Norris and Green Party national co-leader and Bristol city councillor for Clifton Down Carla Denyer, have helped to spearhead a campaign to keep kiosks open.

Bristol Temple Meads is one of several stations which could lose their ticket office in the Bristol region– photo: Betty Woolerton

South Gloucestershire Council voted unanimously in favour of a Lib Dem motion opposing the cuts in July.

A total of 500,000 people responded to national consultation which closed on September 1, with Norris saying the government must listen to the “loud and clear” message from West of England residents and axe the plans, which would close almost all railway station ticket desks nationwide.

Ministers are backing the proposals, which were put forward by train operators.

Rippington’s motion says: “There are many stations in the South West which do not have ticket machines.

“The proposed closures have caused particular concern among unions, disabled-led campaign groups and metro mayors.

“The closure of ticket offices will disproportionately affect older people, disabled people and people who do not have regular access to the internet.

“The council and its partners have a duty to ensure that our railway stations are accessible for all.

“The lack of staff in the station will likely lead to more antisocial behaviour, making stations feel more unsafe, leading people to use alternate forms of travel.

“The closure of ticket offices should be condemned.”

It calls on the council to “publicly oppose the proposal to close ticket offices and make further representations to both the Department for Transport and the Rail Delivery Group”.

………………………………………

Read more: Every rail ticket office in Bristol region to shut

………………………………………

The motion says that if the government is intent on moving ahead with the plans, the local authority should call on Bristol mayor Marvin Rees to instruct council officers to work with partners to ensure every station in the region had ticket machines installed.

It asks scrutiny councillors to grill representatives from Great Western Railway (GWR) as soon as possible and for party group leaders to ask the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) to bring forward improvements to accessibility at Lawrence Hill and Parson Street stations, which have steps to platforms, as a priority.

When the plans were announced in July, GWR said staff would move onto platforms and concourses where they would be better placed to help customers and give travel advice, as well as sell tickets.

The operator said transactions at its ticket offices had dropped below 15 per cent with the rise of apps and online sales.

Adam Postans is a local democracy reporter for Bristol

Main photo: Betty Woolerton

Read next:

• The train station near Bristol voted one of the South West’s best
• Passengers gather at Portway Park & Ride to greet first train
• Henbury’s new railway station could open as soon as 2024

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: