On behalf of my constituents in Manchester, Gorton, I presented a public petition to Parliament calling on the Government to prevent the closure of Levenshulme Station and Gorton Stations’ ticket offices. It was fantastic to have the support of constituency neighbour, friend and colleague, Andrew Gwynne MP.
On 5th July, the Rail Delivery Group confirmed plans to move staff out of ticket offices and ‘into stations’ with a short consultation on the plans. For Levenshulme and Gorton stations, this move would mean a reduction in staffed time of over 70%, which will have a huge impact particularly on older people and those with additional access needs.
One in nine tickets are still sold at physical ticket offices, representing over 150 million of the 1.4 billion rail journeys recorded over the past year. However, ticket offices and staff do not just sell tickets – they help and support customers with routes, pricing, delays and access, and are a vital part of the local community.
Many passengers relying on ticket offices are older people and disabled rail users that may otherwise struggle to use digital alternatives. Research by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has found that only 3% of people with slight loss said they could use a ticket vending machine without problems, and 58% said it was impossible.
My constituents have made it abundantly clear that closing the ticket offices at Levenshulme and Gorton stations will have a devastating impact on the local community. I also wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport and Chief Executive of Northern Railway to express my objection to these plans. You can read these letters here.
Despite widespread opposition to the planned closures, train companies and the Tories are burying their heads in the sand and seemingly pressing ahead with these short-sighted measures in the name of cost cutting.
With the climate crisis intensifying and the cost of living increasing, now more than ever we should be encouraging people to use our railways, not making it significantly harder.
In Parliament today, I urged the Government to not abandon my constituents and instead abandon their plans to closure the ticket offices at Levenshulme and Gorton stations, and I will continue to pressure the Government on this. You can watch the presentation of the petition here.