Level Playing Field has received responses to a letter which challenged the proposed closures of train station ticket offices, from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and the Department for Transport.
The letter had signatures from disabled supporters’ associations across England and Wales and raised the hugely detrimental impact the proposals could have on the ability of many disabled people to attend live sporting events.
The consultation deadline is Friday 1 September and other disabled and non-disabled sports fans can find advice on how to object to the proposals, on the Transport For All website.
A letter was also sent to Steve Montgomery, Chair of the Rail Delivery Group, but the charity is yet to receive a response to this. The responses from the DCMS Ministerial Support Team and Huw Merriman MP, Minister of State for Transport, are available to read below.
Department for Culture, Media & Sport response:
Dear Tony,
Thank you for your correspondence of 31 July to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the Rt Hon Lucy Frazer KC MP, regarding concerns as to how the proposed closure of railway tickets will affect disabled sports fans. I am replying as a member of the Ministerial Support Team.
The government recognises the great importance of sport and physical activity for disabled people, both as participants and as spectators.
We recognise there are barriers which exist and prevent some people from watching sport live, and we want to continue to do all that we can to tackle these. We will continue to work with the sport sector to make sport accessible to everyone.
The potential closing of railway ticket offices is a Department for Transport responsibility, who you can contact here. You can also voice your views and concerns to Transport Focus, for stations outside of London, or London Travel Watch for London stations.
I hope this information is helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Ministerial Support Team
Department for Transport response:
Dear Tony,
Thank you for your letter of 9 August to Mark Harper, about changes to railway station ticket offices. I am replying as the Minister responsible for this issue.
I appreciate your organisation’s concerns about the proposed closure of station ticket offices.
The industry has launched passenger consultations to move staff from ticket offices and onto stations, offering more face-to-face support for customers across the network. There has been a significant shift in the way passengers purchase tickets, with just one in every ten transactions taking place at a ticket office in 2022/23, down from one in three a decade earlier. An estimated 99 per cent of all transactions made at ticket offices last year could have been made at ticket vending machines or online.
Train operating companies propose to move staff out from behind the ticket office screens, so they can provide more help and advice for passengers throughout the station. No currently staffed station will become unstaffed as a result of this reform.
To propose any changes to the opening hours of a station ticket office, or to propose its closure, train operating companies must follow the longstanding process set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement.
Train operators must consult on any proposed changes, advertising them at the relevant stations and inviting members of the public who wish to comment to write to the relevant passenger body (Transport Focus or London TravelWatch).
When proposing major changes (including closures), operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers, and to include this in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider other equality-related needs and make this clear in their consultation.
The Passenger Assist service will continue to help disabled passengers, and those with additional needs, to use the rail network with confidence and in safety.
The Department recently hosted roundtable discussions with industry and accessibility and transport groups to discuss this matter. We continue to engage with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee.
Train operators have recently announced that they have extended the ticket office consultation period until 1 September. I am pleased that operators have listened to feedback following continued engagement with stakeholders, including accessibility groups.
To ensure your members’ views are taken into consideration, I would ask them to send their comments on the proposed changes to Transport Focus or London TravelWatch, at the freepost address: RTEH-XAGE-BYKZ, PO Box 5594, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 9PZ. Further information about the proposed changes will be available at stations and on train operating company websites.
Thank you once again for your email. I hope this response has been helpful.
Yours sincerely,
HUW MERRIMAN MP
MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRANSPORT