Greater Anglia Ticket Office Closures

[bspahh]

The RMT says that Greater Anglia has plans to close all but 7 of their 64 ticket offices. https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/rmt-to-fight-greater-anglia-ticket-office-massacre/

The company has informed the union that across the Greater Anglia network they currently have 64 ticket offices with an establishment of 358 ticket office staff. The company, which currently holds the franchise until 2026, have told RMT officials that it is their intention to only have 7 remaining traditional ticket offices. These will be located at London Liverpool Street, Colchester, Norwich, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich and Stansted Airport.

Greater Anglia have replied https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/abo...reater-anglias-statement-about-ticket-offices saying it is

currently reviewing responses to a public consultation about proposals to close seven little-used ticket offices. There are no current proposals to close any other ticket offices.

There are stories on it at the Cambridge Evening News
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/cambridge-station-one-just-seven-12983914
and Fen Line Users Association http://www.flua.org.uk

 

[WatcherZero]

Yeah does seem to be two very different accounts of the same meeting.

Difference seems to be that the company is planning the open ticket offices ala Virgin with staff interacting with customers directly rather than behind a desk but the RMT considers that closures

 

[jopsuk]

the "open ticket office" is what Cambridge North will have from day 1

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'm not clear why an open-plan ticket office (like Euston, I guess?) can in any way be construed as a closure. With little to secure that a shop doesn't have (when was the last time you saw a shopkeeper behind glass except Bargain Booze in very rough estates?), and most payment by card, I don't see any reason for the classic glass at all. Much friendlier to go open plan.

 

[bramling]

I'm not clear why an open-plan ticket office (like Euston, I guess?) can in any way be construed as a closure. With little to secure that a shop doesn't have (when was the last time you saw a shopkeeper behind glass except Bargain Booze in very rough estates?), and most payment by card, I don't see any reason for the classic glass at all. Much friendlier to go open plan.

I don't have a problem with staff being behind an open counter, but I hate the concept of having roaming staff. It just doesn't work when things are busy, and often turns into chaos.

 

[bspahh]

I'm not clear why an open-plan ticket office (like Euston, I guess?) can in any way be construed as a closure. With little to secure that a shop doesn't have (when was the last time you saw a shopkeeper behind glass except Bargain Booze in very rough estates?), and most payment by card, I don't see any reason for the classic glass that all. Much friendlier to go open plan.

I don't mind an open plan ticket office, so long as it can sell the full range of tickets. The ticket office at Ely was understaffed a couple of years ago, and it was shut half the time. You can't buy a ticket like an Anglia Plus Day ranger from a ticket machine, or WWW site.

 

[dk1]

I don't mind an open plan ticket office, so long as it can sell the full range of tickets. The ticket office at Ely was understaffed a couple of years ago, and it was shut half the time. You can't buy a ticket like an Anglia Plus Day ranger from a ticket machine, or WWW site.

Ely booking office went through a particularly bad period back then for a number of reasons. That seems to be well & truly sorted now with no problems I have noticed for a good while now,

 

[Z12XE]

I don't have a problem with staff being behind an open counter, but I hate the concept of having roaming staff. It just doesn't work when things are busy, and often turns into chaos.

But what GA are allegedly wanting to do is the roaming staff thing as per Cambridge North, which doesn't have a ticket office, but it's quite obvious from the initial closures that this won't match the previous opening times of the office.

Best examples being Harwich Port (part time AM only) and Thorpe. The rest get destaffed totally

 

[Richard1960]

I don't mind an open plan ticket office, so long as it can sell the full range of tickets. The ticket office at Ely was understaffed a couple of years ago, and it was shut half the time. You can't buy a ticket like an Anglia Plus Day ranger from a ticket machine, or WWW site.

At Ely you can buy an Anglia Ranger day ticket from the machine but not the three in 7 rover.

Would prefer it though if the rovers could be made available via the GA app on my mobile.

I notice my own ticket office Harlow Town is not listed for retention even though its very busy at times.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't mind an open plan ticket office, so long as it can sell the full range of tickets.

I see no reason why it shouldn't.

It sort of recognises a move from ticket office + travel centre (the latter were often open rather than behind glass, MKC was at least) to the TVMs being the ticket office and the ticket office being the travel centre for more complex enquiries or those who don't like TVMs.

 

[Z12XE]

I see no reason why it shouldn't.

It sort of recognises a move from ticket office + travel centre (the latter were often open rather than behind glass, MKC was at least) to the TVMs being the ticket office and the ticket office being the travel centre for more complex enquiries or those who don't like TVMs.

Thats great, but its not what the suggestion here is. The ticket office, travel centre, TIS (beyond self service machines) would go.

Any staff in attendance would just be to assist with queries and with machines.

 

[NickBucks]

The next stop of course is that the open plan offices will be staffed by robots.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Thats great, but its not what the suggestion here is. The ticket office, travel centre, TIS (beyond self service machines) would go.

Any staff in attendance would just be to assist with queries and with machines.

Ah, that is indeed a closure. As VT was mentioned, I assume they meant open desks like Euston.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The next stop of course is that the open plan offices will be staffed by robots.

People keep saying this in some odd echo of 1984 or something, but it won't be like that. What's the point? A TVM might have an AI assistant or something, but there aren't ever going to be "generic" humanoid robots wandering round doing stuff, they simply are not a good solution to any particular problem. The human body is a compromise. When building a robot, you build one to do a specific job well, not one with two arms, two legs and a head and body just because humans are like that.

For ticket sales, that means an intelligent TVM, not something that's going to tap you on the shoulder and ask you what the problem is.

Technology, generally, is evolutionary. Even the regular computer is, in form terms, a poshed up typewriter. Even the Web has paper parallels in how it works.

 

[gordonthemoron]

how are they going to deal with Annual Season tickets then?

 

[Bletchleyite]

how are they going to deal with Annual Season tickets then?

I don't see why they are not sold online. Indeed, online (or telephone) only would work.

Actually, TBH, I'd abolish them in favour of a direct debit monthly season ticket with a renewable 12 month minimum contract to gain the discount. If you ended early, there would be an "exit fee" which would equate to paying up to what monthlies/weeklies/whatever would be plus £10 admin fee, so the same financial implication as at present.

 

[Clip]

how are they going to deal with Annual Season tickets then?

Have a staff only menu to issue them.

 

[Z12XE]

how are they going to deal with Annual Season tickets then?

The franchise agreement suggest that 95% (or similar high number) of seasons must be on smart cards. These can be renewed online and collected at machines

 

[MikeWM]

At Ely you can buy an Anglia Ranger day ticket from the machine but not the three in 7 rover.

You also can't buy 'tickets from other stations' at any of the machines. As such, every time I want to travel to London from Ely I have to use the ticket office, as I already have a Ely->Cambridge season, and don't want to have to pay for that bit again.

Ticket machines need to sell a significantly enhanced selection of tickets before they can start removing ticket offices, especially here in DOO land.

 

[eastdyke]

You also can't buy 'tickets from other stations' at any of the machines. As such, every time I want to travel to London from Ely I have to use the ticket office, as I already have a Ely->Cambridge season, and don't want to have to pay for that bit again.

Ticket machines need to sell a significantly enhanced selection of tickets before they can start removing ticket offices, especially here in DOO land.

But you can buy Cambridge-London online and collect from the same Ely machines that can't sell the ticket?

 

[TMD Tom]

The franchise agreement specifies the following;

73.1 Throughout the Franchise Period the Franchisee shall use all reasonable endeavours to provide a consistent retailing proposition at Flagship Stations, Large Retail Stations, Medium Inner Retail Stations, Medium Outer Retail Stations and Small Retail Stations, with the objective of encouraging customers to self- serve, widening access, improving quality and delivering better face-to-face customer service.

There is a list of all GA stations grouped into categories. It seems the seven ticket office closures are at stations in the Small Retail Station category. The majority of stations in that category have not had ticket offices for quite a while (if ever).

The franchise agreement also says;
74.2 By no later than 30 April 2017, the Franchisee shall upgrade all existing ticket vending machines so that each ticket vending machine (and all new ticket vending machines which may be installed by the Franchisee during the Franchise Period) can enable customers to:
(a) make contactless "Europay", "Mastercard" and "Visa" payments and "Apple Pay" or "Android Pay" via smartphones;
(b) purchase tickets up to 28 days in advance of their journey;
(c) purchase tickets for the Passengers Service from a Station or Franchisee Access Station which is different from the Station or Franchisee Access Station which is the origin of journey for which such tickets are purchased;
(d) purchase “boundary extensions” to their travelcards or Oyster tickets to permit travel to destinations beyond the Zones or PAYG Zones (as the case may be); and
(e) purchase Weekly Season Tickets and Monthly Season Tickets at TVMs;
(f) purchase PLUS BUS day and weekly season tickets;
(g) purchase “Groupsave”

It looks like it has been planned for quite some time (since October 2016 at least) that there would be ticket office closures with provision made for a wider range of tickets to be sold at TVM's to compensate.

Im not aware of many, if any TVM's across the network offering all these options as of yet however.

 

[MikeWM]

But you can buy Cambridge-London online and collect from the same Ely machines that can't sell the ticket?

If I plan ahead and do so before leaving the house, am comfortable doing such online and have a credit/debit card I can use to do so, yes. But why should I have to? Currently I can go to a ticket office and so I don't need to do any of those things.

 

[infobleep]

So the buying of annual season tickets from ticket machines isn't in the franchise agreement.

I have purchased annual season tickets online before but there's no great advantage in doing to. In fact one TOC, South West Trains, even stopped passengers from being able to purchase season tickets online, expect if they were buying a smart card season ticket. Of course not all season tickets were available for the smart card. I think that is still the case.

 

[Sleepy]

The franchise agreement specifies the following;

73.1 Throughout the Franchise Period the Franchisee shall use all reasonable endeavours to provide a consistent retailing proposition at Flagship Stations, Large Retail Stations, Medium Inner Retail Stations, Medium Outer Retail Stations and Small Retail Stations, with the objective of encouraging customers to self- serve, widening access, improving quality and delivering better face-to-face customer service.

There is a list of all GA stations grouped into categories. It seems the seven ticket office closures are at stations in the Small Retail Station category. The majority of stations in that category have not had ticket offices for quite a while (if ever).

The franchise agreement also says;
74.2 By no later than 30 April 2017, the Franchisee shall upgrade all existing ticket vending machines so that each ticket vending machine (and all new ticket vending machines which may be installed by the Franchisee during the Franchise Period) can enable customers to:
(a) make contactless "Europay", "Mastercard" and "Visa" payments and "Apple Pay" or "Android Pay" via smartphones;
(b) purchase tickets up to 28 days in advance of their journey;
(c) purchase tickets for the Passengers Service from a Station or Franchisee Access Station which is different from the Station or Franchisee Access Station which is the origin of journey for which such tickets are purchased;
(d) purchase “boundary extensions” to their travelcards or Oyster tickets to permit travel to destinations beyond the Zones or PAYG Zones (as the case may be); and
(e) purchase Weekly Season Tickets and Monthly Season Tickets at TVMs;
(f) purchase PLUS BUS day and weekly season tickets;
(g) purchase “Groupsave”

It looks like it has been planned for quite some time (since October 2016 at least) that there would be ticket office closures with provision made for a wider range of tickets to be sold at TVM's to compensate.

Im not aware of many, if any TVM's across the network offering all these options as of yet however.

So dft want to slash use of ticket offices in traditional way so they can say no one much buys tickets this way and cull staff / shut booking offices as per London Underground it seems.....

 

[eastdyke]

If I plan ahead and do so before leaving the house, am comfortable doing such online and have a credit/debit card I can use to do so, yes. But why should I have to? Currently I can go to a ticket office and so I don't need to do any of those things.

Part of me has a great deal of empathy with a view that we should stand up against technologies that put money or convenience above other human values.

But I fear that the time to have done it is in the past.

 

[TMD Tom]

I think the figure 95% was quoted somewhere as being the proportion of season tickets on smart cards by the end of the franchise. How could they be so confident of that? Well:

79.2 By no later than 30 April 2019, the Franchisee shall:
(a) implement a process to ensure that all customers on the Franchisee’s Seasons Database are sent an ITSO Certified Smartmedia smartcard before the expiry of their existing monthly or longer Season Ticket Fare;
(b) load all Season Ticket Fares purchased after 30 April 2019 on to ITSO Certified Smartmedia smartcards for those Routes that are ITSO Certified Smartmedia enabled;
etc.

Thereby ensuring the majority of season tickets are on smart cards.

There is this snippet about AP fares being available up to 10 minutes before departure though.

76.1 By no later than 31 May 2017, the Franchisee shall enable passengers to purchase Special Advance Purchase Train-Specific Fares by any method of purchase provided to passengers by the Franchisee up to ten (10) minutes before departure of the timetabled railway passenger service to which the Special Advance Purchase Train-Specific Fare relates.

 

[amateur]

I'm not clear why an open-plan ticket office (like Euston, I guess?) can in any way be construed as a closure. With little to secure that a shop doesn't have (when was the last time you saw a shopkeeper behind glass except Bargain Booze in very rough estates?), and most payment by card, I don't see any reason for the classic glass at all. Much friendlier to go open plan.

Don't they have have glass at banks, and some post offices ?

 

[amateur]

Ely booking office went through a particularly bad period back then for a number of reasons. That seems to be well & truly sorted now with no problems I have noticed for a good while now,

What were the reasons?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Don't they have have glass at banks, and some post offices ?

Yes, typically because more money is being handled.

 

[Z12XE]

Yes, typically because more money is being handled.

Lots of those have now been reconfigured to remove the glass partitions




Ely t/o suffered from a temporary staff shortage