Siobhan Baillie is quoted in your last edition as saying, in respect of railway ticket office closures, that "it appears there will be minimal changes in Stroud".
What is proposed is that the Stroud ticket office will be closed some time between October 2023 and June 2024. There will be staff available on the platform to help passengers with advice, working the same hours as those the ticket office is currently open.
As I understand it, there will be no obligation to consult in future on changes to these arrangements. I would be willing to bet a large sum with Ms Baillie that, within two years of the ticket office closure, these staff will have been withdrawn or their hours severely reduced.
A wide range of tickets and services will no longer be available at Stroud station because the ticket machine (if it's working) cannot deal with them - season tickets, railcards, refunds, seat reservations, rover tickets and excess fares.
Alterations to advance purchase tickets will not be possible from any source - online, by phone or in person. These changes will make it very difficult for anyone without access to the internet and a smartphone to travel by rail and will disproportionately affect the elderly, those with physical or mental disability or the visually impaired. Few people in the real world would regard this as "minimal change"
Such has been the reaction to the proposals nationwide that the consultation period has been extended to finish at the end of August. I urge anyone who has not already done so to make their views known via the Transport Focus website.
John Rogers
Stonehouse
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