Scotrail Ticket Office Public Consultation Feedback

25th February 2022

Commenting on the press release from Scotrail Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said: "I submitted my opposition to these proposals and I'm disappointed to see Scotrail push forward with these plans with little change or reassurance to staff and customers. Scotrail is going to be returned to public ownership in a matter of weeks so I don't see this as anything more than a cost saving exercise.

"Scotrail need to retain the status quo until they return services to pre-pandemic levels. Once Scotrail returns to public ownership we can look at how we develop service to provide better customer experiences."

ScotRail ticket office public consultation feedback

Hello,
In early January, we announced proposals to change ticket office opening hours at 120 stations following a detailed review of customers' buying habits and ticket sales. This was the first such review in over 30 years.

A public consultation on our proposals was held last month, organised by Transport Focus, the independent watchdog for transport users, which received more than 1,500 responses from the public and stakeholders.

You can view the consultation feedback and ScotRail's response here - www.transportfocus.org.uk/publication/scotrail-ticket-office-consultation/

We welcome the results of the survey as it’s really important for us to take note of customer feedback, and adapt to deliver services that fulfil their needs so we can attract as many people back to the railway as possible.

Following the feedback and after considering the views of Transport Focus, we are now proposing to add back a total of 33 hours to ticket office opening times. This is mainly made up of an extra ten or fifteen minutes at some of the stations such as Bellshill, Wemyss Bay, East Kilbride and Larbert.

Furthermore, three ticket offices proposed for closure - Cartsdyke, Clydebank and Woodhall - will remain open for two years while we carry out a review to consider whether new housing and incentives for businesses by local authorities will increase ticket office sales.

Many members of the public emphasised the importance of stations serving hospitals and, as a result, we have improved proposals by broadly maintaining current staff hours at Dalmuir and Hyndland, and intend to open Wishaw ticket office on a Sunday giving the station a seven-day staff presence.

In total, of the 117 ticket offices proposed to change, 51 stations will retain current staffing hours meaning the time staff will be available to support customers at the station will not change, even if they are no longer behind the ticket office window, while a further 12 stations will have staff on-site beyond current hours.

To support the changing demands of railway users, 54 ticket offices will see staff redeployed to create three mobile teams and new high-profile customer support at Glasgow High Street, Paisley, and Partick stations. We will also implement Transport Focus feedback to strengthen tourist and leisure travel ticket offices at Girvan, Thurso, Inverclyde, and Wick, beyond current proposed hours.

We are committed to ensuring equitable access to Scotland’s rail network for all and ScotRail will publish our own Diversity Impact Assessment when the process is complete.

I want to reiterate that affected staff in ScotRail will not lose their jobs because of any changes to ticket office opening hours, and that rather than being about cutting jobs, this is about adding value for our staff and customers.

The changes we propose to make as a result of the public consultation demonstrate we are listening to our customers and creating an environment that improves safety, customer support, and the helpfulness of staff.

Our revised proposals takes into account the issues we identified as important in our original plan, as well as the views of the public. We are on course to deliver a railway that is modern, safe, and reliable which will serve customers even better in the future.

We'll now work with Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government to discuss the next steps in considering these proposals.

In the meantime, please get in touch if you have any questions.

Best wishes,

Phil Campbell
Head of Customer Operations