Councillor ticked off after challenging county council to help stop ticket office closure in Rugby

A straw poll over the closure of ticket offices at train stations hit the buffers at Warwickshire County Council.

Rail operators in England are in the middle of considering plans to shut the bulk of ticket offices - including Rugby, Leamington, Warwick, Warwick Parkway and Stratford - in a bid to bring down public subsidies.

People have until tomorrow (Wednesday July 26) to have their say - you can respond to the consultation online at www.transportfocus.org.uk/ticket-office-consultation or by email to [email protected]

One of the arguments for the proposals is that 88 per cent of tickets are purchased away from ticket offices and it is estimated that more than 99 per cent of the work could be done online or handled by ticket machines.

However, there has been a backlash nationally amid fears the elderly and disabled will not be able to access the help they need to use trains and that those who are digitally excluded will become further marginalised.

Councillor Sarah Boad (Lib Dem, Leamington North) seized on the issue during this week’s meeting for all Warwickshire county councillors.

“This is extremely disruptive, bad for encouraging people to go on the railway and it is extremely bad if you are not digitally enabled and able to buy your ticket on a website or an app,” she said.

“I would like to ask that the portfolio holder object to these plans on behalf of the county council.

“I am sure you are going to say you haven’t got the mandate – would everyone here be happy for Councillor Matecki to object to closing ticket offices? Put up your hand now.”

Arms shot up from Lib Dem, Labour and Green Party members but not the ruling Conservative group.

Cllr Boad turned to them and said: “Go on, put up your hands. Surely you don’t want the ticket offices to close? Ooh, they’re not sure. Tories want ticket offices to close now?”

Councillor Jan Matecki (Con, Budbrooke & Bishop’s Tachbrook), the county’s portfolio holder for transport and planning, laid out the council's position, including the view that the three-week consultation period for members of the public to have a say, which ends on Wednesday, July 26, was too short.

“We will be making this clear in all our responses to the three train operators covering Warwickshire – Chiltern, West Midlands Trains and Avanti,” he said.

“While in principle we support the concept of reforming station retailing in light of customer behaviours and the way they buy tickets, it is vital that any changes meet the needs of rail users and enable improved customer services.

“Our response is therefore focused on the need for further information on the proposals, how they will operate in practice and the importance of maintaining staffing levels with people who can be deployed in different ways, to provide customer information and assistance, ensuring that accessibility and station services are at least maintained, if not improved, going forward.

“Given the lack of detail provided, it is hard to provide a conclusive response and we are therefore raising our concerns and highlighting the key elements we would want to see.

“The county council, along with the West Midlands Rail Executive, will seek to work with the train operators to help review and shape their thinking after this short consultation period.”

Chair Councillor Chris Kettle (Con, Feldon) interjected to say “any off-the-cuff request to vote on items cannot be accepted and will not be minuted as a record of this council’s view on a particular matter”, prompting a feisty response from Cllr Boad.

“That wasn’t an official vote, everybody, so we won’t minute the fact that the Conservative group abstained on the whole point of closing ticket offices,” she said.

As we havw previously reported, Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western has launched a petition against the proposed ticket office closures. Visit https://mattwestern.org/campaign/save-our-railway-ticket-offices/