wjhall wrote: ↑15 Nov 2023, 10:08am
.... What would be relevant was a campaign to ensure that the other ticket sale methods work well, addressing poor ticket machine design, the faults in the PAYG card system and retaining on board commercial staff. ....
For disabled people buying from staff on the train is presumably the best option, although they may need advance contact to arrange assistance.
The posts suggesting that the current problems in the system, including gatelines, poor ticket machine design and the law requiring ticket purchase before boarding 'if purchase facilities are available,' are a reason for retaining ticket offices have ignored my point that it would have been more useful to campaign for fixing all the other methods, including changing the rules to make on board ticket purchase the norm. The ticket office at BRI does not solve any of these problems for people boarding at SML, or the majority of unmanned stations. We are fortunate at SML that there is no ticket machine and on board sales are both legal, and still much used, although remote advance purchasing is obviously what many people already do. It is presumably possible that the railways could move to requiring advance purchase for stations where there are no purchase facilities, and that is the sort of thing that could slip through whilst everyone is congratulating themselves on saving the imaginary ticket office. Remember, railways are now a public service, so you get what the treasury wants to give you, with customer service no longer a consideration.
Indulging in a nostalgia campaign does nothing to solve the problems in the other methods, including ticket machines generally being badly designed even for able users, although I think I have seen some that look as if the physical layout may be designed for wheelchair users, WSM perhaps.
For disabled people we need some disabled people to comment. I would be quite surprised if talking through a window in the noisy environment of Temple Meads booking hall, with an impatient queue behind, is really better for deaf people than sitting on a train with the undivided attention of the on-board ticket seller.