I have heard from several constituents regarding ticket office closures and I have recently contacted South Eastern railways to seek assurances that their proposals will not disproportionately and adversely affect elderly, disabled, or cash using commuters.
Their Customer Relations manager assures me that their proposals will not result in a reduction of staff but instead bring them onto the platform, enhancing visibility and availability to provide customer support and safeguarding, and therefore enabling disabled passengers to travel comfortably.
At this stage, south-eastern are only consulting on trains within their metro routes. The future of 90 ticket offices – including Maidstone – will commence in autumn. I will be monitoring developments very closely, including the results of the public consultation, to ensure the right decisions are made in order to provide great customer service to all those who travel.
I also want to assure my constituents that I have submitted a written Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Transport, to ask that the Government are working with train operators to ensure that ticket office closures do not disproportionately affect elderly and disabled passengers.
