Dear stakeholder,
Following our earlier email notification (from my colleague Katherine Cox) about changes planned at our stations, I am writing to confirm that the public consultation on these proposals starts today and runs for three weeks.
Posters highlighting the consultation will be up at the relevant stations and the information is available on our websites (see links below). Feedback from passengers and stakeholders can be raised with us or directly with London TravelWatch (for stations in the area in the attached pdf) and with Transport Focus for all other areas, as they will be collating all the feedback.
A reminder of the plans:
We are changing the way we use the station environment, including staffing, retailing and gatelines, for the benefit of passengers, many of whom now buy their tickets from self-service machines, online, or use Oyster, contactless and smartcards.
Where sales from ticket offices are low, we want to bring staff out from behind the windows and on to the concourse to work where they're needed most, as Station Hosts, providing assistance and helping sell tickets from ticket machines and their own handheld devices.
At some of our busier stations, we want to relocate the ticket selling equipment to a station hosting point so the staff are available on the concourse, able to sell the full range of tickets but for longer times than today.
However we also know that the ticket office will need to remain operational in the morning peak at some stations to keep up with current customer demand. At these stations we propose to also have Station Hosts available in peak and off peak times to better assist our customers.
We believe that this will provide an improved customer experience, with all the affected stations being staffed from the very first to last train, 7 days a week. Facilities such as waiting rooms will be open for longer and Station Hosts will be available answering customer queries, providing advice and assisting with ticket purchases.
Full details for Southern stations –
www.southernrailway.com/your-journey/station-information/changes-to-our-stations
For details of the Thameslink and Great Northern stations –
www.thameslinkrailway.com/your-journey/station-information/changes-to-our-stations
Contact details for London TravelWatch –
http://www.londontravelwatch.org.uk/contact/contact_us
Contact details for Transport Focus –
http://www.transportfocus.org.uk/contact
Regards
Yvonne Leslie
Stakeholder Manager – GTR