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40 Tube ticket offices to shut
Last updated at 10:20am on 14.06.07
Office closed: dozens of ticket offices are to close
Tube chiefs are to close dozens of ticket offices across London, sparking safety fears.
Many more stations will see ticket office hours cut, in a move described as a "recipe for chaos and confusion".
The order has been sanctioned by Mayor Ken Livingstone to force more passengers to use Oyster cards - which can be purchased outside stations - instead of cash.
The 40 stations to be hit by the closures from March next year include some in central London - among them Cannon Street, a key interchange with mainline rail. Regents Park, closed for a refit, will not have a ticket office when it reopens next week.
Passengers have repeatedly expressed their fear of using stations left without visible staff. London Underground said about 240 ticket office workers would be trained for other station jobs or for driving trains. A Tube spokesman claimed the move would make stations safer, as workers would be more "visible" on platforms.
But Keith Norman of union Aslef added: "This raises clear safety issues. The ticket office would be the first point of call for passengers needing help." Brian Cooke, of passenger watchdog LondonTravelwatch, said: "There are an awful lot of passengers who will want to talk to staff faceto-face. Regents Park is a major station for tourists."
Reader views (29)
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
I work for the underground and I can say they are changing our mindset to spend more time with customers, the idea is for us to be "on the floor" rather then locked away in an office, this includes the gates (think about it, if your ticket jams or doesn't work, a staff member HAS to be there) and platform (despite not many people listening to what we say); so I don't understand why people are saying it will reduce customer-staff interaction. A further note is that the Underground is currently recruiting 16-32 staff EACH week.
- Vincent, London
As there will be fewer staff on the TFL payroll, one assumes the cost of travel will be reduced in line with this? Sorry!, what the hell was I thinking?
- Darren, Wanstead, East London
Not a problem...providing the ticket machines work...and indeed can issue all the tickets necessary - usually I find I can't buy a child's ticket from a machine when I'm travelling with my young son.
- Nick, London
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