Exmouth rail ticket office worker protests possible closure

A woman who has been working in the ticket office at Exmouth railway station for eight years is protesting its potential closure.

There are currently plans to close hundreds of ticket offices at stations in England as more fares are paid digitally.

Staff would take on "multi-skilled" roles and be available to sell tickets and help passengers on station platforms instead.

A consultation asking people what they think of closing ticket office windows, including at Exmouth railway station, is open until 1 September.

'An awful lot we do... goes under the radar'

Kerry Smith, 61, had a steady stream of people give their signatures in support when she was out protesting in Exmouth on Wednesday (9 August).

She said: "I work in the office two days a week. There's an awful lot we do that just goes under the radar.

"The technology is all well and good, but there's a whole load of stuff that you don't get when you ask.

"[We give out information] to people that are just turning up for a day visit to Exmouth.

"You get asked: How do I get to the beach from here? Where's my hotel? Where's the taxi rank? Where's the toilets? Or even simply, where can I get a nice cup of coffee? And we send them all off to the Strand."

Helping the vulnerable

Kerry also spoke about how ticket office staff keep an eye out for people who might need help.

She continued: "All sorts of vulnerable people need the ticket office. 

"If you haven't got a computer or smartphone that makes life very tricky. 

"Not everybody can read and write. Then there's the whole blind community. Those [ticket vending] machines, I don't know how you use them if you're blind, if I'm honest. 

"We've got a resident now in Exmouth who's used the train for years and years. A regular user, we all know him and he has now contracted Alzheimer's. 

"When he wants to know about the strikes and things like that, we write it all down for him. 

"When he is looking for his glasses case and we know where he's left it... we go out and we get it for him. None of that's going to happen [if the ticket office is closed]. 

"And I mean OK, none of that produces profit, I know. But that's being part of the community, isn't it?"

Travel advice

Kerry added that the workers can give out key train information and offer advice for complicated journeys.

She said: "There's a lot of people that are using the train for the first time or haven't used the train in a long time, or are travelling on to [somewhere].

"People think they only go to Exeter from here, but actually they go all over the country from here.

"And if you've got a train journey up to, say, Cambridge, you've got to cross London. Lots of people don't know which underground line they're going to use from Paddington to get to Kings Cross. 

"There might be somebody on the platform to ask that, but if the train's there, people think, oh my God, I must catch the train it's going to go, and they can't get to that person, that one person that's going to be on the platform."

In terms of statistics, at Exmouth railway station 28 per cent of tickets were sold at the ticket office window, 30.8 per cent at the ticket vending machine, and 41.2 per cent booked online in the 2022/23 financial year.

To take part in the consultation, which is open until 1 September, contact Transport Focus by email [email protected] or Freepost: RTEH-XAGE-BYKZ, Transport Focus, PO Box 5594, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 9PZ.