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Post by zenfootball2 on Jun 19, 2022 15:54:34 GMT 1
There is no time line to this but im not suprised , Shrewsbury station used to have an office were you could ask questions about a journey that was closed. this is all about saving money and nothing to do with customer service, you have a problem you get an AI that gives you the run around or you pay a fortune on a premum phone line to speak to a person clearly just like hte banks they dont care about customers who dont have the internet ,the railways lost 25% of its customers who did not come back after the lockdown www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10931017/End-line-railway-ticket-offices-sales-online.html#readerCommentsCommand-message-field"End of the line: Plans for ALL rail ticket offices are to close as sales go online despite fears 3million over-65s who don't have internet access All ticket offices on Britain's railways will close as paper tickets are phased out But there are fears the older generations will find it hard to travel by train Up to 3million elderly people do not have internet access according to Age UK And many more do not have a smartphone on which to book and store tickets" "All ticket offices on Britain's railways are set to close as the rail industry looks to move its ticketing operations exclusively online. The industry has drawn up plans to phase out paper tickets and either shut down or 'repurpose' hundreds of ticket offices across England in a move expected to save up to £500million a year."
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Post by northwestman on Jun 19, 2022 16:01:00 GMT 1
That's my journeys on trains ended then.
Just have to hope that the SVR and other Heritage Railways don't adopt the same approach.
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Post by ssshrew on Jun 19, 2022 16:03:42 GMT 1
You couldn’t make it up. Just another example of industries not serving their customers. When all us oldies are dead and no longer a problem to anyone then fare (fair) enough but it’s too soon at the moment.
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Post by venceremos on Jun 19, 2022 16:12:21 GMT 1
You couldn’t make it up. Just another example of industries not serving their customers. When all us oldies are dead and no longer a problem to anyone then fare (fair) enough but it’s too soon at the moment. Glad to hear it! How long have you got, d’ya reckon!?
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Post by northwestman on Jun 19, 2022 16:14:12 GMT 1
You couldn’t make it up. Just another example of industries not serving their customers. When all us oldies are dead and no longer a problem to anyone then fare (fair) enough but it’s too soon at the moment. There are already a significant number of car parks that us oldies won't go anywhere near because payment can only be made by app on a mobile phone. Meanwhile, I won't go anywhere near either of the Runcorn bridges for precisely the same reason, preferring to take the longer route via the M6 and M62 to get to Liverpool.
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Post by zenfootball2 on Jun 19, 2022 16:20:06 GMT 1
You couldn’t make it up. Just another example of industries not serving their customers. When all us oldies are dead and no longer a problem to anyone then fare (fair) enough but it’s too soon at the moment. i hope that is long time away
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Post by ssshrew on Jun 19, 2022 16:26:50 GMT 1
You couldn’t make it up. Just another example of industries not serving their customers. When all us oldies are dead and no longer a problem to anyone then fare (fair) enough but it’s too soon at the moment. Glad to hear it! How long have you got, d’ya reckon!? Not sure. I have literally added another year this very day so I’m another year nearer I guess!!
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Post by zenfootball2 on Jun 19, 2022 16:27:08 GMT 1
just a recent example i was down in devon by welsh railways and GWR all very good ,I was down in Paignton and we were going to Torquay the ticket office was open but i thought as i was not in a rush i would try the self service machine whilst it was straight forward it was a long way from touch sensative and after a number of forceable taps i got the ticket, if i had arthrits or was visually impared i would not have got a ticket. under this scheme .
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Post by gainsparkshrew on Jun 19, 2022 16:35:28 GMT 1
You couldn’t make it up. Just another example of industries not serving their customers. When all us oldies are dead and no longer a problem to anyone then fare (fair) enough but it’s too soon at the moment. Glad to hear it! How long have you got, d’ya reckon!? I know that you are joking but please put these two words in their correct order. Off,sod.
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Post by northwestman on Jun 19, 2022 16:59:36 GMT 1
just a recent example i was down in devon by welsh railways and GWR all very good ,I was down in Paignton and we were going to Torquay the ticket office was open but i thought as i was not in a rush i would try the self service machine whilst it was straight forward it was a long way from touch sensative and after a number of forceable taps i got the ticket, if i had arthrits or was visually impared i would not have got a ticket. under this scheme . Those machines would be rendered obsolete too anyway. App or nothing. So how would things work if I got on a train without possessing a phone with an app? Presumably, I'd have to have paid in advance via an app on someone else's phone before boarding, and my e-ticket would be checked by inspectors on the same phone which I'd have had to have borrowed for the day!. Obviously ridiculous. If like me you don't possess a smart phone, then just cross travelling by train off your list.
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Post by Worthingshrew on Jun 19, 2022 17:33:28 GMT 1
The days when businesses tried to make things easy for their customers, are long gone.
Technology means that the customer has to comply with how the business wants them to interact with them. Some of them deserve to go out of business.
Like others, I hate being forced to use a parking app when they don’t even offer chance to pay by card.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2022 19:06:20 GMT 1
The days when businesses tried to make things easy for their customers, are long gone. Technology means that the customer has to comply with how the business wants them to interact with them. Some of them deserve to go out of business. Like others, I hate being forced to use a parking app when they don’t even offer chance to pay by card. As sad as it is (in some people's eyes) the reality is the reason these businesses are making these sort of changes is because of customer behaviour/demand. A lot of people don't want to queue up, speak to someone, pay cash and get a physical ticket, they want to purchase the ticket via an app on their phone without any human interaction. Of course there are still some who want to do the former but they are a reducing number.
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Post by zenfootball2 on Jun 19, 2022 19:30:57 GMT 1
The days when businesses tried to make things easy for their customers, are long gone. Technology means that the customer has to comply with how the business wants them to interact with them. Some of them deserve to go out of business. Like others, I hate being forced to use a parking app when they don’t even offer chance to pay by card. As sad as it is (in some people's eyes) the reality is the reason these businesses are making these sort of changes is because of customer behaviour/demand. A lot of people don't want to queue up, speak to someone, pay cash and get a physical ticket, they want to purchase the ticket via an app on their phone without any human interaction. Of course there are still some who want to do the former but they are a reducing number. i can see your viewpoint but not offering people a choice limits your options but saving £500 million is a big incentive and whilst technology is good, we also see what happens if hte infastructure is not robost enough to cope with high demand or just crashes.
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Post by venceremos on Jun 19, 2022 19:44:49 GMT 1
Glad to hear it! How long have you got, d’ya reckon!? Not sure. I have literally added another year this very day so I’m another year nearer I guess!! No, today is only plus one day, not a year. But happy birthday, presumably!
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Post by venceremos on Jun 19, 2022 19:46:49 GMT 1
You couldn’t make it up. Just another example of industries not serving their customers. When all us oldies are dead and no longer a problem to anyone then fare (fair) enough but it’s too soon at the moment. There are already a significant number of car parks that us oldies won't go anywhere near because payment can only be made by app on a mobile phone. Meanwhile, I won't go anywhere near either of the Runcorn bridges for precisely the same reason, preferring to take the longer route via the M6 and M62 to get to Liverpool. Don’t remind me about the Runcorn bridges - £44 on a round trip if you forget to go online quickly enough! What have they done to my home town?
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Post by armchairfan on Jun 19, 2022 20:06:57 GMT 1
I raised a related issue regarding facilities at Shrewsbury station under a thread myself (I don't recall the title) and the last I heard - about a month ago - was that TFW would raise the matter with local management. I must say that I do not like this idea one little bit, as an oldie technophobe, although an experienced rail traveller.
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Post by ssshrew on Jun 19, 2022 20:28:01 GMT 1
Not sure. I have literally added another year this very day so I’m another year nearer I guess!! No, today is only plus one day, not a year. But happy birthday, presumably! Thank you.
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Post by scooter on Jun 19, 2022 21:40:01 GMT 1
Not sure why people assume this is purely an age thing. I haven’t bought a ticket at a station booking office for years, but see plenty of people much younger than me doing so.
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Post by callum on Jun 19, 2022 21:49:27 GMT 1
Will there still be an option to buy off the conductor on the train? More expensive to buy on the day i know. Last time I went on a train was for the play-off final against Rotherham, and that was only from Rickmansworth, what a faff that was, couldn't buy two tickets with the same credit card, couldn't pay cash. Ridiculous.
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Post by ssshrew on Jun 19, 2022 21:59:57 GMT 1
There certainly needs to be an alternative arrangement. Technology is great until it goes wrong and develops a fault.
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Post by Pilch on Jun 19, 2022 22:34:40 GMT 1
Will there still be an option to buy off the conductor on the train? More expensive to buy on the day i know. Last time I went on a train was for the play-off final against Rotherham, and that was only from Rickmansworth, what a faff that was, couldn't buy two tickets with the same credit card, couldn't pay cash. Ridiculous. depends how the strike goes
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Post by frankwellshrews on Jun 20, 2022 0:03:12 GMT 1
Presumably one way round the issue might be to introduce some sort of tap in, tap out system (for local journeys at least, maybe off peak times also)?
That way if you couldn't buy online at least you've got a way of getting through the barriers. You'd have to assume that most elderly travellers probably aren't getting a rush hour Crewe to Euston service in the service in the morning so some system that lets you tap through the barriers with a contact less debit card at off peak times might work? Guess you'd have to make sure to publicise the charges and times well though.
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Post by staffordshrew on Jun 20, 2022 0:40:38 GMT 1
You can just tap your credit card on the bus these days. Same with the Underground. So why do train companies have to make it complicated?
There was talk about going back to imperial measures - bet if we do we will have to have a Smartphone just to buy a quarter of licorice alsorts.
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Post by neilsalop on Jun 20, 2022 5:53:43 GMT 1
There are already a significant number of car parks that us oldies won't go anywhere near because payment can only be made by app on a mobile phone. Meanwhile, I won't go anywhere near either of the Runcorn bridges for precisely the same reason, preferring to take the longer route via the M6 and M62 to get to Liverpool. Don’t remind me about the Runcorn bridges - £44 on a round trip if you forget to go online quickly enough! What have they done to my home town? I forgot to pay a couple of years ago when we went up to the Liverpool replay. However when I forgot to pay the Dart Charge a couple of weeks back and got a £35 charge I was amazed when they only charged me for the crossing and waived the excess. It was a genuine mistake and they know that in most cases it is, so the first charge is waived and used as a warning for next time.
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Post by martinshrew on Jun 20, 2022 6:42:10 GMT 1
Can't understand why we can't tap in and out of everywhere with a view that if you don't tap out it's £100 fine minimum, escalating to £200 second offence and so on.
They'd be well in profit, might even run an efficient service 😂
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Post by frankwellshrews on Jun 20, 2022 6:55:04 GMT 1
You can just tap your credit card on the bus these days. Same with the Underground. So why do train companies have to make it complicated? There was talk about going back to imperial measures - bet if we do we will have to have a Smartphone just to buy a quarter of licorice alsorts. Partly to do with demand isn't it? Part of the reason, say, the 6 30 Crewe to Euston service issues expensive is so that you don't get thousands of people just turning up (at least pre pandemic anyway). Peak time services will have a lot of people who've pre booked so allowing people to just turn up probably won't work, plus you'd get the inevitable headlines as someone gets charged £200 for a morning train and can't eat for a month or whatever.
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Post by armchairfan on Jun 20, 2022 7:56:39 GMT 1
The days when businesses tried to make things easy for their customers, are long gone. Technology means that the customer has to comply with how the business wants them to interact with them. Some of them deserve to go out of business. Like others, I hate being forced to use a parking app when they don’t even offer chance to pay by card. As sad as it is (in some people's eyes) the reality is the reason these businesses are making these sort of changes is because of customer behaviour/demand. A lot of people don't want to queue up, speak to someone, pay cash and get a physical ticket, they want to purchase the ticket via an app on their phone without any human interaction. Of course there are still some who want to do the former but they are a reducing number. Much as I hate to admit it, this is an entirely valid point, and the resultant savings for the TOCs should bring about greater investment. Hopefully!
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Post by armchairfan on Jun 20, 2022 8:12:25 GMT 1
You can just tap your credit card on the bus these days. Same with the Underground. So why do train companies have to make it complicated? There was talk about going back to imperial measures - bet if we do we will have to have a Smartphone just to buy a quarter of licorice alsorts. Partly to do with demand isn't it? Part of the reason, say, the 6 30 Crewe to Euston service issues expensive is so that you don't get thousands of people just turning up (at least pre pandemic anyway). Peak time services will have a lot of people who've pre booked so allowing people to just turn up probably won't work, plus you'd get the inevitable headlines as someone gets charged £200 for a morning train and can't eat for a month or whatever. Very true. There is also the fact that, post-pandemic, the passenger flows have not only not fully recovered, but that the spread of those flows during the day has changed, possibly for ever: peak-time travel (largely commuting) continues to lag, whereas leisure-travel has virtually returned to Pre-pandemic levels; as the provision of peak-hour services is an expensive exercise, and always has been (for example due to the costly rolling-stock lying idle during the day), it is another factor to be taken into account; moreover, leisure travel is a much more volatile and unpredictable market. Those who complain that train-travel is too complicated for the public really need to understand that it IS complicated. Easy solutions There are none.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2022 8:42:44 GMT 1
As sad as it is (in some people's eyes) the reality is the reason these businesses are making these sort of changes is because of customer behaviour/demand. A lot of people don't want to queue up, speak to someone, pay cash and get a physical ticket, they want to purchase the ticket via an app on their phone without any human interaction. Of course there are still some who want to do the former but they are a reducing number. i can see your viewpoint but not offering people a choice limits your options but saving £500 million is a big incentive and whilst technology is good, we also see what happens if hte infastructure is not robost enough to cope with high demand or just crashes. I suspect the relevant companies will say they that they offer an alternative than just having a ticket on a app, they will probably still have the option to purchase a ticket over the phone for those that aren't online, for those that are but don't like using their phone, there will probably be the option to have physical tickets sent via post or collect from the station. Yes for some it's not the same as speaking to a person but as I say, it's increasingly what the consumer wants. It's like in many things in society nowadays, people blame businesses when they close a bank, close pubs, close post offices, etc. but in a lot of instances it's down to the general public not using them enough (before anyone say's it, I know not in all instances) And yes I agree that this is very much dependent on technology working but keeping something open in case something fails is not really realistic, well I should say it's not efficient and ultimately this all comes down to £££
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2022 8:44:53 GMT 1
As sad as it is (in some people's eyes) the reality is the reason these businesses are making these sort of changes is because of customer behaviour/demand. A lot of people don't want to queue up, speak to someone, pay cash and get a physical ticket, they want to purchase the ticket via an app on their phone without any human interaction. Of course there are still some who want to do the former but they are a reducing number. Much as I hate to admit it, this is an entirely valid point, and the resultant savings for the TOCs should bring about greater investment. Hopefully! I like your thinking but I am far too cynical to believe that it would actually be the case! If anything, I suspect that they will say that the increasing technology costs will negate any savings made from closing offices
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