Queues at Stratford Tube ticket office in January 2015


A review of London Tube ticket office closures has been ordered by new London mayor Sadiq Kahn.

The official watchdog, London TravelWatch, will now examine the impact of the closures on all passengers, but particularly disabled people who face big challenges when travelling by train in London.

London TravelWatch is carrying out surveys and focus groups among passengers and staff, as well as mystery shopping of journeys on London Underground.
 
It is inviting rail user groups to contribute information on how easy it is to buy tickets, top up Oyster cards, claim refunds and obtain help and information from staff.

One of the issues TravelWatch is keen to identify is how easy it is for people to buy tickets for onward travel on National Rail services.
 
The closures were agreed under previous mayor Boris Johnson (now Foreign Secretary) to save “£50 million” and pay for the Night Tube. The closure programme began in February 2015.

The TSSA union welcomed the review saying the closures had done "nothing" to improve passenger services.

"They have endangered passenger safety by causing dangerous bottle-necking on stations at peak times, diminished services, especially for disabled people, and made the Tube a less user-friendly place to travel," said general secretary Manuel Cortes.

Putting customer service staff on platforms had increased pressures on the Tube network and made it a less safe place to work.

Mr Khan commented: "Millions of Londoners use stations across our transport network every day and it's vital that everyone feels safe and gets the right support and information they need when they travel around our city.

"With the launch of the Night Tube, and our continuing modernisation of London's transport infrastructure, we particularly need to ensure disabled people get the right assistance when they need it and make sure no-one feels unsafe around our more quiet stations late at night."

The public survey is available at TOR until Monday 24 October 2016.

London TravelWatch’s Tim Bellenger is inviting rail user groups to contact London TravelWatch by 7 November if they want to make a formal submission to the review.

London TravelWatch is at 169 Union Street, London SE1 0LL
Telephone: 020 3176 2999

Website: LTW

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Queues at Stratford station ticket machines in January 2015