Mayor: U-turn on ticket office closures in Cambs & P'borough is "victory for fairness and good sense"
The Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough has been reacting to today's news
The Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough says the u-turn on closing ticket offices across the region is a "victory for fairness and good sense".
Following around 750,000 responses on plans to close rail ticket offices nationwide, the transport secretary, Mark Harper, has asked train operators to drop the proposals opposed by Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority alongside many other groups.
The Combined Authority had voiced its ‘deep concerns’ about the proposals and had submitted a strongly worded argument against the plan.
Today, the transport secretary announced that the government has asked train operators to withdraw their proposals, criticised by many as cost-cutting rather than customer-serving.
Mayor Dr Nik Johnson said: “This is a victory for fairness and good sense over a poorly thought out idea that punished the most vulnerable and was a bad thing for all rail travellers.
"I’ve said from the outset that staffed and accessible ticket offices are an essential, non-negotiable part of the rail system and must be treated as such.
“The Combined Authority put in a robust objection to these proposals and to the rushed, inadequate consultation process underpinning them.
" I am delighted that the campaign - by thousands of individuals, groups, local and regional political leaders like the Metro Mayors, age and disability activists, and charities - has been heard and the train operators have been told to reconsider by the Transport Secretary.
“Our work in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is about improving public transport for people and to shut down the ticket offices that make travel easier and safer would do the opposite.
"This proposal must not be allowed to creep back in the future. Stations without ticket offices could become no-go areas for many, excluding older or less mobile people who require in-person support, and denying access to those who can’t buy their tickets online.
“The whole idea was discriminatory and chucking it out is a victory for the customer, for the community, and even for commercial common sense.”