Last day of consultation on saving Scarborough train ticket office

Campaigners are wanting it to stay

Author: Karen LiuPublished 26th Jul 2023

It is the last day of a consultation to try and stop the closure of Scarborough's ticket office at the railway station.

Campaigners say without it people with disabilities and those who use guide dogs will lose their independence and feel isolated.

Liz Pimperton is severely sighted and heavily relies on Scarborough's ticket office. She said: "If it were to go, I'd feel vulnerable as a lady on her own having to go to the station with nobody about because you don't know if there's going to be somebody there. It's hard to attract people, you can't see if somebody's busy with someone else, there's no-one there to help you as office is a point of focus.

"If you can't see, put a blindfold on you and go to the station to see how you can try and negotiate barriers, things that are left out, wet floor signs, people, cars parked all over the place. Just try it for one day and you'll see how hard it is for visually impaired people.

"A ticket office means you've got somewhere you can go to, say if you've got a guide dog then they'll go straight to the office. Whereas on the station, how is a visually impaired person meant to find somebody or how is a guide dog meant to find the person to help and assist them on the train? So it's robbing them on their independence.

"It would make me think twice about going on train journeys. I'm very active; I do a lot of cycling, swimming and sailing but to physically get there is the hardest part - the transportation for somebody who can't see."

Anne Nowacki is the former branch organiser for guide dogs in Scarborough, Whitby and Filey. She added: "It would almost impossible for a lot of people who are totally blind, who are trying to travel with their guide dogs, to find out where the machine is. People are so busy when they ask for assistance sometimes from the public that people haven't got time to help them. They're then totally isolated.

"People who have ordinary sight need assistance too. I like somebody to be able to help me plan the route, so for people who can't see anything at all it's going to be an absolute nightmare. In the end they will become isolated and not be able to travel anymore."

You can have your say here.

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