I am writing to advise you of ScotRail’s plans to implement changes to some ticket office opening hours to deliver more visible customer support at stations, reflecting changing travel and ticket purchasing patterns.
In 2021, we published an assessment – the first of its kind since 1991 – which showed a dramatic increase in the number of tickets bought on the ScotRail website, app, or at ticket machines, with a significant decrease in customers buying at ticket offices. In the past 10 years alone, there has been a 50 per cent drop in ticket office sales. Today:
- 16 per cent of sales are via ticket offices. 90 per cent of those sales are from just 20 stations.
- 20 per cent of sales are via ticket vending machines (TVMs) at stations.
- 43 per cent of tickets are online, through the website or the app.
Following a consultation by the independent passenger watchdog Transport Focus, ScotRail will introduce the following:
- 12 ticket offices will see opening hours increase.
- 54 ticket offices will see opening hours reduce.
- There will be no change to the opening hours at our remaining 77 staffed stations.
The detail of the changes can be found by clicking here. The benefits of the changes include:
- There will be no job losses or redundancies as a result of these proposals.
- Where ticket offices see reduced hours, staff will carry out other customer supporting duties within their existing job description, such as ticket barrier duties and revenue protection.
- Customers will benefit from increased staff visibility, helping with ticket selling/inspection and tackling anti-social behaviour.
- Customers will receive improved support through platform Help Points, with advice available on buying tickets.
The change to ticket office opening hours does not affect trains stopping at the station as set out in ScotRail’s timetable. We will provide significant notice to customers before the changes to ticket office opening hours takes place, expected in 2025.
Please contact Olivia Carson, External Relations Manager – olivia.carson@scotrail.co.uk – if you would like to discuss these details further, but be assured that these changes are geared towards improving the travelling experience we can provide for our customers.
Best wishes,
Phil
Phil Campbell
ScotRail Customer Operations Director
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The following chart shows the dramatic change in how customers buy their tickets over the past 10 years: