I was disappointed to hear that the Barnstaple Train Station ticket office has been earmarked for closure.
I have written to the Managing Director of Great Western Railways (GWR) and asked for an urgent meeting to discuss this matter.
Information provided to me by GWR states that in 2022-23 45.5% of ticket sales for journeys out of Barnstaple were by the ticket office, with only 5.5% at the ticket vending machines. Together tickets bought at the station is greater than the 48.9% booked online. This reflects what a well used station Barnstaple is, both welcoming to locals and the tourists who use it as their main gateway to North Devon, being the only manned station in the whole north of the county. The café is well used and very successful, as are facilities such as bike hire, the station has remained a popular community hub, and even people who possibly could book online know they will receive great service at the station itself.
I recently met with Age Concern Barnstaple and some of the most pressing issues they raised were how older people were feeling more isolated as services moved more and more online, and were options for the use of cash and in person interactions were removed. Only 47% of their recent survey had a computer or laptop, and only 70% had a mobile phone.
I do appreciate that the number of people moving to online ticketing will increase over time but in Barnstaple the percentage of people purchasing a ticket at our station is higher than anywhere in the south west.
In my mind, we need to introduce a second ticket machine immediately to start training passengers how to use them as I foresee long queues once the ticket office is closed and ultimately passengers will just board the train without a ticket. Or ideally given the huge geographic area this station serves more is done to ensure Barnstaple remains a transport hub and the service offered reflects the demographic and poor connectivity of the population it serves.
The public consultation has started and I urge everyone in North Devon to respond and raise their concerns. https://www.gwr.com/haveyoursay
The deadline for this consultation is the 26th of July.
