The leader of Chichester District Council is to write to the secretary of state for transport to oppose the closure of railway ticket offices.
And Southern Railway will be invited to send a representative to meet with members of the scrutiny committee to discuss the planned closures and how they will impact passengers and staff at Chichester, Bosham, and Southbourne stations.
During a meeting of the full council on Tuesday (September 26), members supported a motion from James Vivian (Lib Dem, Chichester Central) which called for action to be taken.
Speaking of the plans to close up to 1,000 ticket offices over the next three years, Mr Vivian said:
“Ticket offices at Chichester railway station are a local lifeline for residents without access to the internet or left behind by the pace of technological change.
“In Central ward, hundreds of elderly residents, many of whom live in retirement homes or assisted living, depend on staff members with a friendly face to access local services.
“Following the office closures, there is no guarantee that these residents would get the help that they need.”
The motion called on Adrian Moss to write to Mark Harper MP, Southern Railway and Jacqueline Starr, CEO of the Rail Delivery Group, expressing the council’s opposition to the planned closures.
Census data from 2021 shows that 34.9 per cent of the population in the Chichester district is elderly or retired, with 11 per cent of city residents classed as disabled.
Statistics from Age UK show that three million elderly people in the UK do not have access to the internet, while statistics from the Royal National Institute for Blind People say that only 3 per cent of those with partial or full sight loss feel able to use ticket machines.
The motion was approved by the council.
Timothy Johnson (Green & Local Alliance Group, Selsey South), who teaches computing and computer science, said:
“I’m very aware that many people do struggle with tech.
“If we do just close ticket offices, particularly at many large stations like Chichester, and they’re no longer manned, we’re potentially putting barriers to people to use public transport.
“From a greener perspective, I think that’s a step backwards rather than a step forward.”
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