Inconvenient Truths

As we move more and more towards every transaction being done on our smart phones, with all the convenience inherent in that, and as we pay for things with cash less and less often, it is tempting for all the companies we deal with to send up a massive cheer at the thought of all the savings to be made. As a state run business, directly funded by the government, ScotRail is under considerable pressure to save money.

The decision makers in all companies are quite likely to be of an age that is well used to digital transactions, and possibly find it irritating that some members of the public do not wish to use the ubiquitous technology.

The recent U-turn by the UK government down south which has removed the threat of extensive ticket office closures in England shines a useful light on the whole question.

If you look at the decline in the numbers of ticket office transactions since the introduction of ticket machines and online ticket purchase, and then construct a statistic such as staff-salaries-paid-per-ticket-sold-in-a-ticket-office, you will of course see a massive cost increase. But this is not the whole story of how public services must operate.

We are in a period where the intention of the Scottish Government is to reduce car travel and expect people to use the trains more. We talk all the time about the obvious need to invest in railway infrastructure and not in projects such as dualling the rest of the A9 between Inverness and Perth; thought must also be given to the smaller elements of rail travel which are a barrier to those who could use rail, but prefer to use their car. To attract those people, many of whom are in the older age group, probably retired, there are many factors involved.

A good example is the link between ticket offices and station toilets. At Thurso, Wick and Dingwall there are toilet facilities available when the ticket office is open. The ScotRail timetable states incorrectly that the stations are fully staffed, yet in fact the ticket offices are only open for parts of the day. Are passengers who are aware that these stations are a good place to use the facilities expected to memorise those times?

One of my own regular journeys is from Bishopbriggs to Edinburgh, changing at Croy. There used to be a waiting time of around seven minutes, but when the service pattern changed after Covid this increased to twenty. Croy station has a warm waiting room in the ticket office, with a toilet. If the office is closed the waiting room and toilet are also closed, and all that's left is a small covered area where the ticket machines are, open at both ends, with a freezing cold metal bar to sit on and a cold wind howling across from the car park. If a service is cancelled the twenty minute wait becomes fifty. These situations, wherever they are, become known by potential travellers who will probably go back to using their car after just one awful experience.

A public service is for everyone, so when the economics of a particular aspect seem weighed against its continuance, this may have to be accepted as part of the service's necessary cost.