Queuing to pay at Bristol Temple Meads
The Chronicle tonight featured a story from a lady who had been unable to buy a ticket at the unmanned Keynsham station. When she complained about the huge queue to pay at the barrier at Bath she was told by station staff that she should have bought a ticket before boarding a train.
This highlights an issue which has annoyed me since the ticket barriers were introduced at Bristol Temple Meads. Many smaller stations are unmanned or, as at Oldfield Park, there is one man with a painfully slow ticket machine. Queueing for a ticket often means missing your train. Overcrowding makes it impossible to buy a ticket on the train and then when you reach Bristol Temple Meads there is a huge queue, often 40-50 people, waiting to buy a ticket at the barrier. It's yet another thing that make travelling with First Great Western such a painful experience.
It would help if it was possible to buy season tickets on-line, but according to National Rail Enquiries, many operators provide this service, but First Great Western is not one of them.
I understand that Oldfield Park is to get a ticket machine, but given the lack of security at the station, I wonder how often it will be out of order.
This highlights an issue which has annoyed me since the ticket barriers were introduced at Bristol Temple Meads. Many smaller stations are unmanned or, as at Oldfield Park, there is one man with a painfully slow ticket machine. Queueing for a ticket often means missing your train. Overcrowding makes it impossible to buy a ticket on the train and then when you reach Bristol Temple Meads there is a huge queue, often 40-50 people, waiting to buy a ticket at the barrier. It's yet another thing that make travelling with First Great Western such a painful experience.
It would help if it was possible to buy season tickets on-line, but according to National Rail Enquiries, many operators provide this service, but First Great Western is not one of them.
I understand that Oldfield Park is to get a ticket machine, but given the lack of security at the station, I wonder how often it will be out of order.
posted by www.loial.co.uk at 1:13 PM
2 Comments:
I agree with you entirely about the ridiculous situation whereby you cannot reasonably buy a ticket and are penalised for not doing so. Customer Service in the 21st Century should mean "making it possible for the customer to get what they want when they want it". My feeling is that if you choose to give us your custom and travel by rail then we should be asking you when and where you would like to buy your ticket and then making that happen. For instance - if you prefer to buy on the train then we should provide enough ticket sellers to make it possible.
Unfortunately, the rail industry (infrastructure, working practices and attitude) is still Victorian and I cringe at the high-handed manner in which it treats its customers. (Perhaps you can tell that I'm not a natural railwayperson!)
Sadly, I have to break the news to you that FGW still intends to introduce (and quite soon) the prospect of Penalty Fares on some of its routes. It will affect Bath, Oldfield Park and Keynsham to Bristol. The introduction of ticket machines at these stations is not to make buying tickets easier, it is to allow the imposition of penalties easier. As long as the machine is working you will HAVE to buy a ticket BEFORE boarding the train. If you do not, for whatever reason (long queue, slow or bewildered user in front) you will have to pay a fixed penalty of £20 PLUS a standard day SINGLE ticket to your destination.
Needless to say, the staff are horrified by the thought of it as it is so unfair. The penalty can only be imposed by a badged Revenue Protection Rottweiler and we are told that a new team will be recruited and based in the area. Probably ex-Traffic Wardens or Prison Warders who have been sacked for being over-zealous.
This system has run for years in the Southern Region and works smoothly because they provide ample ticket selling opportunities and reliable permanent barriers at ALL stations. I somehow doubt that FGW will have any sort of efficient system in place and will probably not even advertise the introduction of the scheme widely enough. I fear that many innocent travellers will be caught out.
Could be the next big battle for you guys, with us in the middle. I'll let you know if I get any definite information.
A further thought which might make buying tickets easier. A weekly season can be renewed on one of the portable ticket machines used on the train or at Oldfield Park and Keynsham ticket booths. But you first need a photo-ID issued by a main ticket office (supply one passport photo). Once you have this ID card you can renew the season at a more convenient time - perhaps on your homeward journey a day or two early - as tickets can be issued in advance. (But check the date as soon as you are handed the season as the machine defaults to the current date and it is very easy to forget to override it!)
I know you shouldn't have to but until we provide you a proper service it might give you less hassle.
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