Sight loss charities urge rethink on ticket office closures
Ten leading national sight loss charities have joined forces this week to write to the Secretary of State for Transport to object to proposals to close 974 railway station ticket offices across England.
Charities Thomas Pocklington Trust, RNIB, Guide Dogs, Macular Society, Retina UK, Blind Veterans UK, Glaucoma UK, Visionary, SeeAbility and Fight for Sight have lent their support to the letter.
In the letter, they describe proposals for ticket office closures as “unavoidably having a severe negative impact on blind and partially sighted people’s ability to purchase tickets, arrange assistance, and travel independently by rail”.
Mike Bell, Head of Public Affairs and Campaigns at Thomas Pocklington Trust, said:
“The consultation on ticket office closures is flawed and inaccessible to many blind and partially sighted people. It must be brought to a halt and the government and rail operators need to think again.”
Sight Loss Councils and Thomas Pocklington Trust are campaigning to make sure that blind and partially sighted people respond to the national consultation and to encourage the train operating companies and Department for Transport to think again.
You can read the letter to the Department of Transport below
Letter to the Secretary of State for Transport
Publication date: 13 July 2023