500 signatures reached
To: Steve Best, Managing Director, Arriva Rail London and Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London
Restore ticket office hours and Oyster facilities at London Overground ticket offices
We are calling for the restoration of ticket office hours at London Overground ticket offices which were cut significantly in recent years by operator Arriva Rail London; we are also calling for the full restoration of Oyster facilities at London Overground ticket offices and the permanent filling of all vacancies.
Why is this important?
RMT has longstanding concerns about the decision by London Overground operator Arriva Rail London to significantly cut ticket office hours at the majority of its stations a number of years ago. The changes were overwhelmingly opposed by passengers, but the company went ahead anyway.
This was compounded by the removal of Oyster facilities from London Overground ticket offices which means that despite being part of the TfL network, staff working at London Overground ticket offices cannot access customers’ Oyster accounts or provide any services relating to Oyster.
Furthermore, there is a longstanding failure to fill vacancies by Arriva Rail London which is leaving many stations understaffed. In a recent survey of RMT station staff members working on London Overground 70% said there were unfilled vacancies at their station.
The unprecedented opposition to the proposed ticket office closures on the national rail network in 2023 showed unequivocally the importance that passengers place on ticket offices and ticket office staff and that some groups including older and disabled people and the digitally excluded particularly value ticket offices.
In our survey, 94% of members said the changes at ticket offices had worsened passenger service; 89% said they had worsened passenger safety and security and 87% thought it had worsened passenger accessibility.
It is clear that these changes have had a negative impact on passengers and the service they receive at London Overground stations and must be reversed.
London Overground is operated by Arriva Rail London under contract by TfL. The contract is highly profitable for private operator Arriva Rail London, and since 2017 it has paid out £40m in dividends to its shareholders. We oppose efficiencies being implemented at stations at the detriment of passengers and workers in the pursuit of profits.
As the Chair of TfL, we are urging the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to instruct the company to meet our demands of restoring ticket office hours and Oyster facilities and permanently filling all vacancies to ensure London Overground is properly staffed.