Tube ticket offices to close and 750 jobs to go


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Tube ticket offices to close and 750 jobs to go

 

Every ticket office on the Tube is to shut by 2015 under plans that will see 750 jobs cut.

 

Transport for London (TfL) said staff will be moved from behind ticket office windows to be in the station itself helping passengers.

 

The Tube will also run 24 hours a day on Fridays and Saturdays on some lines.

 

TfL says the changes will be better for customers and help save more than ?40m a year. The RMT union has already said it was a "lethal programme of cuts".

 

The transport authority is facing a budget reduction of about ?78m in the financial years of 2013 and 2014.

 

TfL says six major central London stations will have special customer points to help tourists and that every station will be staffed while the tube is running.

 

It is also promising:

  • Wi-fi coverage across all below-ground stations
  • Disabled access at a further 27 stations
  • Contactless bank card payment to make it easier to pay for tickets
  • More new trains and updates for stations

London Underground will now go into a 90-day consultation on its proposals but says there will be no compulsory redundancies and has promised that every member of staff who wants a job and who is "ready to be flexible" will have one.

 

The managing director of London Underground, Mike Brown, said: "All Tube stations will continue to be staffed and controlled in future, with more staff visible and available to customers.

 

"This will not just boost jobs and our vibrant night-time economy, it will further cement London's reputation as the best big city on the planet."

 

The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT), which represents most of the station staff who would be affected, has already said it would "fight these plans with every tool at our disposal and that includes political, public and industrial campaigning on an unprecedented scale".

 

In March, BBC London reported TfL is facing a 1% cut in its government grant this year, and 2% the following year.

 

In cash terms, it means a loss of ?33m for 2013-14, and ?45m for 2014-15.

 

In January, passengers saw a 4.2% increase on average in fares across the Tube, buses and trams.

 

Source: BBC News

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