Automation is causing many casualties. Technology marches on, but there’s a yearning for moments of precious connection, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff
Can’t say I’ve used an in person ticket booth in years, decades maybe. They’re always shut anyway.
When I went to Japan on holiday there were staff members hovering around the ticket machines helping people if they needed it - and I did. Not a ticket office on sight. Why can they do it but we can’t? Dunno.
Well shit… maybe the ones I went to didn’t or I didn’t see them 😂.
Still, my experience was that I needed to use a machine I had no idea what I was doing some helpful staff member came over saw I was having issues had a chat to me for a minute and I was sorted. Wasn’t hard at all.
I think there is room for both, infract I feel our train stations are woefully understaffed already. The reason there was someone to help you in Japan is they had enough staff to have a ticket office open, and to have people manning the ticket machines during busy times. Especially in the big stations. The current plans say they are to move staff to be “roaming” but it’s clear the real plan is to remove all the staff they can.
Can’t say I’ve used an in person ticket booth in years, decades maybe. They’re always shut anyway.
When I went to Japan on holiday there were staff members hovering around the ticket machines helping people if they needed it - and I did. Not a ticket office on sight. Why can they do it but we can’t? Dunno.
In japan every station I went to had a ticket office…
Well shit… maybe the ones I went to didn’t or I didn’t see them 😂.
Still, my experience was that I needed to use a machine I had no idea what I was doing some helpful staff member came over saw I was having issues had a chat to me for a minute and I was sorted. Wasn’t hard at all.
I think there is room for both, infract I feel our train stations are woefully understaffed already. The reason there was someone to help you in Japan is they had enough staff to have a ticket office open, and to have people manning the ticket machines during busy times. Especially in the big stations. The current plans say they are to move staff to be “roaming” but it’s clear the real plan is to remove all the staff they can.