Waltham Forest’s Liberal Democrat councillors will fight to retain ticket office staff at local tube stations.
Last week Transport for London, which is controlled by the Mayor of London, announced cost cutting proposals to axe 450 ticket office staff and reduce ticket office opening hours across the networks.
Local transport campaigner, Lib Dem councillor and parliamentary candidate for Leyton and Wanstead Farooq Qureshi said:
“Waltham Forest has some of the busiest tube stations in outer London. These proposals mean more inconvenience and hassle for tube users. Passengers need to be able to talk to a real person if they have queries or problems.This is especially important for those who are not regular travellers or find it difficult to use the machines.”
Liberal Democrat members of the London Assembly believe the cuts will make many passengers feel unsafe and could have a negative impact in tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in and around tube stations.
Farooq Qureshi has a strong record of campaigning on local transport issues including the need to ease rush hour congestion at Leyton and Leytonstone underground stations by opening additional exits, the need for better connections from Leyton and Leytonstone High Roads to the rest of the borough and Stratford, improved accessibility for disabled passengers at Leyton and the refurbishment of Leyton Midland and Leytonstone High Road stations.
Passenger numbers per year for Waltham Forest tube stations are:
- Walthamstow –> 14.2 million passengers per year
- Leyton -> 12.7 million
- Leytonstone –> 9.9 million
- Blackhorse Road –> 6.1 million
Source: TfL website
During his election campaign Boris Johnson promised to retain staffed ticket offices. His transport manifesto Getting Londoners Moving committed the Conservative Mayor to: “halting the proposed Tube ticket office closures, and ensuring there is always a manned ticket office at every station” (page 2) and claimed “I will also defend local ticket offices” (page 9).
Cllr. Farooq Qureshi and the Liberal Democrat Focus team have launched a petition against the closures. You can sign online at www.ourcampaign.org.uk/ticketoffices or call 020 8556 8335 for a petition form.