Transport for All members side-by-side in Waterloo station. Photographer: Shona Louise
Date: 2023
Disabled campaigners forced a major Government u-turn, preventing the closure of hundreds of rail ticket offices across the country.
The Campaign
In early 2022, Government plans for the mass shut down of rail ticket offices across the UK were leaked to the press. These proposals, along with the loss of hundreds or thousands of station staff that was certain follow, would have had a devastating impact on disabled people, locking millions out of the rail network completely. A campaign by Transport for All helped to sound the alarm about the true harm of these plans, mobilising public support, and putting pressure on decision makers to scrap the closures.
As part of these efforts, they coordinated mass responses to the consultation on the plans and mobilised thousands of people to submit letters of objection. They also produced a 13,000-word analysis of the proposals, which was co-signed by over 90 organisations, submitted multiple Freedom of Information requests for Impact Assessments, and supported a judicial review brought by campaigners Doug Paulley and Sarah Leadbetter.
We are so excited to have been nominated, and it is a testimony to the work of all our members and allies in fighting ableist policies. We also hope that this nomination will shed light on the other barriers to transport our community continues to battle, and that more people will recognise and join the movement for transport justice.”
We are so excited to have been nominated, and it is a testimony to the work of all our members and allies in fighting ableist policies. We also hope that this nomination will shed light on the other barriers to transport our community continues to battle, and that more people will recognise and join the movement for transport justice.”
The Change
The campaign brought a lot of press attention, and they appeared on every major evening news channel on the day the consultation went live. This helped to get the issue firmly on the agenda, and they continued to raise awareness through the press and social media, encouraging people to write to their representatives expressing concern.
Due to the overwhelming public response, the initial deadline for consultation submissions was extended from a mere 21 days to eight weeks. This meant that thousands more people were able to have their say, and resulted in the biggest response to a public consultation in British history, with three-quarters of a million people writing in. These responses were analysed by the passenger watchdogs, who then formally rejected the proposals based on the evidence provided.
The campaign’s analysis of the proposals also uncovered key details that they brought before the Transport Select Committee. These were then cited in a letter to the Secretary of State, warning that the plans were going “too far, too fast”, and recommended that the Government reconsider its position.
In the face of overwhelming public opposition, and with watchdogs rejecting the proposals as well, the Government eventually withdrew its support and the closures were scrapped.
The Future
This was a bittersweet campaign victory. While Transport for All are thrilled that the closures were overturned, they point out that the fact that this policy got so far in the first place shows just how little regard accessibility is given in the decision-making process. If disabled people had a real seat at the table, this whole ordeal might have been avoided. That is what they are fighting for going forwards. A world where disabled people don’t need to shout to have their voices heard, where they have a real say in the decisions that affect their lives, and where decision-makers actively seek out and act on the expertise of the community.
Who else was involved?
This was a massive community in which many organisations, individuals, and communities banded together to fight a common cause. Over 90 other organisations signed co-signed our letter of objection, the full list of which can be found on our website. Campaigners Doug Paulley and Sarah Leadbetter were also responsible for bringing the judicial review against four publicly owned train operating companies regarding their closure proposals. We also worked with the RMT, cosigning their open letter to Conservative MPs on this issue in 2022.
