Rail users slammed crazy new ticket machines at Stockport Station, claiming that they often make it impossible to book trips to Manchester and beyond.
Passengers have described them as “awful,” “confusing,” and “very difficult to spot,” with many requiring help from station staff on every journey.
The issue was picked up by Edgeley Councilor Matt Wynne, who said it was “incredible” that the machines were logged off – and that now there are serious questions to be asked.
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West Coast Avanti, which operates the station, says a software update is due in the new year while trained staff are on hand to help customers in the meantime.
However, this is hardly advice for some, including Liz Kearney, an aspiring teacher from Edgeley.
She has to go downtown every week.
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The 32-year-old describes the machines as a “nightmare” and says that although they seem to work “sporadically”, they weren’t so lucky.
“I thought I was stressed and stupid because it wasn’t working for me,” she said.
“Everything about it is the most embarrassing scenario possible – as if you had dreamed yourself the hardest way and that’s what you did.”
According to Liz, the machines can “unresponsive”, be slow and sometimes calculate prices “very differently from before”.
“It’s crazy. I ended up changing my itinerary based on what it can offer me at the time.
“Every day there are different prices, there is no consistency.”
The recent infection rate in Stockport is up 75 percent
(Image: Mark Waugh Manchester Press Photography Ltd)
And she believes this is a symbol of the “leveling” agenda that she calls “all excitement”.
“It’s a symbol of the inequality between the elite and the majority – and the fact that the people who developed these machines clearly didn’t have to use ticket machines in their lives,” she added.
And while Liz praises the station staff for doing their best to help, she says, “it feels like it” makes everyone’s job unnecessarily difficult “.
She has resorted to a smartphone app to purchase her tickets, but worries about those who are less digitally savvy – especially the elderly and those who cannot afford such devices.
“It frustrates me because I know there are people who really struggle with it,” she added.
Coun Wynne seems to have confirmed her claim.
The local council says “innumerable” residents of Edgeley have made it aware that the new machines “cannot buy return tickets to places far away like Manchester”.
This prompted him to try the machines for himself, but gave up after five minutes, even though he was “fairly tech-savvy”.
“Apparently the station staff had to fill the gap and sell tickets as if they weren’t busy enough. Apparently some passengers were very understanding and others were not so and quite verbally aggressive. “
Coun Wynne says the current situation is “bad” for both residents and ward staff, whom he claims were “dropped right on” by Avanti.
“I praise the station staff as always, but I don’t know how these machines were released for public use from above at Avanti, it’s incredible,” he said.
“I believe a software update will fix this and it will be required yesterday – but serious questions need to be asked as to why the checks and balances failed on something as basic as this.”
Avanti West Coast has responded to the criticism.
Avanti West Coast has responded to the criticism
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
A spokesman for the rail operator said: “Although customers have always been able to buy tickets for journeys to and from Manchester from the ticket machines, we welcome feedback to help us identify improvements and are working on updating the software for the whole of Manchester Destinations can be easily selected.
“While we are working on it, our team in Stockport has been trained on the ticket machines and is available to customers.
“We have contacted Coun Wynne and we will accommodate him at Stockport Station to use the ticket machines once more software upgrades are complete.”
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