Indeed so. Merseyrail's ticket offices are an utter waste of money now - switch to offering contactless (and an Oyster like product for children) and they would serve pretty much no purpose at all.
It's an easy cut to make, too, because strikes would do nothing to affect daily operations, as enough people already book online or use TVMs.
But how much does having a member of staff at a Merseryrail station prevent serious anti social behaviour and reduce the fear of crime? Fair bit I reckon.
Also, what we've not accounted for is the booked and unbooked passenger assistance these ticket office staff provide. If the guard spots say a visually impaired passenger on the platform struggling at the other end of the train, it's likely to mean a longer dwell in the station than if the resident station staff had guided the passenger to the train and were ready when it arrived.
Also, who would help passengers who need assistance enter and leave the station? As it stands, staff will assist anyone who requires assistance from the train to a car or taxi if necessary.
Sweden manages just fine without any station staff at all. Seems a sensible and vast cost saving that would hardly inconvenience anyone. Of course, the traditionalists will whine however, but what are their cost saving plans?
But how much anti social behaviour do they get in Sweden compared to places such as empty unstaffed urban stations and some bus shelters in the UK?
Redeploy ticket office staff to work barriers from first to last train.
Good where it can be done. But realistically, if it's a cost saving exercise it's not likely, or only likely at the busier locations. Ticket offices which might be single staffed would need multiple staff, and then there's the cost of fitting the barriers if somewhere suitable is found.
If there is a desire to close mass ticket offices to save money then it's likely to mean a net mass de-staffing of a lot of stations which are only staffed by their ticket office.
In Germany it's rare for ticket checks to take place on stations or on trains but most people do buy tickets because the penalty for trying to get a free ride is too high.
But what sort of culture do they have in Germany on the streets? Since lockdown ended especially, there are some people who simply do not intend on paying for travel and do not like authority or ignore it. They know that if they are challenged, unless the police are present, they will simply run off at their station of choice, or ignore the person challenging them. Nobody other than the police, who can restrain them, would be able to force payment or make them fear not paying.
When small village stations have multiple entry and exit points, it's not viable to put staff at all of them to check tickets, especially at quieter times.
How likely is this realistically?
My local station is ungated all the time, has only a TVM and everyone seems to manage just fine.
My local station with a ticket office is staffed by miserable, unhelpful staff and is usually empty.
My nearest city ticket office is notorious for trying not to sell tickets they don’t like the idea of…
The only ticket office that seems busy when I pass is the Northern one at Leeds, but that’s possibly because they never seem to have enough windows open.
Is your local unstaffed station urban or rural? One near me which is semi urban has gangs of youths there every weekend evening. Anyone I know who is older or some people traveling alone will not use this station in the evening.