It's a valid argument regardless of the base price.
Machines are generally cheaper than people. People like saving money more than they like talking to people. If given the choice they will almost always choose the machine, when they have to pay the price.
You also have to figure in what the savings actually are. For the railways in England, the staff costs (all of them - from signallers to drivers, maintenance workers, cleaners, guards, ticket office staff) are 20% of the cost of running the railway. Getting rid of a relatively small number of the worst paid staff on the railway will not do much to reduce the cost of running the railway - certainly not £5 per ticket’s worth, and the very small overall savings will not get passed on to the customers anyway.
Getting rid of a relatively small number of the worst paid staff on the railway will
Still save a significant chunk of money because people are still very expensive and ticket staff work 24/7.
certainly not £5 per ticket’s worth, and the very small overall savings will not get passed on to the customers anyway.
They almost certainly will be in one form or another. Even if the railroad keeps every dime the extra productivity in the economy you get from people not working as ticket staff will lead to improvements across the board.
Ticket staff in the UK don’t work 24/7. I used to work at a very large railway station in the UK and the ticket office was only open for 12 hours a day and only fully staffed at peak times, and employed the lowest paid staff in the station. (I’m guessing because you talk of railroads and dimes you probably don’t live in the UK, we’d be talking about railways and pennies here). The proposal is not to remove ticket staff at major stations, but at the minor ones, and there just aren’t that many staff at all the minor stations put together. Allied with the penalty fare system and the general unreliability of the ticket machines, and neither ticket machines nor guards on trains taking cash any more, having the busier smaller stations unstaffed is going to take mobility away from the most vulnerable.
Many ticket machines are not fit for use either - some of the ones on GWR for instance (of which lamentably I have first hand experience) have some of the buttons so close together on the touch screen they are a challenge to operate even by a young person with perfect eyesight and eye/hand coordination.
The drop in the ocean saved won’t lead to any meaningful improvements.
When i'm doing the standard thing I always do I prefer the machines. There are more of them so no lines and thus faster. When things get weird though a human can figure out what I really need and serve me faster.
This so much, nine times out of ten I know what I want and need and the ticket machine is best. But if I am doing something a bit strange the ticket office is used to make sure I get the right (and cheapest) option.
bioemerl@kbin.social 11 months ago
It's a valid argument regardless of the base price.
Machines are generally cheaper than people. People like saving money more than they like talking to people. If given the choice they will almost always choose the machine, when they have to pay the price.
mackwinston@feddit.uk 11 months ago
You also have to figure in what the savings actually are. For the railways in England, the staff costs (all of them - from signallers to drivers, maintenance workers, cleaners, guards, ticket office staff) are 20% of the cost of running the railway. Getting rid of a relatively small number of the worst paid staff on the railway will not do much to reduce the cost of running the railway - certainly not £5 per ticket’s worth, and the very small overall savings will not get passed on to the customers anyway.
bioemerl@kbin.social 11 months ago
Still save a significant chunk of money because people are still very expensive and ticket staff work 24/7.
They almost certainly will be in one form or another. Even if the railroad keeps every dime the extra productivity in the economy you get from people not working as ticket staff will lead to improvements across the board.
mackwinston@feddit.uk 11 months ago
Ticket staff in the UK don’t work 24/7. I used to work at a very large railway station in the UK and the ticket office was only open for 12 hours a day and only fully staffed at peak times, and employed the lowest paid staff in the station. (I’m guessing because you talk of railroads and dimes you probably don’t live in the UK, we’d be talking about railways and pennies here). The proposal is not to remove ticket staff at major stations, but at the minor ones, and there just aren’t that many staff at all the minor stations put together. Allied with the penalty fare system and the general unreliability of the ticket machines, and neither ticket machines nor guards on trains taking cash any more, having the busier smaller stations unstaffed is going to take mobility away from the most vulnerable.
Many ticket machines are not fit for use either - some of the ones on GWR for instance (of which lamentably I have first hand experience) have some of the buttons so close together on the touch screen they are a challenge to operate even by a young person with perfect eyesight and eye/hand coordination.
The drop in the ocean saved won’t lead to any meaningful improvements.
NuPNuA@lemm.ee 11 months ago
What stations in the UK run 24/7?
bluGill@kbin.social 11 months ago
When i'm doing the standard thing I always do I prefer the machines. There are more of them so no lines and thus faster. When things get weird though a human can figure out what I really need and serve me faster.
Mex@feddit.uk 11 months ago
This so much, nine times out of ten I know what I want and need and the ticket machine is best. But if I am doing something a bit strange the ticket office is used to make sure I get the right (and cheapest) option.