Tube workers mock Boris Johnson ticket office U-turn using Quote of the Day board

 
13 January 2014

Boris Johnson has come under fire over London Underground ticket office closures from an unlikely source – a station’s information board.

Workers at Clapham South station have hit out at the Mayor by using his pledge to protect TfL ticket offices as their ‘Quote of the Day’.

Appearing on the service information board at the Northern Line station this morning, the message read: “This Mayor takes his promises to Londoners extremely seriously. Every station that has a ticket office will continue to have one.”

The quotation was taken from a statement made by the Mayor in City Hall in March 2010.

Last week the general secretary of the Transport and Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), Manuel Cortes, highlighted the Mayor’s U-turn. He said: “It was the Mayor who came into office in 2008 with a firm pledge to keep open every ticket office on the grounds of keeping passengers safe and secure at all times.”

In November 2013 Mr Johnson announced the eventual closure of all London Underground ticket offices, along with up to 750 job cuts, in an attempt to cut spending by £40 million a year.

Next month members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will stage two 48-hour strikes in opposition to the cuts, with more industrial action expected to follow.

Phil Hufton, London Underground's chief operating officer, said: “All Tube stations will remain staffed at all times when services are operating, and we'll be introducing a 24-hour service at weekends during 2015. In future, there will be more staff in ticket halls and on platforms to help customers buy the right ticket and keep them safe and secure.

“We're committed to working with unions and staff to implement changes to station staffing without compulsory redundancies and we've been clear that there'll be a job for everyone at LU who wants to work for us and be flexible. I urge our trade union colleagues to work with us to shape the future of the Tube.”

Members of the TSSA will vote in the coming weeks on whether to launch their own campaign of industrial action against the strikes.

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