CABYS blog

This blog will post news and information about the Campaign against Barriers at York Station and other ticket barriers (or proposed ticket barriers) elsewhere. The campaign was started by citizens concerned about National Express East Coast's published intention of installing ticket barriers at York, late in 2008. This has also raised concerns the rail industry's current drive to install ticket barriers at as many stations as possible across the network, with little or no evidence about cost effectiveness or the potential disadvantages.

Whilst there is no argument that on some suburban networks, such as the London Underground, barriers are a necessary measure to prevent fare evasion, the evidence they are effective at stations dealing primarily with main line traffic, such as York, is much more limited. In addition, they can cause significant inconvenience to passengers and close off railway stations as public spaces; in some cases, they may close off important through routes.

There is also plenty of evidence that many ticket barriers that are being installed, especially outside London, are not up to the job. Some have been operating on "accept all tickets" mode, whilst others can throw back more than a quarter of the (valid) tickets put into them, creating chaos at busy times.

More news and information will appear periodically.

You can see CABYS' static web page at http://one.xthost.info/cabys