Directed by JourneyCheck to Melksham Ticket Office. Could we run one?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Melksham: Ticket Vending Machine problem
The ticket vending machines are out of order at Melksham station.
Additional Information
Please purchase tickets at the ticket office or, if unavailable, at the first available opportunity to do so when no other means of purchasing them is available at the station.
Last Updated:28/01/2018 04:40

We would love to be able to offer a community cafe, information point and ticket agency / office  at Melksham Station ... if only the commission rates on ticket sales, up front costs of setting such an agency, and some sort of medium term stability on those elements made it viable.  I am pretty sure that additional traffic to travel on existing trains would be generated that would bring GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) many times more income that our commission ... any profit on which would (in any case) be used to further local integrated public transport.

[Worcester_Passenger]

I'd recommend a visit to Ledbury (http://www.railticket.co.uk/) or Chester-le-Street (http://www.chester-le-track.co.uk/).

[Worcester_Passenger]

Spoke too soon - Chester-le-Track is closing down, saying that they can't compete with internet sales. See https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/chester-le-track-to-cease-trading.160928/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter.

[grahame]

Spoke too soon - Chester-le-Track is closing down, saying that they can't compete with internet sales. See https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/chester-le-track-to-cease-trading.160928/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter.

Thanks for that update.  Yes, aware of the model and also how commission rates have shrunk over the years as internet providers can sell very large numbers of tickets on a small margin.

[JayMac]

A community cafe would be a good starting point I think. Perhaps in a similar vein to Strawberry Line Cafe at Yatton Station. Combine that with a shop (local produce?) and ticket office and you may have a viable business. Run it as a CIC^▸ (Community Interest Company ) and there could be rates relief, if Wiltshire CC offer such discretion.

Crowdfund the start-up?