Nexus to shut up shops after move to online
NEXUS has announced plans to close all its remaining Travelshops across Tyne and Wear.
The public transport operator confirmed that it is looking at shutting the six offices left, all of which have been closed since the start of the coronavirus lockdown in March.
Nexus said the shops were “no longer needed” due to the services being available online, at ticket machines or through staff assistance at bus and Metro stations.
The 17 employees who worked at the shops will be found other roles in the organisation and an eight-week consultation has been launched, with Nexus encouraging customers who are affected to get in touch.
Huw Lewis, Customer Services Director at Nexus, said: “Our customers can now do almost everything they used to do across a counter faster and more conveniently online – people simply don’t need our shops any more.
“Our shops team have proved to be unsung heroes of the pandemic – switching overnight to frontline customer service roles offering reassuring presence to customers, and helping encourage social distancing and the use of face coverings. We will find alternative roles for all of them, work
Nexus Travelshops are to close
ing with customers on stations or in other parts of Nexus.
“Our Travelshops have been used less and less in the last decade as customer switched to Pop smart tickets and online purchase. These and other products, including Gold Card and Network One season tickets, can now be bought at ticket machines throughout the day and week, not just when shops were open.
“We sped up our move online as a result of lockdown, and we have completed thousands of applications for older person’s concessionary travelcards and Under-16 identity cards online – these were things you could only apply for over a counter or by post before March.
“We have begun a public consultation so that anyone who is concerned they may be affected can get in touch for us to discuss alternatives, although only a handful of people have done this since the shops were closed suddenly at the start of lockdown.”
The six shops are at Central Station, Gateshead, Haymarket, North Shields, South Shields and Sunderland.
Nexus once had 14 Travelshops before this shrunk to six in the last ten years, caused by a change in consumer habits as people moved to smart cards and online information.
Anyone who wants to take part in the consultation should go to nexus.org. uk/consultation
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