The consultation for the Northern and TransPennine Express franchise sought views on how best to serve passengers. Ticket buying habits are changing. Passengers can purchase their rail tickets through a variety of modes – from ticket offices to smart phones. With growing demand for rail travel, many ticket offices will continue to be busy and an important route for passengers to buy their tickets. The Department set out its broad vision for the future of Fares and Ticketing in the October 2013 Next Steps report. We want train operators to bring forward packages of measures which will improve the services they offer for passengers at ticket offices and at their stations, as well as encouraging more innovation in ticketing technology. This could mean bringing staff out from behind a glass screen into the station where they can be of greatest help to passengers, for example either using ticket machines, or assisting those with disabilities or reduced mobility. Train operators can propose changes to tickets office opening hours following the arrangements in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement. Public consultation is a requirement for larger changes and train operators would need to consider the broader impacts on passengers’ ability to get access to information and assistance at the station.