A freedom of information request shows that it takes on average nearly 11 minutes to resolve a query for customers calling the Oyster Helpline.

Is this what TfL and LU see as staying true to their vision of world class customer service when discussing job cuts? Is 11 minutes on a telephone better service than a face to face chat with staff in a ticket office?

This is the situation already and LU is actively promoting the helpline and pushing customers away from the ticket offices by closing them, reducing opening times and reducing the assistance ticket office staff can give.

The response to the FOI request states that around a fifth of the staff on the desk are temporary and therefore don’t have rights to leave. Around seventy people work at the centre which can deal with 16000 calls in a week.

This isn’t the future of LU customer service it is what is happening now. Temporary staff, contracted out, with fewer rights than those of us working at LU have won and fight hard to defend.

The FOI request response is at the TFL website here.