Bishop Stortford
Ticket Office Design
CLIENT'S CHALLENGE
Abellio Greater Anglia's project team approached Ideas to investigate a new design for their Bishop Stortford ticket office as part of their modernisation project. Because we had worked with Abellio before, at Stansted Airport and Stratford East, we were familiar with their retail, equipment, and operational requirements. We also understood their desire for inclusive design, and the importance of ergonomics to them.
WHAT WE DID
Liaising with the Head of Projects at Abellio, we prepared design proposals based on our standard inclusive design for customer counters and security windows. This is a modular product for a ticket office. It forms the base design for all Network Rail’s Inclusive Ticket Counters to be used in every railway investment and enhancement project. We enhanced this standard design to incorporate specific requirements, including a transparent 'night counter' security screen. This is a feature used by Abellio’s counterparts in the Netherlands to provide an 'open counter' approach. The design proposals were developed within a short time frame to enable Abellio to share them with union representatives and other stakeholders.
THE OUTCOME
By applying our standard design, ergonomics approach and specialist know-how, we were able to offer an inclusive ticket counter design based on the principal that “all counters are accessible to both standing ambulant customers, wheelchair users and customers of lower stature.”
From a customer’s perspective, the main features of this design are:
- dual height and continuous counters, comprising of an upper transaction counter which is the same height for both staff and customer sides
- a lower customer counter which can be used for bags and other personal items by either seated or standing customers
- an extending transaction tray which can be used by seated or smaller stature customers if required
From the staff side, we were able to include:
- non-handed counters which allow staff to organise retail equipment within comfortable arms reach
- clear leg space below the counter when operating between two vital work zones (the touch screen terminal and transaction area)
- a variety of storage options for computer equipment, stationery, ticket stock and cash float drawers
All in all, we were able to offer a design based on our standard modular customer counter which meets the Network Rail standards, and the flexibility to respond to Abellio Greater Anglia’s specific design requirements.
"A design based on a standard modular product for a ticket office, which forms the base design for all Network Rail’s Inclusive Ticket Counters, enhanced to incorporate specific client requirements."