Merseyrail ticket staff have, until now, automatically printed a receipt for customers buying tickets – now they will only be issued on request. Tony McDonough reports

Train operator Merseyrail is to stop automatically printing receipts for customers after revealing the rolls of till receipts it uses in a year would stretch from Liverpool to Paris.

Similar to most retailers Merseyrail ticket staff have, until now, automatically printed a receipt for customers buying tickets whether they requested one or not. However, from now, receipts will only be issued on request.

Merseyrail hopes the new policy will help it save up to 600km of paper each year. By World Environment Day on June 5, ticket offices across the network will be receipt-free. However, automatic ticket vending machines will still provide them, and staff will issue receipts on request.

These changes are part of an ongoing commitment to reducing waste and increasing sustainability at Merseyrail, which carriers 110,000 passengers on 600 services every weekday, as multiple initiatives are taking place across the network.

A ‘Carbon Cup’ competition has encouraged staff to save energy across the network in a bid for their station to be crowned Carbon Cup Champion, resulting in huge energy savings. LED lights have been introduced in several stations across the region, saving energy in areas of higher consumption.

Head of sustainability at Merseyrail, Cath Johnston, said: “As part of our vision to deliver a world-class railway, we are committed to providing an affordable, greener and connected transport system.

“This latest move to remove automatically printed receipts contributes towards reducing our carbon footprint, and helping our passengers to be more environmentally conscious also.

“Passengers have been letting us know that they often buy the same ticket each day and don’t need a receipt, which they immediately put in the bin, so we knew we needed to act on this.”