 | This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. The reason given is: Generally OK, but a lot of details have changed. (March 2023) |
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| Location | London, England |
|---|---|
| Launched | 30 June 2003[1] |
| Technology | |
| Operator | Cubic Transportation Systems |
| Manager | Transport for London |
| Currency | Pound sterling (£90 maximum load) |
| Stored-value | Pay-as-you-go |
| Credit expiry | None |
| Auto recharge | Auto top-up |
| Unlimited use | Travelcard |
| Validity |
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| Retailed | |
| Variants |
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| Website | oyster |
The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and some areas around it), England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport for London (TfL) and can be used on as part of London's integrated transport network on travel modes including London Buses, London Underground, the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), London Overground, Tramlink, some river boat services, and most National Rail services within the London fare zones. Since its introduction in June 2003, more than 86 million cards have been used.
Oyster cards can hold period tickets, travel permits and, most commonly, credit for travel ("Pay as you go"), which must be added to the card before travel. Passengers touch it on an electronic reader when entering, and in some cases when leaving, the transport system in order to validate it, and where relevant, deduct funds from the stored credit. Cards may be "topped-up" by continuous payment authority, by online purchase, at credit card terminals or by cash, the last two methods at stations or convenience stores. The card is designed to reduce the number of transactions at ticket offices and the number of paper tickets.[3] On London buses, cash is no longer accepted.
The card was first issued to the public on 30 June 2003,[4] with a limited range of features; further functions were rolled out over time. By June 2012, over 43 million Oyster cards had been issued and more than 80% of all journeys on public transport in London were made using the card.[5]
From September 2007 to 2010, the Oyster card functionality was tried as an experiment on Barclaycard contactless bank cards.[6] Since 2014, the use of Oyster cards has been supplemented by contactless credit and debit cards as part of TfL's "Future Ticketing Programme".[7] TfL was one of the first public transport providers in the world to accept payment by contactless bank cards, after, in Europe, the tramways and bus of Nice on 21 May 2010 either with NFC bank card or smartphone,[8] and the widespread adoption of contactless in London has been credited to this.[9] TfL is now one of Europe's largest contactless merchants, with around 1 in 10 contactless transactions in the UK taking place on the TfL network in 2016.[10]
- ^ "London's Oyster travel smartcard turns 10". BBC News. July 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ http://content.tfl.gov.uk/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf [Rail Map]
- ^ "What is Oyster?". Transport for London. n.d. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
- ^ Day, John R; Reed, John (2010) [1963]. The Story of London's Underground (11th ed.). Capital Transport. p. 216. ISBN 978-1-85414-341-9.
- ^ "Join in the celebrations across the capital this summer with a limited edition Summer Oyster card" (Press release). Transport for London. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "Barclaycard rolls out Oyster payments card". Finextra. September 2007.
- ^ "Projects and Planning Panel, Project Monitoring papers" (PDF). Transport for London. 9 January 2014. p. 12. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- ^ "Nice, première ville à passer au paiement sans contact" (in French). 01net.com. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "London's contactless fares system to power New York's subway, bus and rail journeys". MayorWatch. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
- ^ "Licencing London's contactless ticketing system" (Press release). Transport for London. 13 July 2016. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017.