PAYG Oyster valid across all London from 2/1

[somersetchris]

One ticket for trains, Tube and buses in Oyster card rail revolution

The Oyster card revolution in travel across Greater London will start on 2 January, it was announced today.

After years of negotiations and a £40 million investment, commuters will be able to touch in and touch out at Network Rail stations as well as the Tube and bus network.

The “Oysterisation” of public travel, which also includes Thames river boats, will allow Oyster card holders to travel “seamlessly” across the capital without the need for another ticket for a train journey.

The new combination of routes will be included on a map called “The World of Oyster” that could replace the classic Tube map as the way Londoners envisage the city.

The extension of the system will cover all commuter rail routes within Greater London, and will particularly benefit those in south and north-east London. It means the farthest stop away from London passengers will be able to use their Oyster card will be Watford.

Boris Johnson said: “After what feels like eons of negotiation and much gnashing of Londoners' teeth we can finally announce the Oysterisation of all London's rail services. We've finally ended the crackers situation of Londoners not being able to use Oyster on every mile of London's track.”

Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis said: “Oyster pay-as-you-go will transform travel in London as for the first time passengers will be able to switch between underground and all overground rail services.

“If we are to encourage more people onto public transport we must make it as easy and convenient to use as possible. That is exactly what Oyster has done in London and why extending pay-as-you-go to rail services is so important.

“Oyster on rail will open up a range of new journey opportunities for Londoners. But we must not stop there — I want to see smart ticketing on all modes of public transport in England as quickly as possible.”

Transport for London has invested £40 million to upgrade equipment at every station.

The new map will be introduced at London Underground stations from early next year.

Train operators will be able to set their own prices for journeys.

Sharon Grant of London TravelWatch said: “This is great news and a new dawn for passengers in London. We have been pressing for Oyster to be made available on rail for years, and we are absolutely delighted that the day has finally arrived.

“This is a big step towards the integrated transport network London needs and deserves.” But critics have complained that today's announcement has taken too long.

Rail companies were blamed for obstructing the negotiations which were started by Ken Livingstone.

Chair of the London Assembly's transport committee, Lib-Dem member Caroline Pidgeon said: “After repeated delays it is welcome that Oyster pay-as-you-go is finally being extended to all cover all National Rail services in London.”

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standa...-revolution.do

[Ciudad Bristol]

What a load of PR poop. It glazes over the fact that you will need to "buy" a "free" Oyster Extention permit if you are using your PAYG with a travelcard embedded on it.

[somersetchris]

Can you please explain more?

[DarJoLe]

If you have a travelcard for zones 1-3 for example, and want to travel to zone 5 and end your journey at a NR station without any connection to a TfL covered mode of transport (i.e. London Underground, Overground and Tramlink) then before you touch in you need to make sure you have enough PAYG credit plus place an Oyster Extension Permit on your Oyster card. If you are caught on your journey before you leave the NR station without an OEP, you will be forced to pay a penalty fare (even though technically you have paid for the journey when you put the PAYG credit on your Oyster card).

If the destination you are going to has Oyster readers on the exit barrier, you do not need an OEP.

This only, stupidly, applies to people with travelcards travelling outside their paid for zones. If you use PAYG for the entire journey, you don't need an OEP to be placed on your card.

The OEP needs to be placed on the card each time you make one journey outside your travelcard zones and is valid for 6 months, however if you store one up, you need to make sure you don't touch in, because then it activates the OEP believing you to be making a journey outside your travelcard zones.

Confused? Good. You're not the only one. This basically boils down to the rail companies not willing to pay for Oystercard exit barrier, nor the GLA. When Ken was trying to iron out all this PAYG across the network, he knew the rail companies wouldn't pay for the barriers, so put forward the notion of the GLA paying for them, so using Oyster across the network was as easy and seamless as possible. With Boris in charge, he doesn't want to spend anything, and so penalises and inconveniences people who should have the easiest journeys in and out of outer London.

[Republica]

So they are rolling out oyster without oyster barriers?

How utterly STUPID.

Its not difficult to get this right.

[somersetchris]

DarJoLe, thank you for the explanation. This is going to cause absolute chaos and grief to the passenger.

[Teeif]

It took 10 years but the official map finally gives London's commuter network a sense of completion. WOW. This thing is complicated! I know it already existed as a national rail map but that, true to itself, didn't have any integration with tfl.

Now it shows you can change at Lewisham and not get charged £2 if you wanna use a train. It also shows the Stratford Javein is availiable on a z1-3 travelcard.

Actually.

I not entirely convinced oyster will know what to charge, hence, let chaos commence!

I also think the oyster map will become essential in future, my only gripe is that I can't see this thing fitting in my wallet.
(Download a map of Oyster rail services in London in January 2010 (299 KB))

[sweek]

It does explicitly say Oyster can't be used on HS1.

[DarJoLe]

Originally Posted by sweek

It does explicitly say Oyster can't be used on HS1.

Which is a bit silly really, because it will during the Olympics when people load on their spectator travel ticket to their Oyster. Oh well, it will need reprinting before then anyway.

[sweek]

Originally Posted by DarJoLe

Which is a bit silly really, because it will during the Olympics when people load on their spectator travel ticket to their Oyster. Oh well, it will need reprinting before then anyway.

I believe all Olympics tickets will come with a travelcard, which will presumably allow you to travel on the Javelin service as well.

It shouldn't be all that hard to include it into Oyster PAYG given there will be specific gates for the HS services both at Stratford and at St. Pancras. The same should be done with Heathrow.

[Jon10]

Originally Posted by DarJoLe

The OEP needs to be placed on the card each time you make one journey outside your travelcard zones and is valid for 6 months, however if you store one up, you need to make sure you don't touch in, because then it activates the OEP believing you to be making a journey outside your travelcard zones..

Please clarify. I though it was the case that, on Touch-In, the OEP makes the card immediately deduct a maximum fare from the Pay-As-You-Go balance of the card. This is "repaid" when you Touch Out within your normal season ticket zones. If you Touch Out in OTHER zones, the balance gets adjusted to charge you at TfL fare rates or NR fare rates, depending where you are.

(Does that mean the OEP has been "used up", in all circumstances, as DarJoLe suggests?)

Without the OEP on the card, you only get the deduction when you Touch Out - at TfL fare rates or, I assume NR fare rates. If you don't Touch Out, you don't get charged at all (naughty).

Is that right?

[DarJoLe]

I think so. What I was saying was that you can't just 'keep' an OEP on your card if you think one day in the future you might need it. You'll have to queue up at the ticket window for each time you need an OEP. Say, for example, it's monday, but on wednesday I know I'll need an OEP. There's no queue on that morning, so I think oh I'll get my OEP now to save the hassle on wednesday morning. Then of course I head to work as normal, touch in with my travelcard, and then of course the OEP activates, and then when I touch out at work it's deleted off; but I didn't need it on monday. Come wednesday, if there's a huge queue, tough, I need to get one.

It's totally making Oyster even more complicated and less seamless. You might as well have two oyster cards now, one with just your travelcard and another with just PAYG, which you can use whenever without needing to get an OEP each time you want to travel out of your travelcard zones.

[Republica]

whatever the case, its stupidly complicated.

[RBRJ]

One ticket for London as Oysterisation of rail and river confirmed
Posted by NOW London News on Nov 26th, 2009.

Oyster pay as you go accepted on National Rail services from 2 January 2010
Mayor announces Oyster pay as you go accepted on Thames Clipper commuter services from today


The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, Transport Secretary, Andrew Adonis, and the Train Operating Companies serving the capital today confirmed that the hundreds of thousands of passengers who travel on National Rail services within Greater London will be able to use Oyster pay as you go from 2 January 2010.

The extension of the ticketing system will cover all commuter rail routes within Greater London, and will particularly benefit commuters living across south and north east London, where Oyster pay as you go is not currently accepted on the vast majority of rail services.

The Mayor has also confirmed that Oyster pay as you go will be accepted on all Thames Clipper River services from today, making river travel more convenient for thousands more Londoners and helping to boost usage of London’s underused thoroughfare.

The rail agreement will see Oyster pay as you go accepted on all Greater London services operated by Chiltern, National Express East Anglia, London Midland, First Great Western, First Capital Connect, Southern, Southeastern and South West Trains. Oyster pay as you go will also be accepted on c2c services in Greater London as well as Grays, Chafford Hundred, Purfleet and Ockendon stations in Essex.

A new map that reveals the incredible reach of Oyster around the capital from January has also been produced. The map will become a feature of stations all over London in the build up to full Oysterisation.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: ”I am delighted to be able to announce that the Oysterisation of all London’s commuter rail services is to become a reality. This combined with the news about Thames Clippers services means Oyster will be all over the capital. It truly will be the only ticket Londoners need to get around town.

“Our hard work, determination and investment was not in vain. It has ended the crackers situation of Londoners not being able to use Oyster on every commuter route in the capital. And our glorious new map that reveals the unbelievable reach of Oyster truly hammers home that this is a landmark day for Londoners.”

Transport Secretary, Andrew Adonis, said: “Oyster pay as you go will transform travel in London as for the first time passengers will be able to travel seamlessly across the network and switch between underground and all overground rail services.

“If we are to encourage more people onto public transport we must make it as easy and convenient to use as possible. That is exactly what Oyster has done in London and why extending pay as you go to rail services is so important.

“Oyster on rail will open up a range of new journey opportunities for Londoners and will mean that rail passengers travelling into and across the capital from other parts of the country will only need one type of ticket. But we mustn’t stop there – I want to see smart ticketing on all modes of public transport in England as quickly as possible.”

Chairman of the Association of Train Operating Companies, Tom Smith, said: “Using Oyster pay as you go will make travel easier and simpler for hundreds of thousands of rail passengers making their way around the capital every day. This means that passengers in London will be able to use Oyster pay as you go at all 350 national rail stations in London from the 2nd January.

“Train companies and TfL have been working hard, with the help of the Department for Transport, to make all the arrangements needed for Oyster pay as you go to be used on rail in London. This major project will improve customers’ experience of using the rail network and we expect the number of people taking advantage of it to increase dramatically.”

London’s Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy, said: “London can now boast a truly integrated ticketing system that delivers ease and convenience for passengers. This is excellent news, particularly for people living south of the river.

“We have invested £40m to install or upgrade equipment at every train station in London to deliver Oyster on National Rail. We have worked tirelessly with the Association of Train Operating Companies, the operators and the Department for Transport and are delighted to have delivered this for the benefit of Londoners.”

The Train Operating Companies will set Oyster pay as you go fares on the National Rail network. These will be zonally based, but will be different from fares on TfL services. TfL fares will apply on the Tube, DLR, London Overground and National Rail services that currently accept Oyster pay as you go. An additional combined TfL/National Rail fare will be introduced for journeys that incorporate both TfL and National Rail services.

The Mayor also announced today that passengers can pay for their travel on Thames Clipper river services with Oyster pay as you go, in the process receiving a 10% discount. Passengers with a Travelcard loaded onto their Oyster card are eligible for the existing discount of a third off their ticket price, which can then be paid for using pay as you go credit which can be loaded onto the same Oyster card.

The agreement between Transport for London (TfL) and the Train Operating Companies was reached through the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). Contracts have now been signed between TfL and all Train Operating Companies for Oyster pay as you go to be accepted.

The agreement will enable passengers to use Oyster pay as you go on all National Rail services within Greater London (zones 1-6) from 2 January 2010.

The expansion of Oyster on National Rail will double the number of stations where Oyster pay as you go is accepted and lead to a significant increase in people who can use pay as you go.

Passengers with Travelcard products on their Oyster cards have been able to use them on National Rail services since 2003.

Oyster pay as you go is currently accepted across TfL’s London Overground network, at all London stations served by Chiltern, c2c and First Great Western; by National Express East Anglia Hackney area services, on Southern between Clapham Junction and Watford Junction and Balham and London Victoria; and on London Midland services between Watford and Euston. It is also valid on First Capital Connect services between Elephant & Castle / London Bridge and West Hampstead.

Oyster pay as you go will not be accepted for National Rail journeys that start or finish outside the zones where Oyster pay as you go is accepted. Neither will it be accepted on Heathrow Express, on Heathrow Connect services between Hayes & Harlington and Heathrow Terminals or on Southeastern High Speed services between Stratford and St Pancras International.

More than 7 million Oyster cards are regularly used in London and Oyster accounted for more than 3 billion passenger journeys last year.

More than 80% of all Tube and bus payments in London are now by Oyster. In the six years since the introduction of the Oyster card, the proportion of cash payments on the Tube and buses has fallen to just three per cent.

When passengers use Oyster they must touch in and out on the yellow card readers on the Tube, Docklands Light Railway, London Overground and on National Rail services where applicable. On buses and trams they need just touch in at the start of their journey.

From 2 January 2010, the Oyster system will automatically calculate the correct fare for your journey, within a fifth of a second, from up to 5 million permutations.

Passengers are recommended to register their Oyster card so that the money is protected if the card is lost or stolen, this can be done online at:

www.tfl.gov.uk./oyster

Many more passengers can pass through a Tube station gateline using an Oyster card compared to those using printed tickets – 40 a minute compared to 25 a minute.

Oyster is also available:

Online at: www.tfl.gov.uk/oyster
Over the phone at 0845 330 9876
At one of almost 4,000 Oyster Ticket Stops across London
At Tube and London Overground station ticket machines and ticket offices
From some ticket machines at National Rail stations
At six London Travel Information Centres open 7 days a week at:
Liverpool Street Tube station
Piccadilly Circus Tube station
Euston Mainline station
Victoria Mainline station
Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3 Tube station
Also from the Camden Town Hall Travel Information Centre – opposite King’s Cross station (Mon-Fri only)

[Republica]

On reflection this is a big step in the right direction though.

[OperateOnMe]

I am so annoyed at how much I keep getting charged cause I forget to touch out when going home late at night.... it's cheaper to get a discounted travelcard or buy one off XXX

This seems like it will only make this niggle worse, why not have a simple joined up policy

[Bottlefall]

So if i got this correctly i'll be able to use Oyster on FCC from St Pancras to Radlett...but not Luton? I mean its the same train, couldn't they just extend it to the last station? Shouldn't you be able to use the Oyster on the full suburban routes? They already sell Travel Cards so it would make sense to automate the process with Oyster.