(England Twitter)-Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing used on public transport services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. It is promoted by Transport for London and is valid on a number of different travel systems across London including London Underground, buses, the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), London Overground, trams, some river boat services and most National Rail services within the London Fare Zones.
A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored value card which can hold a variety of single tickets, period tickets and travel permits which must be added to the card prior to travel. It is also a contactless smartcard which passengers must touch onto an electronic reader when entering and leaving the transport system in order to validate it or deduct funds. The cards may be "recharged" in person from numerous sales points, by recurring payment authority or by online purchase. The card is designed to reduce the number of transactions at ticket offices and the number of single paper tickets sold on the London transport network. Use is encouraged by offering substantially cheaper fares on Oyster than payment with cash.
The card was first issued to the public in July 2003 with a limited range of features and there continues to be a phased introduction of further functions. By June 2010, over 34 million Oyster cards had been issued and more than 80% of all journeys on services run by Transport for London used the Oyster card.
Technology
The Oyster card is a contactless smartcard, with a claimed proximity range of about 8 cm (3 inches). The card operates as a RFID system and is compatible with ISO 14443A standards although the Oyster readers can also read other types of cards including ISO14443B and Cubic Go-Cards. From its inception until January 2010, Oyster cards were based on NXP/Philips' MIFARE Classic 1k chips provided by Giesecke & Devrient, Gemalto and SchlumbergerSema. Since December 2009 all new Oyster cards are being produced using the MIFARE DESFire chips. From February 2010 MIFARE Classic based Oyster cards are no longer being issued to the public. MIFARE DESFire cards are now widely used in transport smartcard systems.
Registration and protection
Oyster cards can be registered or protected for loss or theft. Full registration can be done at a London Underground station, an Oyster Ticket Stop (shop) or a Travel Information Centre: an Oyster registration form must be filled in (either at time of purchase or subsequently). Registration enables the customer to buy any product for the card and to have an after-sales service, and it protects against theft or loss. The customer has to supply a Security Answer: either their mother's maiden name, memorable date or memorable place. All adult Oyster cards purchased online or by phone are fully registered. (This does not include Visitor Oyster cards.)
Sales
Oyster cards can be purchased from a number of different outlets in the London area:
London Underground or London Overground ticket windows
cash-only vending machines at some stations, they charge £5 for the card (£3 refundable deposit and £2 worth of credit)
about 4,000 Oyster Ticket Stop agents (usually newsagent shops)
selected National Rail stations, some of which are also served by London Underground
Travel Information Centres
online via the Oystercard website
by telephone sales from TfL.
Visitor Oyster cards can also be bought from Visit Britain outlets around the world, other transport operators, such as EasyJet and Gatwick Express.
While the cards themselves could originally be obtained free of charge, a refundable deposit of £3 was subsequently introduced, and this was increased to £5 in January 2011. Transport for London said this was due to the administrative and environmental costs of customers disposing of Oyster cards instead of re-using them. A registration form is meant to be provided at the time of purchase, which if not completed restricts the Oyster card to Pay as you go and weekly tickets.
Ticket vending machines on most national rail stations top-up Oyster cards and sell tickets that can be loaded on to Oyster. This facility is not available at stations operated by Southwest Trains, except Wimbledon and Richmond, where pre-existing arrangements have meant that Oyster cards have been available for many years, as these are also Underground stations on the District line. New Oyster cards are not available at most National Rail stations and termini. At several main line termini, TfL run Travel Information Centres which do sell Oyster.
Reporting
Touch screen ticket machines report the last eight journeys and last top-up amount. The same information is available as a print-out from ticket offices, and also on-board London Buses by request. The balance is displayed on some Underground barriers at the end of journeys that have caused a debit from the balance and can also be requested at newsagents and National Rail stations that provide a top-up facility.
A complete 8 week 'touch' history can be requested from Transport for London: For registered and protected Oyster cards, Transport for London can provide the history for the previous 8 weeks, but no further back. The Oyster website gives details of the most recent journeys charged to pay as you go if, and only if, credit has been purchased online at least once. It does not show journeys paid for by Travelcard.
A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored value card which can hold a variety of single tickets, period tickets and travel permits which must be added to the card prior to travel. It is also a contactless smartcard which passengers must touch onto an electronic reader when entering and leaving the transport system in order to validate it or deduct funds. The cards may be "recharged" in person from numerous sales points, by recurring payment authority or by online purchase. The card is designed to reduce the number of transactions at ticket offices and the number of single paper tickets sold on the London transport network. Use is encouraged by offering substantially cheaper fares on Oyster than payment with cash.
The card was first issued to the public in July 2003 with a limited range of features and there continues to be a phased introduction of further functions. By June 2010, over 34 million Oyster cards had been issued and more than 80% of all journeys on services run by Transport for London used the Oyster card.
Technology
The Oyster card is a contactless smartcard, with a claimed proximity range of about 8 cm (3 inches). The card operates as a RFID system and is compatible with ISO 14443A standards although the Oyster readers can also read other types of cards including ISO14443B and Cubic Go-Cards. From its inception until January 2010, Oyster cards were based on NXP/Philips' MIFARE Classic 1k chips provided by Giesecke & Devrient, Gemalto and SchlumbergerSema. Since December 2009 all new Oyster cards are being produced using the MIFARE DESFire chips. From February 2010 MIFARE Classic based Oyster cards are no longer being issued to the public. MIFARE DESFire cards are now widely used in transport smartcard systems.
Registration and protection
Oyster cards can be registered or protected for loss or theft. Full registration can be done at a London Underground station, an Oyster Ticket Stop (shop) or a Travel Information Centre: an Oyster registration form must be filled in (either at time of purchase or subsequently). Registration enables the customer to buy any product for the card and to have an after-sales service, and it protects against theft or loss. The customer has to supply a Security Answer: either their mother's maiden name, memorable date or memorable place. All adult Oyster cards purchased online or by phone are fully registered. (This does not include Visitor Oyster cards.)
Sales
Oyster cards can be purchased from a number of different outlets in the London area:
London Underground or London Overground ticket windows
cash-only vending machines at some stations, they charge £5 for the card (£3 refundable deposit and £2 worth of credit)
about 4,000 Oyster Ticket Stop agents (usually newsagent shops)
selected National Rail stations, some of which are also served by London Underground
Travel Information Centres
online via the Oystercard website
by telephone sales from TfL.
Visitor Oyster cards can also be bought from Visit Britain outlets around the world, other transport operators, such as EasyJet and Gatwick Express.
While the cards themselves could originally be obtained free of charge, a refundable deposit of £3 was subsequently introduced, and this was increased to £5 in January 2011. Transport for London said this was due to the administrative and environmental costs of customers disposing of Oyster cards instead of re-using them. A registration form is meant to be provided at the time of purchase, which if not completed restricts the Oyster card to Pay as you go and weekly tickets.
Ticket vending machines on most national rail stations top-up Oyster cards and sell tickets that can be loaded on to Oyster. This facility is not available at stations operated by Southwest Trains, except Wimbledon and Richmond, where pre-existing arrangements have meant that Oyster cards have been available for many years, as these are also Underground stations on the District line. New Oyster cards are not available at most National Rail stations and termini. At several main line termini, TfL run Travel Information Centres which do sell Oyster.
Reporting
Touch screen ticket machines report the last eight journeys and last top-up amount. The same information is available as a print-out from ticket offices, and also on-board London Buses by request. The balance is displayed on some Underground barriers at the end of journeys that have caused a debit from the balance and can also be requested at newsagents and National Rail stations that provide a top-up facility.
A complete 8 week 'touch' history can be requested from Transport for London: For registered and protected Oyster cards, Transport for London can provide the history for the previous 8 weeks, but no further back. The Oyster website gives details of the most recent journeys charged to pay as you go if, and only if, credit has been purchased online at least once. It does not show journeys paid for by Travelcard.
