Oysterisation of Rail and River Confirmed
Mayor announces pay as you go accepted on National Rail and Thames Clipper commuter services
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson today confirmed that passengers who travel on National Rail services within Greater London will be able to use Oyster pay as you go from 2nd 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 news was "warmly welcomed” by London’s passenger watchdog. Sharon Grant, Chair, London TravelWatch, said the development was “great news and a new dawn for passengers in London.”
"Oyster PAYG is a great product, and a success story which has really benefited Londoners." she continued, "However, people will need to check to make sure they are getting the cheapest ticket possible, and we hope that there will be enough opportunities for people to purchase and top up their Oyster PAYG: this has not always been the case in all parts of London.”
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.
The Mayor also confirmed that Oyster pay as you go will be accepted on all Thames Clipper River services from today, Monday 23rd November, making river travel more convenient for thousands more Londoners in a bid to boost usage of London's underused thoroughfare.
A new map that reveals the 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."
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 Oyster system will automatically calculate the correct fare for the journey, within a fifth of a second, from up to 5 million permutations.
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.
November 23, 2009
