subject: Oyster Cards in London [print this page] Oyster Cards in London
A variety of payment methods exist for purchasing permits to travel throughout the world's greatest cities. One of the most well used methods in London is the Oyster Card.
Introduced to the public in July 2003, the Oyster card is a contactless smart card which may be recharged in different locations such as ticket offices throughout London's rail network, vending machines, travel information points, online or by phone.
It is not unique: the Octopus card was introduced in Hong Kong in 1997 as the first contactless smart card in the world. There were also earlier prototype versions.
Over 10 million Oyster cards had been issued by March 2007, and the number keeps growing. They are credit card size and act as travel permits for more than 80% of all journeys run by Transport of London.
They make life much simpler for people regularly commuting in London. Not only can they hold season tickets, they can also act as pay-as-you-go travel cards and bus passes. They can electronically hold values of money in the same way as a pre-paid store card.
Where can you use Oyster cards?
London buses have a fixed rate flat fare; Oyster cards can be used to pay this far by touching the card to the yellow validator as you board;
London Trams operate a similar process to London buses, except at Wimbledon where the card must be used to gain access to open barriers so you may access the boarding point;
They are also accepted by River buses, however a ticket inspector with a handhold scanner will arrive to scan the card and deduct payment;
Both underground and overground rail services must swipe their card at the start and end of each journey in order to pay the correct fair or to use their season ticket. Most stations have scanners attached to the barriers when you enter or exit the station, although some smaller stations have standalone Oyster card readers.
As already discussed, cards can be used to hold season tickets or can be topped up and used to pay for individual trips in the same way as a mobile phone on a pay-as-you-go offer may be topped up before a telephone call is made. As of May 2010 it is thought that 16.5 million pay-as-you go Oyster cards have been purchased but not used during the past year. The average amount of money stored within each card is 1.80, resulting in almost 30m sitting unused.
With such high uptake, putting your design on Oyster card holders is an effective way to promote your brand. Corporate promotional items such as Oyster card holders and wallets, printed with your artwork or embossed with your design or company logo are a powerful marketing tool.
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