London has a wonderful payment system for public transport. Known as "Oyster," it's a credit card sized card, which customers can use as a pre-pay, top-up card. They can also put Travelcards and bus passes onto it, eliminating the need to carry paper tickets. Oyster is accepted on London buses, trams, the Tube, and overground trains operating within London. A customer can register his or her Oyster card and if it is stolen, TFL will protect the customer from the loss of any money on the card, when it is reported missing. Alternatively, if one is concerned about recorded wherever one travels, you can leave the card un-registered, which makes its use anonymous.
When Oyster first came out, I hesitated getting one. As I live just outside London, I didn't travel in the city every day, at that time. I used to buy one day Travelcards, when I did come into London, which gave me unlimited use of public transport on the valid day. I was worried that, with Oyster, where one is charged for each journey, I might end up paying more than a Travelcard. On the other hand, a Travelcard is only worthwhile, if you make enough trips to exceed the purchase price. Oyster solves the problem. The card will only charge you up to the cost of a Travelcard, or if used exclusively on buses, the maximum will be the equivalent of a one day bus pass. Thus, either way, you get the lowest price. If you don't travel enough to meet the price of a Travelcard, you only end up paying for the trips you use. If you do reach the Travelcard, or bus pass cost, it automatically caps the charges at that amount. If that wasn't enough, you get discounts on the cost of single trips, compared with paying cash. For example, a single bus journey is now £2.20, cash, but only £1.30 on Oyster.
Oyster also makes boarding the bus much quicker. Just press the card to yellow, circular "reader." It will beep once, which means the card has been accepted, and you are on your way (young people's concessionary Oyster cards beep eight times, rapidly). This is much quicker than buying a cash ticket. The faster the bus is loaded, the faster we are on our way. Queues move quickly and everyone benefits.
However, a significant minority of passengers slow the whole process down, by not having their Oyster cards ready when they board the bus. These passengers, the majority of whom seem to be women, wait until they board the bus to begin looking for their cards. It's so frustrating waiting while a woman fishes around in her handbag, looking for her Oyster, when most folks get them in their hands while waiting for the bus to approach. Some want me to drive off, while they look, but there are a few reasons why that's not practical. First, if it turns out I need to issue a cash ticket, we drivers are forbidden from issuing cash tickets while the bus is in motion. This is a safety issue, as issue a cash ticket can distract us from driving. Another reason, also safety related, is that we aren't supposed to be operating the bus with a passenger standing that far forward. Additionally, if I start driving, I can loose track of the passenger who hasn't paid, allowing him or her to disappear into the crowd on the bus and travel without paying. Finally, the psychological pressure of everyone on the bus waiting for the person motivates that he or she find the card quickly. It's also easier to launch the person from the bus, if he or she ends up not having a valid form of payment, if we are still at the bus stop.
In summary, if you are using cash to travel on London's buses, get an Oyster card today and start saving money. If you are an Oyster user, please have your card ready when you board, rather than start fishing for it on the bus. Here's a hint: if you always keep your Oyster in the same place, it will be a lot easier to find.
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