WIREDGOV

Oyster pay as you go is now valid on London Midland services.

From Sunday (18/11/2007) Oyster pay as you go can now be used on London Midland services between Watford Junction and Euston and Southern services between Watford Junction and Clapham Junction and all stations in between. This follows an offer by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, to provide the funding to the train operators to install the system, which offers passengers quicker and more convenient journeys.

The Mayor said: "London Midland signing up to accept Oyster is good news for their customers, who can now get the full benefits of the system that has proved so popular with Londoners.

"We have worked hard to get the Train Operators to sign up, offering them the funding to install the system. Those train operators that currently do not accept oyster should now come on board, and give their passengers what they have been asking for."

Shashi Verma, TfL Director of Fares and Ticketing, said: “This is great news for commuters as they can now take advantage of the

convenience that Oyster offers on London Midland services. With the full benefits of Oyster now available on both London Overground and London Midland travel will be quick and easy for thousands of passengers.”

London Midland took over the Silverlink County services when London Overground, part of Transport for London (TfL), took control of the

Silverlink Metro services on November 11th this year.

Notes to Editors:

More than 10 million Oyster cards have now been issued and 38 million journeys a week are made each week using Oyster.

Around 80% of all Underground and bus payments in London are now by Oyster card.

In the three years since the introduction of Oyster card, the proportion of cash payments on London's Underground and buses has fallen to just three per cent.

As an example, with Oyster pay as you go you can place £10 on your Oyster card and when you touch in and out at the yellow readers with your card on the Tube, Docklands Light Railway and London Overground or touch in on the bus or tram the reader automatically deducts the correct fare.

Oyster is available to buy or be topped up at all 275 Tube stations and there are also more than 2,200 Oyster Ticket Stops agents across the capital. Eighty-five percent of all Londoners live within 400 metres of an Oyster Ticket Stop.

Oyster is also available on-line at: www.tfl.gov.uk/oyster, over the phone via 0845 330 9876 or at Travel Information Centres across London.

You can find your nearest Oyster outlet through the TfL website.

A returnable deposit is required for a Pay-As-You-Go Oyster card but the money saved by switching to Oyster can cover this in just one days travel.

Passengers can also register the card so that the money is protected if the card is lost or stolen. Less ticket touts mean more secure stations.

Passengers can store up to three different Travelcards or Bus Pass season tickets and "pay as you go" on the same Oyster card at the same time. Oyster cards are also used to provide free travel for Londoners aged over 60 or with an eligible disability through the Freedom Pass scheme and, on the buses and trams, under 18s in full-time education can also get Oyster photocards for free travel.

When passengers use the Oyster card to touch in and out on the yellow readers on Tube and DLR and touch in on the buses and trams the system automatically works out the right fare for the journey within in a fifth of a second from up to 1.83 million permutations.

Almost three times as many passengers can pass an Underground payment gate using Oyster card as can using printed tickets - 40 a minute compared to 15 a minute.

Auto Top-up can be set up on line to ensure that passengers never run out our pay as you go money. When your balance drops below £5, it

will automatically be topped up with either £20 or £40 next time you touch in on any yellow reader on Tube, bus, tram or DLR.

More information on Oyster is available at: www.tfl.gov.uk/oyster