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Extra staff tackle Oyster failure Extra staff tackle Oyster failure
(29 minutes later)
Extra Tube staff have been drafted in after thousands of Oyster cards stopped working at the weekend. Extra London Underground staff were drafted in after a breakdown in the Oyster card system left thousands of people needing replacement cards.
Transport for London (TfL) said 150 staff would be in stations handing out replacement cards on Monday morning to help prevent queues building up. About 65,000 cards were corrupted and stopped working when they were swiped during technical problems on Saturday.
About 65,000 cards stopped working after the fault on Saturday. Tube workers handed out replacement cards and to prevent long queues some passengers travelled free of charge.
TfL said the majority of passengers would not be affected but people would be let through the barriers without paying if long queues started to form. Transport for London (TfL) said by lunchtime on Monday more than 30,000 affected cards had been replaced.
Automatic refundAutomatic refund
Sashi Verma, from TfL, said that 99% of customers would not be affected by the computer glitch. A TfL spokesman said: "The vast majority of passengers have travelled without any disruption this morning and London Underground staff have minimised the delay to passengers with cards that are not working.
He said: "There will undoubtedly be some queues this morning as Monday morning is the busiest period on the system for ticket buying anyway. "We are replacing affected cards and there are now less than 35,000 cards that need to be replaced.
"If there is a problem with queues people will be allowed to enter the system by just showing their card." "Ticket offices are well stocked and we advise those passengers who have not yet replaced their cards to go to their nearest LU ticket office throughout today."
The Oyster card system was inoperable for at least five hours on Saturday and some cards used during that time have since stopped working or incurred a fine. The Oyster card system was inoperable for at least five hours on Saturday and some 65,000 cards used during that time stopped working or incurred a fine.
All passengers who incurred a maximum fare or fine as a result of the fault will be given an automatic refund from Tuesday.All passengers who incurred a maximum fare or fine as a result of the fault will be given an automatic refund from Tuesday.
TfL said people with a faulty card could get a replacement from Tube stations. The cards are used as payment on buses, Tube, tram and the Docklands Light Railway.
The cards are used as payment on buses, Tube, tram and Docklands Light Railway.
Passengers touch the electronic card on the reader on entry or exit to a station, or when entering a bus.Passengers touch the electronic card on the reader on entry or exit to a station, or when entering a bus.
An investigation has been launched into the problem and TfL is expected to release a statement later this week.An investigation has been launched into the problem and TfL is expected to release a statement later this week.