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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| London Oyster users 'charged more' to travel in capital | London Oyster users 'charged more' to travel in capital |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Oyster card users are paying almost £100 more for weekly travel on London's transport network compared with contactless card users, research shows. | |
| London Assembly Member Val Shawcross said a discrepancy had arisen between pay as you go (PAYG) Oyster cards and contactless bank cards. | London Assembly Member Val Shawcross said a discrepancy had arisen between pay as you go (PAYG) Oyster cards and contactless bank cards. |
| While Transport for London (TfL) has introduced weekly caps on contactless cards, only daily caps apply on Oyster. | While Transport for London (TfL) has introduced weekly caps on contactless cards, only daily caps apply on Oyster. |
| TfL said: "The same fares apply to both contactless and Oyster." | TfL said: "The same fares apply to both contactless and Oyster." |
| Analysis from the Labour party found passengers using PAYG fares travelling between zones 4 and 7 during peak-time seven days a week would pay £121.20. | |
| Passengers travelling between the same zones but using contactless would spend £29.40. | Passengers travelling between the same zones but using contactless would spend £29.40. |
| Similarly, commuting through zones 1-4 on a seven-day basis would cost PAYG commuters £68.40 while contactless payment users would be charged £45. | |
| Mayoral 'promises broken' | Mayoral 'promises broken' |
| Ms Shawcross said: "Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Oyster would always be the cheapest way to travel but that simply isn't true. | Ms Shawcross said: "Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Oyster would always be the cheapest way to travel but that simply isn't true. |
| "When Boris Johnson launched contactless he could have chosen to add weekly caps to the Oyster card. | "When Boris Johnson launched contactless he could have chosen to add weekly caps to the Oyster card. |
| "Instead he purposely chose to give contactless card users a better deal, despite almost half a million Londoners not having a bank account let alone a contactless card." | "Instead he purposely chose to give contactless card users a better deal, despite almost half a million Londoners not having a bank account let alone a contactless card." |
| A TfL survey found only 26% of Londoners had made a payment with a contactless card and, according to Ffrees Family Finance, 440,000 Londoners do not have bank accounts and would be ineligible for contactless payment cards. | A TfL survey found only 26% of Londoners had made a payment with a contactless card and, according to Ffrees Family Finance, 440,000 Londoners do not have bank accounts and would be ineligible for contactless payment cards. |
| Transport for London's director of customer experience Shashi Verma said: "The same fares apply to both contactless and Oyster. | |
| "Contactless provides the convenience of Monday to Sunday capping, giving customers the same fare as is available to Oyster customers who buy a weekly Travelcard or bus pass. | "Contactless provides the convenience of Monday to Sunday capping, giving customers the same fare as is available to Oyster customers who buy a weekly Travelcard or bus pass. |
| "If a customer uses contactless for a week within zones 4 to 7 they will get their fare capped at £29.40. | "If a customer uses contactless for a week within zones 4 to 7 they will get their fare capped at £29.40. |
| "If a customer buys a weekly Travelcard on their Oyster card for zones 4 to 7 they will also pay the same fare of £29.40," she added. | "If a customer buys a weekly Travelcard on their Oyster card for zones 4 to 7 they will also pay the same fare of £29.40," she added. |
| "We are looking at introducing weekly capping on Oyster when the current technology can be updated. | "We are looking at introducing weekly capping on Oyster when the current technology can be updated. |
| "This is a complex process as it requires changes not only to the card readers but also to our back office and retailing systems." | "This is a complex process as it requires changes not only to the card readers but also to our back office and retailing systems." |
| Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon said Oyster card users should "never be penalised". | Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon said Oyster card users should "never be penalised". |
| She said: "Over 15 months ago the mayor made a specific commitment that a weekly cap on Oyster pay as you go would start from 2015. | She said: "Over 15 months ago the mayor made a specific commitment that a weekly cap on Oyster pay as you go would start from 2015. |
| "It is time that the mayor finally honoured that commitment and ensured that the cheapest fares truly can be obtained using Oyster." | "It is time that the mayor finally honoured that commitment and ensured that the cheapest fares truly can be obtained using Oyster." |