The Oyster is My World

The Oyster Card. I used to think this was the tool of Satan. The vehicle by which all Londoners would be tracked, followed, monitored, buggered and conned out of the money they save on the great value for money weekly bus passes. For those of you who still don’t know what I’m moaning about now, the Oyster Card is a blue smart-card that is tapped against readers on buses and tube trains. I had heard that all one’s details are stored on a databse, and that Ken Livingstone sits in his penthouse office suite at 1, Ivory Tower, London W1 and monitors the comings and goings of all the sheep-like Londoners.

I was also upset that the cheaper travelcards, the ones that need to be displayed to a bus driver, or put through a grumpy reader, were going to be phased out, simply because they work out cheaper and Ken doesn’t like to lose out.

It was with a severe bleating degree of sheepishness that I discovered the flaws in my assumptions. It is quite possible to get an Oyster Card without furnishing Transport for London with any personal details whatsoever. Just as long as you’re putting a little credit on or buying a cheap bus pass to put on it.

There are three reasons I’m happy with the Oyster Card.

1. It’s convenient. Tapping against a reader is fast, so time is saved. There is no need to engage with the bus driver at all. I like not having to engage with someone who by the nature of his job has to assume that you are trying to defraud him.
2. It’s flexible. I can have a number of “cards” or “credit” on the card at one time. I currently have two passes on. The second was bought ahead of time and will run from the minute that my current pass expires. I also have some credit that is used in case I wish to use the tube. In any event, the cheapest option is charged at the end of the day.
3. It’s efficient. If you use a combination of travel options through various zones during the day, you will be charged the cheapest overall price. This saves you having to work out what you’re going to do at the beginning of your travel period and allows you to be flexible if you need to be.

Let’s hope these advantages are not eventually weighed down by a loss of privacy. Note that although it works out for me, if you want a monthly pass, or protection against loss and theft, you still have to register. The Mayor has mentioned the possibility of the Oyster Card eventually being used as a widely accepted method of payment across all of London for a number of goods and services. That’s when things might get scary.