Oyster card users: always touch in and out or get fined!

MSE_Martin

7 November 2006

What's this?

From 19 Nov, Transport for London will automatically charge the maximum cash fare for Oyster card pay as you go users who fail to touch in or out using the system's yellow card reader.

What does that mean?

When you touch in at a station, the maximum cash charge of £4 (£5 at selected National Rail stations) will be deducted from the balance of your Oyster card. This amount will then be adjusted by touching out at a station when your journey ends. If you fail to touch out, your oyster card will remain deducted of the maximum cash charge.

This charge also applies if you fail to touch in at the beginning of your journey; when you touch out, the maximum fare will then be deducted. You'll also be liable for a penalty fare or prosecution.

What about the daily price cap?

You'll also lose the benefit of cheaper Oyster fares for that journey as this charge won't count towards any cap you might reach that day. For example, a one day off-peak price cap is £4.90 for zones 1-4, but if you fail to touch out between two underground stations on two separate occasions, you'll pay over £12.


For more information see www.tfl.gov.uk

Martin

wendy_ann1983

From November 19th PayG customers must ensure that they not only touch in & out but that they have a minimum of £4 on their cards per journey.

PayG customers are currently charged the minimum fare of £1 when they enter a station, if you don't have £1 then you cannot enter.
This will become £4 so you must ensure you have £4 on your card before you travel (rip off I know) then when you touch your card out the computer corrects this to whatever it should be. For example the current fare for going 1Zone is £1, so touch in and it takes £4, touch out and it credits back the £3. Don't touch out and the card will keep the £4 charge.
It will also charge you £4 if you touch out but did not touch in.



The current amount it will charge you in one day is £13.10, the cost of a peak 1-6 travel card, but who knows what will happen in the future.

The charge will not go towards the daily cap either.

As far as I have been informed IT WILL NOT CHARGE CUSTOMERS WITH WEEKLY OR ABOVE. Just the PayG customers.

For a few weeks after this is introduced you will be able to go to the ticket office at any tube station and they can rectify the journey. They will not be able to do this for long though so you really should get in the habit of touching in and out now.

You may think this is unfair and so do alot of LU staff but you should also be aware that if you are caught by a member of revenue staff and you havent touched in you are liable to the £20 penalty fare or even court action.
The terms and conditions state that you MUST have a valid ticket for your journey, if you havent touched in your card is not valid


PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not take this out on station staff, we did not ask for this and are not happy about it either but the decision came from above and we have to deal with it. We wil try and help as much as possible but when someone is shouting at us it isnt easy.

isasmurf

This is already in force according to notices I've seen at various tube and DLR stations. It says something like

"From 10th October if you fail to touch in or touch out you will be charged the full cash fare for your journey. 98% of customers use their Oyster correctly, are you the 2% that don't?"

wendy_ann1983

No, as far as staff have been told it is the 19th Nov

wendy_ann1983

I have checked at work today and 7 stations ran a trial that started on Oct 10th. It will go out to all stations on the 19th Nov

justtoclarify_2

So this on top of £3 deposit I had to pay. Now I have to have a total of £7 plus the fare for that trip tied up with an PAYG oyster card, just so I can use it without having to top it up every time.

Ken has a lot to answer for.

wendy_ann1983

Yep, its great, I know. Oh an the fares will go up AGAIN on Jan 1st, and now that most customers are on Oyster he can start to put those fares up as well, maybe not just yet but you can guarantee they will go up soon.
Its great, it makes staffs lives hell.

Any travel questions I will try an answer quickly an honestly.

victory

thank you read it all and will make sure I touch in and out !! xxx

black-saturn

Thanks, I'll remember that. I use the bus as often as I can in London.

gromituk

TFL is at least trying hard to make the dopiest Tube traveller aware, with lots of posters and announcements.

Of course, announcements would have more impact if they didn't saturate your ears with pointless "a good service is running" marketing messages (however rarely that happens :rolleyes:).

BritSwedeGuy

The problem is the stations that still don't have readers, the irony is that those without cards can often travel for free but card-holders could get stung.