Why dont they accept Oystercards on overground trains?

Question

Its a pain in the @ss. if i want to go out for the day and choose to use bus and overground train, i have to charge my Oyster AND buy a travelcard or train ticket.

Isnt this extortion? Why cant Livingstone allow Oysters on trains too, if he GENUINELY wants to improve public transport in London?

Answer 1

Well the first problem is, where does the Oyster Card allow you to travel ... Here is a hint LONDON! Where do Mainline trains go ... ALL over the UK. It is one of the biggest pain in the backsides when some twit of a train passenger tries to get off the train with an Oyster outside London.

Ken Livingstone and TFL want any train coming into the London Zone to allow Oyster on board. The TOC companies have asked if they are willing to pay for the upgrade of all Stations, Supply the Card readers every Ticket Guard, Revenue Officer, Conductor, Train Manager, etc and Pay for the training that each member of staff that is concerned with Ticket Sales and Enquires (This includes all Platform Assistants, gateline staff, etc) and the overtime this will require to cover their normal shifts. Install alongside the multi style systems to connect with the 10 differnet styles of Ticket selling systems availiable throughout the country so that the system would work. Plus the remote payment system where Oyster PrePay can be installed.

Finally There is then the problem of decideing who gets what percentage of money the tickets cost, dont forget with ATOC agreements, each company gets a certain cut of a ticket if more than one company exists on a particular route, unless the ticket is restricted to that company only.

Answer 2

due to an ongoing argument between the overground rail companies and transport for london as to who's going to pay for the installation of this technology at all their stations. Surprise surprise, neither side wants to pay!

Answer 3

Because there is a differant regulating company for over ground tickets.

Mind over the next few years when a train franchise becomes availble, the companies bidding to run the trains on that route will have to install gateline which will accept tickets like the Oyster Cards.

Answer 4

If the UK had a truly intergrated transport sytem they would.  Because the UK has relentlessly followed privatisation and separate cost centres for everything we dont get an integrated transport system and hence your dilemma.  Would be nice to blame it all on weee Ken but I guess even he cannot sort out that which is not (in the business and commercial sense) part of London transport.

UK transport prices are way over the top in any case.  Compare with Madrid - 1 euro metro fare to/from anywhere in the city on the metro system, including the airport.  Brussels - 10 ride ticket (unlimited period of validity) for 10 euros usable on any metro and bus with each ride possibly including mix of buses, trams and metro within 2 hours.   Single ride ticket costs about 2 euros. Single train ride from airport to city = 2.80 euros.  Berlin - a "normal" ticket valid on any mix of train, metro, bus within a 2 hour period.  Long time since I was there but was equivalent to about 1 euro too.  Paris is an exception with higher fares and less integration between metro, RER and buses but London and the rest of the UK is incredibly expensive and not tourist friendly at all.

Answer 5

The "Oyster Card" was brought in by the lovely and wonderful K.Livingstone Esq, Mayor of London (and thinks he's God too but that's another story!) so that they could use it on the Underground AND the buses. It soon became popular and the public started to ask for it to be made available for use on the "main line" (for want of a more suitable term!) railways as well, but as usual, up came the shout "We'll lose money" or "We won't get our fair share" - so the argument goes on, and until such times as ALL the various companies that operate in and around London (and eventually perhaps over the whole country) come to some agreement, availability of the oyster card on those 'other' lines will, to say the least, "be sketchy" ! ! !