Price capping on Oyster pay-as-you-go running nearly four years behind schedule

London passengers could be paying millions of pounds more a week than they need to because price capping on Oyster pay-as-you-go cards is running nearly four years behind schedule, it was revealed today.

Promises to introduce a weekly price cap on the popular card have been made since 2015. Mayor Sadiq Khan says this now will not come into effect until the end of next year.

Passengers using Oyster pay-as-you-go cards are in constant risk of losing out compared with those who pay by contactless cards.

These carry a weekly price cap of £33 for travelling in Zones 1 and 2. Once a passenger has reached that amount further journeys are free.

Oyster pay-as-you-go cards, however, only have a daily cap of £6.60. Over seven days that amounts to £46.20 before further travel is free. There are approximately 30 million Oyster pay-as-you-go cards in use.

Politicians have blamed complex problems with software for the delay in implementing a weekly cap.

Caroline Pidgeon, Lib-Dem member of the London Assembly who has campaigned for the weekly cap, has challenged the Mayor over the new delay in a written question.

She said: “We were promised over three years ago by Boris Johnson that a weekly cap on Oyster would finally be introduced by 2015.

Two years later a new mayor of London is making new excuses for lack of action and saying that there will be a further wait of at least another year.

“Transport for London have a good record in solving problems when they want to. I am certainly baffled why it is taking so many years to introduce a weekly cap on Oyster, to finally ensure that all passengers are treated equally.

“It is time for some honest answers as to why people who use Oyster are being financially disadvantaged compared with people using contactless payment. Is the latest delay really due to software issues, or is the honest answer that TfL just prefer to drive people over to using contactless payment?”

Mr Khan replied: “Extending weekly capping to Oyster is a priority for all of us. But this is a complex project, which requires significant amendment to the Oyster software.

As always, TfL will not introduce the change until it is assured that it can be delivered 100 per cent reliably.

I can assure you that the development work is well in hand and the new capping software will be introduced before the end of 2018. I will announce a specific date for the introduction in due course.”

Mr Johnson wrote to Ms Pidgeon in July 2013, saying he would “introduce weekly capping on Oyster pay-as-you-go in 2015”.

In 2014, TfL director of customer services Shashi Verma said they were looking to introduce weekly capping on Oyster when technology could be updated, adding it was a complex process requiring changes to card readers, back office and retailing systems.