The Oyster Card is a "Smart Card" type of Travelcard for use on the London Transport system. It's made of plastic and has a microchip and radio transmitter embedded into it. The cards are manufactured by a company called Transys.

Most Train and Tube stations in London have barriers that are operated by inserting your (cardboard)ticket or travelcard into the a slot on the front, retrieving it from a slot on the top and then passing on your way through the barrier. In many stations it is also possible to see large yellow discs mounted on the ticket barriers.

These discs are Oyster card readers. The Oyster card is passed over the reader in order to open the barrier. Most London Buses are also fitted with Oyster card readers. Instead of paying the driver or displaying your ordinary Travelcard and Photocard as you board your bus, it is now possible to pass an Oyster card over the reader and continue your journey. Some ticket inspectors even have portable readers that can be used to scan a card to check its validity.

How Can I Get One?

It is possible to purchase a limited selection of tickets in Oyster card form. At present, it is possible to purchase Annual, Monthly and Weekly Tickets. It is worth bearing in mind that while Oyster is all-new and spangly, it is also necessary to carry the standard Photocard with you as well.

Oyster cards can be purchased from most London Underground stations and also online from Oystercard.

This sounds rather good doesn't it...

There are a number of advantages to having an Oyster card:

• The same card can be "recharged" and reused over a long period of time.
• If your card is lost or stolen, the old card can be cancelled and a new one issued.
• It is possible to see a list of journeys made using the Oyster card by touching the card onto card readers mounted on certain ticket machines.

Admittedly, being able to see a list of all the places you've travelled is quite strange. However, this feature is great if you tend to get drunk and can never remember how you got home.

Privacy

On a more serious note, some human rights groups¹ have expressed concerns about Oyster cards and the fact that they could, potentially be used to track your movements² across the public transport system.

..and finally...

If you buy one online you get a rather fetching light blue/dark blue wallet to put it in as well.