Transport for London (TfL) is rolling out automatic weekly fare capping on the UK capital’s Tube and rail network, ensuring that passengers using its Oyster transit card on a pay-as-you-go basis are charged “the best possible fares for all their journeys made between Monday and Sunday”.
TfL has already introduced weekly capping for passengers opting to pay as they go with their contactless debit or credit card as well as for Oyster card users when they travel on bus and tram services.
It also already operates a daily fare capping system for all passengers who pay as they go with either an Oyster or a contactless card rather than purchase a travelcard or single ticket.
“Daily caps on Tube and rail services are set at one fifth of the price of a weekly cap, and if customers travel more frequently, weekly caps ensure they don’t pay more than the equivalent weekly travelcard,” TfL explains.
“As well as providing weekly capping, the new technology will also make it easier for taps that have been accidentally missed to be refunded.
“Weekly capping for those with Zip cards and other discounts is expected to launch during 2022 following further technical development.”
“Analysis of [Tube] journeys made in recent weeks show that around 79% used pay as you go with contactless or an Oyster card — with the number of contactless journeys continuing to grow significantly,” TfL adds.
“On buses, the proportion of fare paying customers using pay as you go is currently around 72%.”
The network operator announced in November 2020 that it is planning to integrate its Oyster transit card and contactless fare payment systems from 2025.
Oyster card users get weekly fare capping on London’s Tube and rail network was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.