New Oyster card fiasco

The Oyster smartcard used by hundreds of thousands of commuters is at the centre of a new transport fiasco, it can be revealed today.

A technical flaw is costing Transport for London bosses thousands of pounds a week in lost fares.

TfL is facing the loss after being forced to postpone plans to charge premium rates for bus passengers in the morning rush hour to generate extra cash.

As part of the new fares structure, bus fares for Oyster pre-pay users were to rise from 70p to £1 for journeys made between 6.30-9.30am on weekdays. All other bus journeys using pre-pay would rise to 80p - a 40p saving on the new £1.20 cash fare that came in on Sunday.

But a glitch has been discovered in the Oyster technology, forcing TfL to delay the introduction of "peak" Oyster pre-pay fares until 27 February. All Oyster pre-pay journeys will be charged at 80p in the meantime.

While this offers a two-month amnesty on the full impact of the

new fares, it could leave TfL facing a deficit of more than £500,000. It had hoped to raise an extra £125 million from the increased fares.

The Mayor's transport agency, which runs the buses and Tube, claims the amnesty is an added incentive for travellers to use pre-pay Oyster.

But the revelation is the latest in a series of glitches to hit the smartcard, introduced at a cost of more than £1.2billion more than a year ago.

The problem has arisen because the Oyster card readers on buses are unable to tell the time - meaning they cannot differentiate between peak and off-peak fares. Automated software is now being installed across the capital's fleet of 7,000 buses to address the problem.

Thousands of Oyster prepay users travelling by Croydon Tramlink - who are charged at the same rate as buses - will also benefit. A TfL spokesman played down the problem, which is estimated to be costing £12,000 per weekday in lost revenue. He said less than one per cent of the six million weekday bus journeys were made using Oyster pre-pay. Most passengers - 87 per cent - bought a "paper" Travelcard or Oyster Travelcard prior to boarding. One in 10 passengers paid cash.

The spokesman said the likely loss was insignificant compared to the £840million revenue expected to be generated on the buses this financial year.

However, it comes amid new concerns about the use of Oysters on "bendy" buses and complaints about delays in introducing a capping system to limit costs.

Mayor Ken Livingstone has admitted Oyster bus users are suffering due to a number of " complex technical issues".

Today the Capital Transport Campaign warns the lack of Oyster readers on bendy buses places passengers at risk of receiving a £10 fine for accidentally failing to pay.

Spokeswoman Cynthia Hay also took issue with the expected 18-month delay before pre-pay cards were capped, which would ensure passengers were charged an amount no greater than the equivalent day Travelcard.

A TfL spokeswoman said all nine bendy routes would be fitted with Oyster readers - against which passengers touch their card - "during the first third of the year".