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Thousands go free on Tube as Oyster breaks down again
Dick Murray, Transport Editor25.07.08
Hundreds of thousands of Tube passengers travelled free today as the Oyster card system failed again - the second time in two weeks.
Emergency messages were flashed to all 280 stations telling staff to open the automatic ticket barriers and allow passengers through. The system-went down at 6am when Oyster card readers were not able to read prepay cards. Engineers immediately began trying to find the problem but the gates stayed open throughout the morning peak period.
The failure stunned Tube bosses who had confidently predicted there would be no more problems after the Oyster failure two weeks ago.
More than 60,000 passengers had their cards corrupted when they used them on Saturday 12 July and thousands were allowed to travel free to prevent chaos on the Monday after.
On that occasion, a software problem with automatic readers wiped the cards and passengers were charged the maximum of £4 for each trip they made.
London Underground then promised to refund all monies and an investigation was launched into the meltdown.
Gerry Doherty, General Secretary of the Tube union TSSA said: "I cannot believe this has happened again. Passenger confidence in the Oyster card system was seriously damaged last week and now even more so with this second failure".
London Underground said it thought today's problem only affected Tube passengers. Even so, technicians were checking mainline rail, Docklands Light Railway and bus networks.
It is understood the problem is different from last time in that the readers only failed to recognise pre-pay cards rather than wiping everything clean, but LU was unable to say that was definitely the case.
Yvonne Dwamena, 22, was going from Barking to High Street Kensington. She said: "It's a bit pathetic that it's happening again." Tube bosses could not say when the problem would be fixed.
Reader views (11)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
The Tube is not that Expensive. For a Day Travel card Zones 1-4 it is about £6 Plus Children go free!
- Jordan, London
Phil Jones, you can't blame Ken - the Oyster project started long before Ken was Mayor, let alone had control over London Underground.
- Roy Stilling, Gillingham, Kent
What an extraordinary coincidence that the Oyster system fails twice just weeks after newspapers reported that the company responsible would not have their contract renewed.
- Sally R, London, UK
Oyster system is fast, modern, cheap and convenient. People with paper tickets usually cause a lot of delays by the gates and have to pay more. Failures may happen on a complex system like Oyster, however the general public shouldn’t moan – they got a free ride on the most expensive underground system in the world! Weekend’s engineering works and minor glitches on the LU cause much more disruptions and inconvenience.
- Olga, London
People are not travelling free, LU staff are standing next to barriers and don't let people go with out tickets.
- Abdullah, London
In response to Phil Jones, London UK, I've been using my Oyster Card since the system first started and have never in that time had to swipe it more than once. Despite these recent glitches I think its a great system. Love the automatic top up, not having to get my card out of my wallet and being able to get a refund when I have lost my card. It's also great to see how quickly a bus can be loaded with passengers when everyone has an oyster - much more efficient that any of the suggested alternatives.
- Aidan Reid, london, uk
As a travel card holder I assume I will be entitled to a refund for this mornings journey? Why should I have to pay considering pay-as-you-go users got free travel?
- Stephen Driscoll, London
Most people would not have a clue if they were overcharged for their journeys. This is a major downside of the pre-pay Oyster card system.
- Mark, London, UK
The Oyster card technology is flawed. Ever wonder why those using Oyster cards have to press them against the reader two or three times before being allowed through? It's because the reaction time on the card reading is too slow. Too much software needing to be processed with each swipe. It only happens with Oyster cards, not with Freedom Passes using the same RFID technology -- though the reading of those is also slow. The whole system was flawed from the beginning. The Underground had a super travel-card magnetic-stripe reading system, but good old Ken Livingstone couldn't leave well enough alone! If Boris Johnson were smart, he'd dump Oyster cards.
- Phil Jones, London UK
It's one of those rare times when we get the transport system that we actually want - a free one!
- John, London
Oyster Readers not working at Fenchurch St at 10:30AM so its not just the tube affected.
- Matthew, Grays UK
