Transport for London announced it has given notice to terminate its Oyster contract with the Transys consortium of Cubic and EDS effective in 2010. The cancellation of the $192 million “is unrelated to recent technical issues with the Oyster system,” says Dan Maskell, senior press officer for TfL.
Oyster experienced several problems with its system earlier this year, one which rendered 40,000 to 60,000 Oyster cards unusable.
A statement from TfL says that it is “convinced that any new contract will deliver enhanced services for less money, driving significant savings. The Mayor is keen to improve the Oyster card to make it even more attractive for Londoners and TfL will work to make sure this happens both quickly and in a way that represents the best value.”
Shashi Verma, TfL’s Director of Fares and Ticketing added: “Transport for London is committed to delivering value for money across all of its services. As part of this we are looking at more cost effective ways to manage and develop the Oyster card system that we expect will save millions over the next few years. The savings will be reinvested to deliver further improvements in London’s transport system.”
Introduced in 2003, there are now more than six million cards in active use in London’s transit system. In addition, passengers can store credit and top up their cards on line automatically or over the counter at thousands of local shops. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/contactlessnews-4.gif)
