London commuters and visitors will soon be able to travel across London on one single ticket, as the perimeters of the Oyster pay as you go card are extended.

London’s pay as you go Oyster card will be valid for Network Rail passengers who use the service within the Greater London area, and on all Thames River Clipper services from 2 January 2010.

This will mean that the Oyster pay as you go card will be valid at more than 350 rail stations within London, in a project that cost around £40 million. Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, described the extension of the service as being “a landmark day for Londoners” – currently more than 7 million Oyster cards are regularly used in London.

Transport Secretary, Andrew Adonis, explained the scheme was designed to encourage people to use public transport: “Oyster pay as you go will transform travel in London as for the first time passengers will be able to travel seamlessly across the network and switch between underground and all overground rail services.

“Oyster on rail will open up a range of new journey opportunities for Londoners and will mean that rail passengers travelling into and across the capital from other parts of the country will only need one type of ticket.”

The rail agreement will see the card accepted on all Greater London services operated by Chiltern, First Great Western, First Capital Connect, London Midland, National Express East Anglia, Southern, Southeastern and South West Trains.  It will also be accepted on c2c services in Greater London as well as Grays, Chafford Hundred, Purfleet and Ockendon stations in Essex.

A map has been produced to show passengers where the new scheme will be valid. There is a limited trial of the initiative currently underway at Balham station, and it is hoped that the idea of a ‘one ticket’ system could soon be rolled out nationally.

To find out more about the Oyster card, visit Transport for London’s (TfL’s) dedicated page: https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do