FOI request detail

Oyster Card Deposits

Request ID: FOI-1319-2425
Date published: 14 August 2024

You asked
Under the FOI Act, can you please confirm how much TfL has held in (a) Oyster Card deposits, (b) unspent funds on Oyster Cards which have been inactive for 3 months, for each of the financial years ending (i) 2020 (ii) 2021 (iiii) 2022 (iv) 2023 (v) 2024.

We answered

Our Ref:         FOI-1319-2425

Thank you for your request received on 26 July 2024 asking for information about Oyster card balances and deposits.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require.

All Oyster card balances, both positive and negative, remain on the card until the customer cancels the card. This is unlike most other cities in the world where balances expire after a set period. A card with a negative balance may only be reused once it is topped up. The Oyster card deposit has been there specifically to prevent customers having an incentive to discard cards with a negative balance.
 
For accounting purposes we recognise balances on unused cards into revenue after two years of the card remaining continuously unused. This does not affect balances on the card and we will honour any balance if the card returns into use.

The information you have requested is routinely published on our website:
 
https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/oyster-card#on-this-page-1
 
Under section 21 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to provide you with information which is reasonably accessible by other means.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Gemma Jacob
Senior FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London

[email protected]

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