Thank you for your email received by us on 20 February 2017 asking for information about Oyster card re-usage.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. You asked for the following:

1.What is the current policy/practice on reusing/recycling Oyster cards?

We do not recycle Oyster cards. Information on transferable usage in relation to Oyster pay as you go is published here on our website at: https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/ways-to-pay/on-oyster#Addandrenew

2. How many Oyster card refunds (the kind that leads to the card to be disabled) were issued in 2016?

Please see our website for the data we publish on Oyster card refunds via the following link: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/oyster-card#on-this-page-1

In accordance with section 21 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply you with a copy of the requested information as it is already accessible to you elsewhere.

3. How many Oyster card were collected for reuse/recycling among above?

Not applicable; as mentioned previously, we do not recycle Oyster cards.

4. What was the policy/practice before the closure of ticket offices, especially what happens to the cards collected by the ticket officers back then?

Prior to the closure of London Underground ticket offices, our policy was not to collect Oyster cards for the purposes of re-use or recycling.

5. What is the reason to not allow a (logically disabled yet) physically functional Oyster card to be re-activated? If the reason is technical, how was this reviewed against other LU policies like the “London Underground Environment Strategy”?

Customers are increasingly using contactless cards and devices such as smart phones for pay as you go travel, thereby diminishing the need for an Oyster card.

However, once an Oyster card is ‘logically disabled’ it is no longer functional and cannot be made so. Surrendered cards are securely destroyed for the purposes of data security and fraud protection. The permanent disablement of cards is an original design feature from approximately 20 years ago. We no longer hold any record of a review against the Environmental Policies from this time.

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 as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Jasmine Howard
FOI Case Officer
Information Governance
Transport For London

I would like to know:

1. What is the current policy/practice on reusing/recycling Oyster cards?
2. How many Oyster card refunds (the kind that leads to the card to be disabled) were issued in 2016?
3. How many Oyster card were collected for reuse/recycling among above?
4. What was the policy/practice before the closure of ticket offices, especially what happens to the cards collected by the ticket officers back then?
5. What is the reason to not allow a (logically disabled yet) physically functional Oyster card to be re-activated? If the reason is technical, how was this reviewed against other LU policies like the “London Underground Environment Strategy”?