100,000 Londoners take-up free Oyster cards in one month

100,000 people have now claimed a free Oyster card as part of the Mayor of London's campaign to encourage all Londoners, particularly those on a low income, to use them for travel around the Capital.

The campaign, announced by the Mayor last month, offered 100,000 'free' Oyster cards (that is without the normal £3 deposit) on a 'first come first served' basis.

The cards were given away through national, local and community press adverts, targeting communities where take-up is lowest.

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said: "This campaign has proved to be incredibly popular with an additional 100,000 people now able to enjoy the benefits of Oyster.

"With more than 10 million cards issued since its launch in 2003, the vast majority of Londoners are already using Oyster, which provides cheaper and more convenient journeys.

"Oyster has cut queues at Tube stations and speeded up buses across London."

Latest figures

More than three-quarters of all Tube and bus journeys are now made using Oyster.

The latest figures show that the number of single journeys now paid for by cash is extremely low, just 4 per cent on London Underground and 2.5 per cent on buses.

Single fares are always cheaper using Oyster. For example, a single bus fare using Oyster is £1 compared to the £2 cash fare.

A single Tube fare in Zone 1 is £1.50 with Oyster compared to £4 if cash is used.

In fact, Oyster prices have been held down so that they are still the same price as cash fares when Ken Livingstone was first elected Mayor of London nearly seven years ago.

Oyster is still available

The offer is now closed but Oyster is still available online, over the phone via 0845 330 9876, at Tube station ticket offices or at Travel Information Centres across London.

You can find your nearest Oyster outlet through the TfL website.

Calls from BT landlines cost 3.5p per minute.

Calls from mobiles and other networks may vary.

Notes to editors

• A single Tube fare using Oyster is £1.50 in Zone 1 and between Zones 1-2 off-peak - compared to £4 using cash
• The campaign has been across a range of publications, offering 100,000 cards minus the normal £3 deposit to non Oyster users
• More than 10 million Oyster cards have now been issued and 38 million journeys a week are made each week using Oyster
• Almost three times as many passengers can pass an Underground ticket barrier using Oyster card as can using printed tickets - 40 a  minute compared to 15 a minute
• Oyster is available to buy or be topped up at all 275 Tube stations, and there are also more than 2,200 Oyster Ticket Stops agents  across the Capital. Eighty-five percent of all Londoners live within 400 metres of an Oyster Ticket Stop
• Passengers can also register the card so that the money is protected if the card is lost or stolen. Less ticket touts mean more secure stations
• If you use Oyster to pay as you go, you can load cash on your Oyster card. When you touch in and out at the yellow readers on the  Tube and Docklands Light Railway or touch in on the tram or bus, the reader automatically deducts the correct fare
• Passengers can store up to three different Travelcards or Bus Pass season tickets and pay as you go on the same Oyster card at the same time. Oyster card technology is also used to provide free travel for Londoners aged over 60 or with an eligible disability  through the Freedom Pass scheme. On the buses and trams, under-18s in full-time education can also get Oyster photocards for free travel.
• When passengers use the Oyster card to touch in and out on the yellow readers on the TfL network it automatically works out the right  fare for the journey within a fifth of a second working through up to 1.83 million possible options.