South West Train passengers may face a wait of many more months before they can finally obtain Oyster top-up from station ticket machines in the London area, Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, has been informed this week.
Both South West Trains and Transport for London declared back in November 2010 that by May 2011 all ticket vending machines within the London Travel zone would allow passengers to top-up their Oyster cards. The latest delay has been explained as being due to technical problems facing Cubic, the technical supplier of Oyster to Transport for London. At present South West Trains are unable to give any indication to Caroline Pidgeon as to when the technical problems will finally be resolved.
Commenting on the further delay facing passengers in obtaining Oyster top-up from SWT stations, Caroline Pidgeon said:
“It is bitterly disappointing that South West Train passengers will have to wait even longer before they can finally top-up their Oyster cards at every train station.
"However, the actual problem seems to boil down to Cubic, who are the technical supplier chosen by Transport for London and the Mayor to manage and develop the Oyster card system.
"Both South West Trains and the Mayor have a direct responsibility to quickly sort out this problem and ensure passengers get the full benefits of Oyster as quickly as possible."
The Evening Standard also has coverage of this issue here. The Richmond and Twickenham Times also covers the story here.