Experts have warned that it could cost millions of pounds to make
London's transport smartcard-compatible with a national
scheme.
London mayor Ken Livingstone launched Oyster, the capital's
smartcard ticketing system, last week. Nearly 80,000 underground
and bus staff in London are using the cards as part of a trial
before a phased general introduction in Spring 2003.
It emerged this week that the Oyster smartcard is not compatible
with specifications for public transport smartcards developed by
the Integrated Transport Smart-card Organisation (ITSO), a not-for
profit company set up by the industry and the government. Cards
built to the ITSO specification are expected to appear in local
authorities in late 2003.
For commuters who use rail, buses and the underground the Oyster
card will not be as integrated as current travel cards.
Andy Kellett, senior research analyst at Butler Group said, "It
will cost several millions of pounds to integrate the systems. You
could subscribe to the two services in the capability of a single
chip, as long as the systems can lie alongside each other."
Martin Sexton, IT director at systems integration specialist London
Market Systems, warned that it will be crucial for the suppliers of
both systems to agree standards if the projects are to be developed
concurrently.
"Both systems' suppliers will need to set aside resources for the
integration process and work together to ensure a smooth
deployment, otherwise there is a great risk that it may cause
frustration for the end-user and increased cost to the customer,"
Sexton said.
The London smartcard has been designed and is being managed by the
TranSys consortium of companies for Transport for London (TfL) and
London Underground.
According to TfL, the Oyster smartcard was designed before the
national standard was developed. A spokesman said the smartcard's
launch would have been "delayed considerably" if it was put on hold
while ITSO details are finalised.
"No decision on the adoption of ITSO will be made until it is
implemented widely and has proved its value - this is unlikely to
occur before 2005," he said.
TfL confirmed that it is currently working with the Department of
Transport and the Association of Train Operating Companies on the
role that smartcards could play in a nationwide, integrated
transport ticketing system.