London has a pretty advanced transport system by most metrics, and payments are pretty easy these days, either with a special pay-as-you-go pass called an Oyster Card or with almost any contactless bank card. Most Londoners (like myself) have long been clamoring for a better way to manage our Oysters, as you currently have to queue for a machine or go to the website if you want to check your balance or make a top-up. Thankfully, Transport for London (TfL) has joined forces with a developer called Cubic to finally bring us an official Oyster Card app for Android.
For those who haven't been to the UK capital, the contactless Oyster Card can be used on all forms of public transport in the city, and can also be loaded with Travelcards – season tickets of varying durations. While the TfL website is a perfectly acceptable method for managing your travel, it's still no substitute for the experience you can get with a dedicated app. The list of features for TfL Oyster is as follows:
• Top up pay as you go credit
• Buy adult rate 7 Day, Monthly and Annual Travelcards
• View your journey history
• Check your pay as you go balance and see season tickets
• Allow notifications when your pay as you go balance falls below £10, or your Travelcard is about to expire
If there's one complaint it would be that you can't plan journeys with it, but for that, we've got Google Maps or Citymapper. Being able to view your journey history will be really useful, especially when trying to piece together those drunken memories after a few too many pints of ale. Most helpful of all, however, will be the notifications reminding you to top up. There's nothing worse than rushing into a hectic tube station before getting blocked at the gate and having to trundle back through a wall of angry commuters. Londoners, you know that feeling.
Via: Engadget
PRESS RELEASE
Cubic and Transport for London Launch Mobile Ticketing App for Oyster Card Customers
Cubic Transportation Systems and TfL partner on app to provide greater convenience through mobile devices
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS), a business unit of Cubic Corporation(NYSE: CUB), and Transport for London (TfL) today announced the launch of the TfL Mobile Ticketing App for Oyster card users in London, England. The mobile app – designed by TfL and developed by Cubic – will allow Oyster card customers to manage their travel fares and payments, top up their cards and view their journey history on the go via Android or Apple iOS devices.
"This project exemplifies our strong partnership with TfL to innovate and deliver solutions that benefit the ultimate end user – TfL's customers," said Roger Crow, executive vice president and managing director of Europe, Cubic Transportation Systems. "This important step forward utilizes Cubic's leading-edge technology and builds on the mobile ticketing solutions we have developed for our U.S. and German customers."
A range of travel products, including pay-as-you-go, weekly, monthly or annual travel, can be bought using the app and then added to customers' Oyster cards after 30 minutes by simply touching the card on the yellow reader at London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, London Trams and TfL Rail stations as part of their journey. Mobile app purchases can also be added at London River piers and National Rail stations that accept Oyster cards.
"Pay-as-you-go with Oyster and contactless has delivered greater convenience for our customers and we are constantly trying to make further improvements," said Shashi Verma, chief technology officer at TfL. "As smartphones become an increasingly essential part of our customers' lives, we are introducing this app to make the process of buying and checking travel products as quick and convenient as possible."
Future updates will allow products to be delivered and picked up on any of TfL's 9,000 buses. Journey histories for view will also be expanded to include those paid via contactless pay-as-you-go bankcards. The TfL Mobile Ticketing App became available on September 7 for use on mobile devices including smartphones and tablets, and can be purchased through the App Store and Google Play Store.
Cubic Corporation designs, integrates and operates systems, products and services focused in the transportation, defense training and secure communications markets. As the parent company of two major business units, Cubic's mission is to increase situational awareness and understanding for customers worldwide. Cubic Transportation Systems is a leading integrator of payment and information technology and services to create intelligent travel solutions for public transit authorities and operators. Cubic Global Defense is a leading provider of realistic combat training systems, secure communications and networking and highly specialized support services for military and security forces of the U.S. and allied nations. For more information about Cubic, please visit the company's website at www.cubic.com or on Twitter @CubicCorp.
