London targets contactless travel payments by 2012

London hopes to become the first city in the world to allow passengers to use contactless-payment credit and debit cards to pay for journeys across its entire transport network.

Transport for London has said it will introduce a contactless payment system for the capital's transport system by 2012. Photo credit: CokeeOrg on Flickr

By the end of 2012, Transport for London (TfL) says travellers will be able to pay for journeys by swiping their contactless card across Oyster card readers for its bus, tube, tram and train services. The new system will be up and running on all of London's 8,000 buses in time for the 2012 Olympic Games.

The news was welcomed by mayor of London Boris Johnson, who said in a statement: "It is tip-top news that from next year a simple tap of a contactless bank card will be enough to whizz you from A to B in this great city. London leads the way in so many different fields and we will be the first in the world to allow the millions using our tube, trams, buses and trains to benefit from the ease of using this technology."

For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see TfL confirms contactless payments for 2012 on silicon.com.