London transport targets Oyster 'e-money' trials in 2005

Trials of the Oyster card 'e-money' scheme that will allow millions of Londoners to buy everything from newspapers to parking time with their travel smartcards could begin before the end of the year.

Transport for London (TfL) has just announced the shortlist of bidders for the e-money project and hopes to choose a partner by the end of the year.

TfL announced plans earlier this year for the e-money project, which will allow the Oyster card to be used instead of cash for goods and services at newsagents, parking machines, fast-food restaurants and supermarkets.

The shortlist of companies and consortia invited to negotiate with TfL are alphyra; Barclays; BBVA, Accenture, MTR and Octopus; EDS and JP Morgan; Nucleus, Dexit, Ericsson, Hutchison 3G and Euroconex; PayPal; and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Negotiations commence next month and TfL hopes to trial the technology and confirm its chosen partner by the end of 2005. Work on the development and delivery of e-money on Oyster cards will then start in January 2006.

Jay Walder, managing director of finance and planning at TfL, said in a statement: "Oyster has the largest customer base of all smart cards in the UK, with 2.2 million users and a significant level of public trust. Extending Oyster to include low value payments is a natural progression which will make the smart card even more convenient."

A similar scheme, called Octopus, already exists in Hong Kong.

TfL hopes Oyster e-money will provide greater convenience for passengers and generate additional revenue for the transport network.