Save time, get your Oyster card from a ticket machine

Transport for London is making it much faster and easier for customers to buy and use Oyster, by upgrading ticket machines that will sell Oyster cards directly, with credit loaded.

By the end of July, most stations across the London Underground network will have at least one ticket machine equipped to vend Oyster cards. Customers will be able to get their new cards at any time of the day from the clearly marked machines, and will be able to do so quickly and conveniently.

The new service is particularly useful for busy Londoners who may have forgotten or lost their old Oyster and need a quick replacement. Customers should always consider registering their Oyster to benefit from having their credit balances protected if they lose their card.

Since the ticket machine upgrade began in May, the new service has been an instant hit with customers. Already over 25 per cent of all new Oyster cards are bought from a ticket machine. Currently, over half of all new Oyster card purchases at Aldgate East, Holland Park and Lambeth North have been from the machines. At other stations, including Euston, King’s Cross, Belsize Park and Putney Bridge, over a third of new Oyster card purchasers have chosen to do so by using the quick and easy ticket machines.

Richard Parry, London Underground’s Strategy & Commercial Director, said: “We have long known that the way customers use the Tube is changing, and we’re adapting to those changes. Customers have embraced Oyster in recent years, with just one in 20 Tube journeys now starting with a ticket office purchase. The ability to vend Oyster cards is a natural progression for the self-service machines across the Tube network which were also upgraded in 2010 to allow customers to buy tickets to a greater range of National Rail destinations, as well as with Railcard discounts.”