Boris Johnson rolls out Ken's Oyster Card extension plan » Local Government » 24dash.com

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson today announced a deal between Transport for London (TfL) and First Great Western that will extend Oyster pay as you go to all London stations served by First Great Western from September 2008.

Thousands more passengers using these routes will be able to enjoy the greater convenience and speed of Oyster at stations from West Drayton and Greenford into Paddington. The plans were already at an advanced stage under Ken Livingstone's mayoralty.

Zonal fares the equivalent of those on the Tube will apply for journeys from these stations.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “This is excellent news for thousands of First Great Western passengers and takes us a step closer to making Oyster the only ticket you’ll need to travel in London.

“TfL is investing £40m in new Oyster equipment and we will be working with the Train Operating Companies to agree their deals and open up Oyster for all Londoners.

“I have committed to holding a summit meeting with the Train Operating Companies and I can confirm that this will happen before the summer. Completing the roll out of Oyster, improvements to services, station security and passenger safety will all be on the agenda as we work together to improve London's rail services.”

Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy, said: “With 17m cards issued since its introduction Oyster has been a huge success in speeding up journeys and cutting down on queues on the Tube, buses and national rail.

“As this agreement shows, we are working hard with ATOC and the Train Operating Companies so that National Rail better serves Londoners, not only with Oyster but with better services and improved safety and security”.

Andrew Haines, First Great Western's Chief Operating Officer said: "This is good news for our Greater London customers, who will now be able to use Oyster facilities throughout their journey.

"The extension of Oyster onto the First Great Western network fits in with our considerable investment in the refurbishment of the ticket office and new ticket machines at Ealing Broadway, and plans are in place for other stations, including Paddington.

"We are also spending £6.1m on refurbishing all our London and Thames Valley trains and fitting CCTV to increase the level of security for our customers.

"Today's announcement also builds on First Great Western's investment of more than £15m in customer information systems, which will provide more consistent information and coverage of more stations, and we will be upgrading CCTV at stations."

Labour's London Assembly transport spokesperson Val Shawcross has welcomed today's announcement and says she hopes the new Mayor will continue to 'roll-out' ex-Mayor Ken Livingstone's policies.

Val Shawcross said: "We're glad to see that the new Mayor has picked up where Ken Livingstone left off by making it easier for overground users to pay for tickets. This was a priority for the previous administration and should continue to be so. The sooner the network is oysterised the better.

"Transport for London assured us last year that they planned to reach agreement with all overground train companies early 2009 and Ken Livingstone promised it by January. We are now being told we will have to wait another year - it's an unfortunate delay."