London buses to become cashless

The iconic London’s buses are to become cashless from this summer, Transport for London (TfL) has said.

TfL predicts that, because of the Oyster card, the number of cash fares on buses will fall to less than 1% this year.

That compares with 20% of journeys being paid by cash 10 years ago.

TfL said it would introduce a “one more journey” feature that will allow passengers to make one more bus trip if there are insufficient funds on their Oyster card.

The decision comes following a public consultation last year in which 37,000 people responded.

When the idea was first proposed, there were concerns about the impact on vulnerable people and the lack of places in outer London to top up an Oyster card.

Last December, buses began to accept payment via contactless debit cards.