The Booming RFID Business in 2010

Nearly 30 million GBP is lying unused on pre-pay Oyster cards, transport chiefs have revealed. Financial rules will allow this to be gradually taken to profit. The money is on cards lost, broken, stolen or simply no longer needed by tourists who have left the country. About 16.5 million cards sat idle from April 2009 to May 2010. The average remaining on each was 1.80 GBP. In 2009, 31,000 Oyster cards were issued and topped up but never used, even though they held 246,000 GBP worth of travel, according to information obtained by the BBC. About seven million are now in use and pay for 57 million trips a week on the subway, buses and trains.