Readers may recall that when I was first elected, I pledged to bring tap in, tap out train tickets to Sevenoaks. And, following our successful campaign (which included inviting the then Minister for Trains Huw Merriman to visit Sevenoaks and Bat & Ball station) I am really pleased to say that from 2 February contactless will FINALLY be rolled out to Sevenoaks, Bat & Ball, Otford, Shoreham, Eynsford and Dunton Green stations.
It has been a long journey, with some false starts (the latest being the TfL cyberattack that prevented the implementation of Contactless last September which involved re-setting each of the 25000 TfL employees laptops and devices). However, I am delighted that passengers will soon be able to benefit from the tap in and tap out technology.
It will mean that those travelling into London Monday to Friday prior to 6.30am in the morning, will be classified as off-peak travellers and will see their fares reduced on a single or return. And it will enable passengers to switch between different trains, Tube, buses, and trams and to pay only for the journeys you make. The cost of travel is capped either daily, or from Monday to Sunday, on journeys into and within London.
You will still be able to use your “Key” card for season tickets, peak single and returns tickets, but will not be able to use Oyster Cards, and the technology currently doesn’t allow for Contactless to be used for those with discount cards (such as Senior Railcards). I will continue to stress how important it is that these technological difficulties are overcome, so that all passengers will benefit. Equally, if you become aware of any anomalies in the contactless system, do be sure to email me at [email protected] and I will raise them with Southeastern, TfL and the Department for Transport.
Since becoming your MP we have seen other major improvements to our train services, such as the fast line service from Otford to London Bridge and Charing Cross, more carriages on particular trains from Otford and Sevenoaks, and additional trains at the weekends. However, I will continue to stand up for Sevenoaks commuters to seek further improvements and please do feel free to contact me with you suggestions for improvements that I can raise with Southeastern.
