please empty your brain below
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TfL didn't start operating the Trams in Croydon until 2008 - they weren't part of TfL before then.
Mike | 04.07.25 - 7:08 a.m. | #
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I fully agree that Oyster is the best thing TfL have done. I kind of wish they'd have been able to roll it out further, perhaps with Crossrail to Reading, but even as it stands, it's a very impressive network. Without it, I fear travelling around London would be a bit more confusing.
All Over 2a | Homepage | 04.07.25 - 7:14 a.m. | #
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As always, it depends on how you look at things.
Crossrail, while brilliant, is essentially a London thing. It is better than what other countries produce simply because it happens to be the newest with the latest technology. Already it is looking a bit passé with Paris, Sydney and Auckland (to name but a few) developing more impressive systems that are completely automatic.
It is easy to forget how long we had to queue to pay the driver and how you had to allow five minutes to purchase your ticket at the station. Sometimes buses were ridiculously slow simply because of the time taken to pay fares. So Oyster and Contactless made quite a profound change.
The real difference between the two is that with Oyster/Contactless TfL really led the world and showed other countries what was possible. Their long patient negotiations with banks worldwide to accept the principle that there were times you couldn't ask the customer to insert their card and totally rely on wave and pay led the way for other transport organisations to realise it was possible. Also a lot of effort went in to get credit transactions down to a fraction of a second so that one could simply walk through the ticket gates unhindered. That is something we take for granted these days and others around the world copied but TfL led the way.
Pedantic of Purley | 04.07.25 - 7:19 a.m. | #
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I agree re Oyster. Although it wasn't until national rail inclusion, auto-topup and weekly capping that you really stopped having to think about tickets (and yes I know lots of people struggle to pay)
Herned | 04.07.25 - 7:42 a.m. | #
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2003 was a significant year! Dont under estimate the congestion charge. It set the stage and contributed to the big mode shift that has taken place since 2000, and given all the population growth, the city might look quite different without it.
Simple Simon | 04.07.25 - 7:43 a.m. | #
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> It is easy to forget how long we had to queue to pay the driver and how you had to allow five minutes to purchase your ticket at the station.
Those of us outside London know this pain all too well, and wish for Oysterification of everything (not that will could happen).
I'm still making bus journeys which spend longer selling people tickets than actually moving!
Huw | 04.07.25 - 7:57 a.m. | #
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2018 was the year that TfL became one of the world's first major transport operators not to receive financial support from central government.
While the introduction of ULEZ in 2019 was world leading in terms of size and ambition.
Picking up Pedantic of Purley point, while TfL was world leading in respect of contactless, Hong Kong's Octopus card predates Oyster by some years.
gruntbuggly | 04.07.25 - 7:58 a.m. | #
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Oyster was a game changer in London, but the likes of Upass in Korea, Oyster in Hong Kong and Navigo is Paris got there first.
Andrew | 04.07.25 - 8:00 a.m. | #
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I'd say it was the introduction of the Over 60s Oyster (Boris Pass) in 2012!
Brian | 04.07.25 - 8:03 a.m. | #
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Super blog and one to bear in mind next time someone starts getting upset by TfLs use (or not) of italics. Its nice to be able to complain from a very high level. TFL clearly do get a lot of the big things right.
Even though 2012 was a very full year I am suprised the introduction of the 60+ Oyster Card did not get a mention. Its advantages have become clear to all of us since mid-March.
And please stop moaning about Crossrail being delayed. In Berlin the airport, which is a significantly more straight forward project, was 9 years late, on a planned schedule of 5 years, and three times its planned budget. Thats what you call a complete Cock Up.
Keith the Kraut | 04.07.25 - 8:13 a.m. | #
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The Oyster card was a copy of Hong Kong's Octopus card (even down to the fishy name) which lead the world in 1997 when it was introduced.
Still the biggest game-changer for London, though.
Steve | 04.07.25 - 8:18 a.m. | #
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I thought Oyster at first, but reading the post makes me think it should be the Overground, they took some massively underused and little known routes and turned it into a significant part of London's transport network.
Ridership numbers were 28.8 million in 2007-08 and have peaked at nearly 190 million. That's a huge impact without the capital investment required for crossrail.
TomH | 04.07.25 - 8:55 a.m. | #
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Hopper fare
MKIan | 04.07.25 - 8:59 a.m. | #
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A really good list and difficult to argue with any of it.
Oyster, in particular PAYG, revolutionised how travel is paid for. Surprised contactless doesn't feature in the list as this, arguably, has revolutionised how travel is paid for even more than Oyster.
No need for an account, just tap and go. Also, TfL is the largest merchant of contactless transactions in the world and its effects are seen across the whole country. Contactless payment was much faster to take off in London and the south-east than eslsewhere in the country, this being due to the TfL effect.
Hadders | 04.07.25 - 8:59 a.m. | #
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I was actually in Hong Kong when Octopus was introduced but Oyster wasn't. I had forgot about that (and didn't know about the other predating Oyster). I remember it because I couldn't work out why women seemed to travel on the system for free. I eventually realised they had sown their Octopus card to the bottom of their handbag and when they placed the handbag on not-very-obvious reader the gates opened. However, I suspect that these were much simpler systems - I may be wrong.
Pedantic of Purley | 04.07.25 - 9:05 a.m. | #
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Oyster is the right choice in that it made things much easier for all users across all modes of transport.
Crossrail / Lizzie line is great. It's fast, and it shifted a lot of traffic away from other lines, but if your daily commute is north-south there's no impact.
K. | 04.07.25 - 9:37 a.m. | #
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Can't disagree with your methodology or your conclusions here.
But I think it's a shame that Legible London appeared in the same five year cohort as Oyster and thus dropped out of the discussion.
It's a huge and impressively comprehensive scheme. Those of us who rarely need to work out where we're going obviously don't use it very much, but for visitors it's an amazing resource. And rather beautifully-designed, too.
I can see a yellow-topped plinth from my desk - people consult it dozens of times a day.
CJS | 04.07.25 - 9:45 a.m. | #
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Octopus in some ways was more advanced than Oyster. When I was there in 2006 you could use your card to buy food and drinks in Hong Kong newsagents.
Neil | 04.07.25 - 9:53 a.m. | #
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True about the impact of the Overground brand making good use of some under-exploited infrastructure. But the Weaver and Lioness parts would have thrived anyway.
Malcolm of Kent | 04.07.25 - 9:54 a.m. | #
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Not the top achievements, but the rebuilds of some of the major stations deserve to be recognised.
Bank (finished 2023) was an enormous project, which has transformed the station, especially on the Northern Line. Similarly the massive expansion of Kings Cross St Pancras (finished 2009 with the northern ticket hall) has been transformational for users.
Mikey C | 04.07.25 - 10:02 a.m. | #
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Agreed, though with so many good things it's a hard list to choose from.
Travelling in London is reliable and easy and for all we grumble at times - we wouldn't be without it.
Cornish Cockney | 04.07.25 - 10:39 a.m. | #
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As well as the positive effect for customers, Oyster, then contactless, forced 'back-office' integration across all providers whilst driving out much of the cost and inefficiencies of cash and cardboard.
Also, there are strong influences between these achievements: the scale and pace of the key Overground developments would likely not have happened without the successful Games bid.
Finally, among the many things missing from your list are the various tube upgrades: the Victoria Line's delivering 33 peak trains an hour, the rebuild of stations like King's Cross and Bank, step-free schemes and lifts in their hundreds, extra cars on the Jubilee. I could go on. Oh and licensing buskers.
Peter T | 04.07.25 - 10:42 a.m. | #
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Maybe the introduction of Wide Access Gates that now allow free travel for Londoners, and non-Londoners, of all ages, whether entitled to or not!
BW | 04.07.25 - 10:45 a.m. | #
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What's Bus Stop M?
Ewan James | 04.07.25 - 10:45 a.m. | #
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Mike. If TfL didn’t ‘operate’ trams before 2008 presumably they don’t operate buses today as none of the drivers, engineers and all but 1000 buses (Borismasters) are in the private sector.
Kim | 04.07.25 - 10:48 a.m. | #
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Ewan - you're missing out!
Here's probably the best summary from 2018.
Daniel | 04.07.25 - 10:58 a.m. | #
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How about Gospel Oak-Barking electrification for 2018?
greatkingrat | 04.07.25 - 11:35 a.m. | #
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Contactless (NFC payments of all sorts), not oyster. Triggered transport and non transport change countrywide. Yes oyster and recapping as a pre-req.
MilesT | 04.07.25 - 12:17 p.m. | #
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For 2024 and 2025, there are also the improvements to the Bow Roundabout!
Bob L-S | 04.07.25 - 4:50 p.m. | #
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The 2003 and 2012 posters featured are beautiful works of art.
Anyoldname | 04.07.25 - 5:12 p.m. | #
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Although Oyster/Contactless is a worthy winner, I would nominate for the shortlist Bus Spider Maps introduced in 2002 and Bus flat fares introduced in 2004.
Moving to London in 2003, these features made a big difference in tempting me to use buses in London (and ultimately, dooming my driving licence to be just a fancy ID card for two decades at least).
Entertained | 04.07.25 - 8:26 p.m. | #
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The Hopper fare is probably something that will only be seen long term. As it has put destinations within reach that require more than one bus.
In that way it has hugely expanded the potential destinations for a traveller on a budget. It has certainly increased the number of bus journeys that I make. TfL should make the most of it and restructure the bus network more to fit around the fare.
Brussels already had this back in the nineties, using only magnetic stripe cards. It worked across all modes within the capital and even allowed multiple people to travel on a single ticket. Something TfL can’t do as yet.
Southern Heights (Light Railway) | 04.07.25 - 9:24 p.m. | #
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Pedantic of Purley, what Neil said, but also Octopus doesn't have the zonal limitations which Oyster does. It can store as many fare combinations (as Hong Kong doesn't have farezones) as required.
I'd pick Contactless. That was truly a world-leading innovation. I don't know of any other city that got there before London.
Southern Heights (Light Railway), there was a similar thing in Hong Kong before Octopus too. Also allowed multiple people to use the same stored value magnetic ticket if I recall correctly. Guess that's just one of the limitations of Oyster/Contactless we have to live with.
matthieu1221 | 04.07.25 - 9:33 p.m. | #
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Another really great aspect of Oyster is the possibility to download journey history statements in PDF or CSV. This makes it so much easier to identify and itemise business travel for the purpose of expense claims and/or tax returns (including on days where one does a mixture of business, commuting, and leisure travel), and I am not aware of any other smartcard that offers functionality at a comparable level of detail.
anon | 05.07.25 - 1:28 a.m. | #
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Kim, you are correct - yes. TfL did not introduce buses and private companies operate them today merely under contract to TfL.
When Trams in Croydon first came in they were not part of TfL, nor TfL branded, they were a separate private company. They were even Red in colour, not green!
Mike | 05.07.25 - 7:42 a.m. | #
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The powers to build Croydon Tramlink were obtained by London Regional Transport, which is the direct predecessor of TfL. It was not a private venture.
TfL's July 2000 board meeting explicitly lists Croydon Tramlink as one of its predecessor organisations, so while the opening of Croydon Tramlink slightly predates TfL, there was a point in time after TfL came into existence where it wasn't considered a TfL service.
Graham | 05.07.25 - 11:44 a.m. | #
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As a Londoner, the Oyster is my world.
The Banbury Man | Homepage | 07.07.25 - 7:31 a.m. | #
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