Why is oyster card called that

Actually, that doesn't really surprise me, as some businesspeople sell an idea and keep it going simply to maintain their niche s in the marketplace. I prefer to think of it as an historical name from the Thames oyster beds, but in fact it was probably trialled at any number of focus groups before a decision was made. And why do I suspect that four or five times my annual salary was spent on the decision-making process?

With respect to poor Charlie - if his wife handed him a sandwich every day, why did she never think to hand him another five cent piece, so he could get off the train? This bit is interesting "Oyster was conceived and subsequently promoted because of the metaphorical implications of security and value in the component meanings of the hard bivalve shell and the concealed pearl".

I could never figure out why she didn't give him money either. Then again when some bands cover Charlie On The MTA his wife gives him the finger instead of sandwich, so maybe it was not a happy marriage. I assumed it was from the saying: the world is your oyster. The world in this case being the London transport system.

I grew up in New Orleans , so to me an oyster is a Gulf Coast creature, best when fried and eaten on a po-boy sandwich. Is it because Oysters are actually simple creatures but are very difficult to get in to and understand unless you live in their environment and read through pages and pages of TFL info and TravellerPlus pearls of wisdom posts??? The Thames Estuary has been famous for shellfish fishing for hundreds of years.

Whitstable in Kent and Colchester in Essex are still known for oyster beds. My ex-hus used to talk about having cockles and whelks in Southend-on-sea as treats when he was a young lad The original Hong Kong card is called the Octopus card, so I imagine they kept with the marine theme. This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.

We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one. If you plan to stay in London for a couple of days and make two to four journeys a day, or want to travel to the outskirts of the city, then a Visitor Oyster card may be the cheapest option.

It is delivered to your home by post before you arrive in London, saving you time when you arrive. There are a range of great-value special offers and discounts available to Visitor Oyster card holders at leading London restaurants, shops and entertainment venues, plus discounts on Thames Clippers river buses and the Emirates Air Line cable car.

If you are in London for a week and plan to travel only in the Central London area e. Alternatively, you could get an Oyster card , which looks a lot like a Visitor Oyster card and is used in the same way. The advantages of an Oyster card are that you can top up your credit online and add an electronic 7 Day Travelcard onto the card. If you do not live in the UK, you can still get an Oyster card but only when you arrive in London.

You can also pay for your travel with a contactless payment card. You can buy a Visitor Oyster card online before you travel to London. A more widespread trial followed in Harrow in , before Oyster was officially launched to the public on 30 June A number of limited edition Oyster cards have been designed over the years to commemorate special events in British and London history.

These have included the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the royal wedding between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and the th anniversary of the London Underground. The Oystercard system can handle 40 people per minute passing through a set of Tube barriers, which is 15 more than those with paper tickets. If you're on a bus, boarding is now an average of three times faster than the old days when buses still accepted cash.

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