Friends of the Rail Forum

Boris Johnson on collision course with unions over tube plans

RMT general secretary Bob Crow warns that radical proposals, which include driverless trains, would meet fierce resistance

Dan Milmo, industrial editor
guardian.co.uk, Monday 31 October 2011 17.50 GMT

The mayor of London, Boris Johnson is braced for a standoff with Bob Crow's RMT trade union after his Transport for London authority confirmed it is considering introducing driverless trains on the tube network.

The general secretary of the UK's most powerful rail union said radical proposals submitted to the TfL board would meet "the fiercest union resistance", nearly a year after calling strikes over ticket office job cuts.

In a document entitled London Underground's operational vision, tube officials say the model for the future would be the driverless trains on the Docklands Light Railway, while Oyster cards will be superseded by a new generation of bank cards. "Given the technology available now, it is very unlikely that … LU will ever again buy a fleet of passenger trains with conventional drivers' cabs," the document says. TfL employs 3,400 drivers and runs nearly 530 trains during the morning rush hour.

The document adds: "The next generation of employees supporting the train service could be much more like the train captains on the Docklands Light Railway, rather than those seen traditionally on LU. There is no doubt the role will change considerably."

But Crow pledged to fight the plans. "Driverless trains are a lethal and unworkable option for London Underground and any move in that direction will meet the fiercest union resistance," he said.

Aslef, Britain's biggest drivers' union, has also warned that it will challenge any attempt to eliminate train drivers "vigorously". The report indicates that driverless services are a decade away, saying that the changes could be made for the next generation of carriages on the Bakerloo, Piccadilly and Central lines but those trains will not be introduced until the 2020s.

However, it makes a "commitment" to current drivers that they will drive trains "for the rest of their career". The successors, though, will be expected to multitask. "It is certain that any staff supporting the train service of the future will be mobile, flexible and customer-focused."

Further ticket office staff reductions seem likely after the document outlined a future where the Oyster card will be outdated. TfL is working on a new generation of ticketing technologies that will replace the Oyster card with a bank card that will be waved over a sensor, automatically debiting the passenger. "Wave and pay" technology that enables passengers to use a contactless card on the Tfl network and in shops such as Pret a Manger and Eat is being introduced on TfL buses next year.

"TfL is working on the next generation of ticketing technology," states the document. "[It] will allow customers with a contactless bank card to pay for travel simply by waving their bank card over the gateline to get the correct fare. There will be no need to buy a card from TfL or to top it up, further reducing demand for ticket selling."

The document states that it recognises the importance of a good relationship with trade unions but makes clear that it wants managers to get closer to staff. This is viewed by unions as a euphemism for limiting their influence. The plan talks of "building a direct relationship between local managers and their staff to increase trust while recognising the importance of consultation with our trade unions".

The tube already has unattended ticket offices at off-peak times. On a visit to London last month, my wife and I went to an underground ticket office to buy a multi-day, multi-zone, disposable after final use travel card (as we used to do in years past) to find that such a thing no longer exists. A single-day travel card, yes. Multi-day, no. One now has to buy a pre-paid, top-uppable Oyster card including a compulsory upfront card deposit of GBP 5.00 which is supposedly refundable after final use.

At about midday on the day of departure we arrived back at the nearby Belsize Park tube station and went to return said Oyster cards at the ticket office for a refund of the card deposit. Guess what? The ticket office was closed! It is only open for about and hour or two during the morning and evening peak times. Outrside those times, tough luck... passengers simply have to use the vending machines which, needlesss to say unlike their human counterparts, have no facility to give refunds.

Any offers for two redundant, now-expired Oyster cards?

Do Oyster cards expire? Jane and I have been using the same ones for several years now. We go to UK about once a year and use the same Oyster cards each time. We find it very convenient. They were only three quid when I bought ours!

John, actually you are correct, I believe they do not expire. The ones we purchased were preloaded for the four days we were there. Interestingly the cards were actually validated for 4 x 24 hours, not 4 calendar days. On morning of the fifth day the cards allowed out-bound travel but denied return travel because that was beyond the time of day when we had bought them. The cards could indeed have been topped up or renewed, but since this was our last day, we chose not to, instead buying normal single tickets back to Belsize Park.

We intend to top up and use the same physical cards when we next return to London.

To quote the TFL blurb:

Transport for London
Travelcards and passes

You can put Adult, 18+ Student, 16+, child and New Deal 7 Day monthly and longer period Travelcards and Bus & Tram passes on Oyster.

Your card will work out when to switch from your Travelcard to pay as you go, for example if you go outside the zones covered by your Travelcard.

Day Travelcards are not available on Oyster. However, if you use Oyster to pay as you go and make a number of journeys in one day, you won't pay more than the equivalent Day Travelcard.*

* Does not apply for travel to/from Grays, Purfleet, Ockendon or Chafford Hundred.
Oyster cards that have a Travelcard or Bus & Tram pass on it are non transferable. They cannot be used by anyone other than the registered owner.