wrote in message
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How many other towns in the country use SmartCard for their transport?
Would it ever be possible to use SmartCard in other networks around
Britain, besides simply for TfL?

Perhaps Oyster could even be used abroad, such as on the Paris Metro?

Many other places use variations of smart cards e.g.
http://www.octopus.com.hk/get-your-o.../en/index.html in Hong Kong. In
Japan they have Suica (sp?) and a competing system I can't remember the name
of. They are also using chips in mobile phones as payment/travel devices.

The issue is getting enough people to agree a specification to use
internationally. As others have pointed out we are having enough problems
rolling out ITSO in the UK. And international use could imply things like
currency exchange rates. Then take a look at how long it took the payment
cards to agree the Chip and Pin specification and how long it's taking them
to roll that out.

I'd love to carry around just one card instead of separate credit, bank,
loyalty etc cards and in theory I believe that while it probably isn't
feasible because of hardware limitations today (apart from specifications) I
see no reason why it shouldn't come some day. But then again is that
really the best solution? If I can be uniquely and reliably identified why
can't that provide access to all my cards in the same way that when I fly
the fact that I am identified by the airline gives me access to my
electronic ticket? See, I'd rather not carry anything if I didn't have to.