Dave Arquati wrote:

I'm not an expert, but I imagine speed would be a problem. One of the
advantages of Oyster is meant to be the speed at which the reading
process is carried out (which is important for bus boarding - if almost
all passengers board using Oyster, dwell times are noticeably lower). If
the process always had to involve comms with a central computer, I guess
the process would be slower.

Indeed - that's why it's a semi-batch operation even on ticket gates.
Trouble with buses is that that batch operation only takes place once a
day and with constraints imposed by how it's done (with the driver
modules).

Saying that, the new AVL system for buses will add in a whole lot of
comms functionality on board buses, so regular communication to update
the on-vehicle computer will be feasible.

I believe it is under consideration to involve Oyster in this.

Neil