EDS, Cubic get new run at TfL's Oyster scheme

Transport for London (TfL) has sealed a new deal with suppliers Cubic Transportation Systems and EDS for the "future management and development of the Oyster card system and other ticketing services".

The deal will start in 2010 and will run for three years. According to a TfL spokesman, the contract will see savings for the authority which will be reinvested into transport infrastructure.

TfL said the contract will mean service improvements for Oyster but the spokesman declined to detail what form the improvements will take.

The new arrangement comes after TfL opted to break a previous 17-year contract with then Oyster manager TranSys Consortium, which included Cubic and EDS, citing "value for money issues".

The break clause was exercised in August with a two-year notice period for TranSys.

The cessation of the contract earlier this year called into question ownership of the intellectual property around the Oyster system and whether TfL would be allowed to retain the brand.

TfL confirmed that the Oyster brand ownership has now passed into its hands.

There are now six million Oyster cards in use and TfL says the Oyster system could play a part at the London 2012 Olympics.

While no decisions have yet been taken by the bodies behind the Games on how Oyster's involvement could work, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games has promised anyone buying a ticket to an Olympics event will get free public transport to the venue included, potentially suggesting a combination Oyster card and Olympics ticket could be in the works.