Contactless payment on Tube delayed until late 2013

Manor House may have been rigged up with wifi in time for the games but it seems we're gong to have to wait a bit longer for next generation ticketing.

Contactless payments on the transport network are to be delayed by a year, meaning the service won't be fully active on the Tube until the end of 2013.

The "Wave and Pay" system, which enables travellers to pay for Tube or services simply by automatically debiting a bank card rather than relying on Oyster, was meant to be substantially integrated into London transport by the end of 2012, according to a Transport for London (TfL) statement in February.

The admitted delays confirm what was already hinted at in Boris Johnson's 2012 "Investing In Transport" May election manifesto, which stated, "I will start [contactless payment's] introduction on the bus network in June this year as a means of paying cash fares. I will launch contactless payment with Pay As You Go and weekly capping on the Tube and other rail services towards the end of 2013."