When TfL announced its plans to make all buses cashless starting on 6 July this year, there was concern about people being unable to make their journeys, particularly at night, if they have no money on their Oyster card, and nowhere to top-up in the vicinity.
Some help is at hand in the form of TfL's 'One More Journey' scheme, giving passengers with empty Oysters the chance to make one more bus journey before they have to top-up.
One More Journey will begin this Sunday, 8 June, a month earlier than planned, following a month long trial on 60 routes across London. According to TfL, 1,500 people a day have used the scheme during the trial period.
Provided you have some balance on your card (and have your card with you), you can board a bus and receive an emergency fare advice slip, reminding you to top-up. The cost of the fare will be deducted from your Oyster card, taking it into a negative balance, which will be cleared the next time you top-up.
However, if your Oyster card doesn't have any balance at all, or your journey home takes more than one bus, it doesn't look like you'll be able to get there after all.
When buses go cashless in July, you can still travel using prepaid tickets, contactless payment cards or concessionary tickets.
