I WAS interested to read your front page headline ‘The World is your Oyster’ (January 24) regarding a proposed travel card for use across Oxfordshire.
I have campaigned for joint ticketing for the county ever since the Local Transport Act 2008 allowed the closer co-operation between county councils and bus companies.
I proposed a motion at County Hall on this very subject to try to make this happen, but at the time, the cabinet member for transport, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, seemed ignorant of the existing technology and was not prepared to even consider piloting the scheme.
The Conservative ruling group also tried to deliberately confuse the issue by talking about concessionary fares, and as the motion was debated on April 1, 2008, they just enjoyed using delaying tactics.
Clearly, it was the political will that was needed, not some new technology.
I have welcomed the introduction of Smartcards and joint ticketing across the city and put a further motion to council, in December 2011, supporting the scheme and calling for it to be rolled out across Oxfordshire, including rural areas like the one that I represent in Grove and Wantage.
Again, the Conservatives dismissed the whole idea and voted it down.
So, here we are now with Cllr Ian Hudspeth, the new leader at the helm of the county council.
Perhaps, his latest announcement about the proposed Oyster Card technology indicates that he may have a more enlightened sense of leadership than his predecessor ?
At least he apparently now sees the sense of adopting Liberal Democrat ideas, especially when he realises the benefits these will bring to Oxfordshire.
Cllr Zoé Patrick, leader of the Opposition, Oxford
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