COMMUTERS at Oxford Railway Station will have to wait to use their shiny new £1 coins after it was revealed ticket machines will not accept them.

The introduction of the new 12-sided coin yesterday has caused a headache for supermarket operators and local authorities, scrambling to replace their shopping trolleys and car parking machines.

At Oxford station ticket vending machines had signs stating that the new legal tender would not be accepted. Currently the machines do not accept the new £5 notes either which were introduced last September.

The notice also states it will not accept new £10 notes despite them not being introduced until the summer. 

In response rail operator First Great Western said that machines across the network would be modified to accept the new tender before October when the old coins become defunct.

Spokesman James Davis said: “We are working at having all of our ticket machines accepting the new tender before the present tender ceases to be accepted later this year. 

“The machines will not be replaced but they will accept the new tender.”

Oxford Mail:

Oxfordshire County Council said many of its parking ticket machines may not be ready to accept the new coins until May, while a number of supermarkets are also removing the locking mechanisms on their trolleys.

Many pay and display ticket machines in Oxfordshire will not be accepting the new £1 coin as it comes into circulation.

Demonetisation, the process by which the old coin becomes defunct, will take place from October 15.

In a joint statement, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils said: “We were already preparing to replace all our car park pay and display machines.

“The new machines will accept the new £1 and will be installed before the October deadline.”

Until the new machines are in place car parks will still take old £1 coins and people short of cash can pay by phone.

The move is part of the roll-out of a new contract to run car parks in the south of the county so is not coming at an extra cost.

Oxfordshire County Council has also said many of its parking ticket machines may not be ready to accept the new coins until May.

Meanwhile major supermarkets in Oxfordshire are also preparing for the upheaval, with all Sainsbury’s and Aldi trolleys compatible with the new £1 coins.

Tesco has missed the deadline and is temporarily unlocking trolleys in 190 of its 3,000 stores for customers to use. It is not known if stores in Oxfordshire are affected.

A Tesco spokesman said all trolleys would be upgraded by October 15, adding: “We will continue to have colleagues on hand to attend trolleys in our stores.”