At present, Oyster card data has had limited use by Network Development due to lack
of access, uncertainty about its value, and the substantial up-front investment required to
develop a database system that meets their needs. However, the description of smart card data,
including its strengths and limitations, illustrates that it could be of great value in terms of
filling in gaps in knowledge about passenger demand.
Finally, the analysis of aggregate and route-level journey stage volumes showed that
Oyster smart card data is representative enough of travel on the bus network in London to
inform a methodology for joining journey stages into complete journeys and to then apply the
results to network planning case studies. The review of route-level bus network passenger
volumes exposed some outstanding data issues but also revealed the possibility that Oyster
data may actually be more reliable than ETM data in some instances, for example for
articulated bus routes.