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Re:How MetroCard works (2005) [pdf] by culturestate on Monday September 05, 2022 @06:29AM (#32722692)
Really? I only lived in London briefly years ago, but I can’t remember ever coming across Oyster in any non-transit setting. Maybe it’s like Suica in Tokyo? Technically capable of the same stuff but rarely deployed in practice.

Octopus, in contrast, is almost literally everywhere (except most taxis, sadly). You can use it to buy everything from groceries to petrol.

Re:How MetroCard works (2005) [pdf] by jrockway on Monday September 05, 2022 @07:02AM (#32722957)
Pretty much all convenience stores accept Suica. It's much closer to Octopus than Oyster.
Re:How MetroCard works (2005) [pdf] by Symbiote on Monday September 05, 2022 @07:07AM (#32722999)
> Technically capable of the same stuff but rarely deployed in practice.

Exactly. I doubt it's been accepted anywhere since contactless Visa/Mastercard was introduced in the UK about 2007.

Re:How MetroCard works (2005) [pdf] by frosted-flakes on Monday September 05, 2022 @11:12AM (#32725211)
Why though? What's wrong with a normal bank card?
Re:How MetroCard works (2005) [pdf] by bobthepanda on Monday September 05, 2022 @02:54PM (#32727837)
Less cards to carry.

Also, technically, Octopus is a very special bank card, as it's regulated by the HKMA and has a deposits license.