Big Brother?

Posted in Tubeworker's blog on ,

The BBC reports that the police are using Oystercards as a way of tracking people's journeys. In January, police requested journey information 61 times, compared with just seven times in the whole of 2004. 229 of the 243 requests made by police to access records were granted.

It sounds reasonable when they tell you this helped in the recent investigation into the murder of City lawyer Thomas ap Rhys Pryce, who was stabbed in Willesden Green.

But there are more sinister ways in which this could be used. Will the shadier parts of the state use Oyster to track people they take a dislike to? Will employers (LUL/TfL included) use it to follow the movements of staff, for example what time you travel home, or what you do when off sick?

And will the increasing use of travel patterns by the police lead to yet more pressure on thinly-stretched station staff to keep gatelines in service even when it is not safe to do so?

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