Students are suffering anxiety and at risk of dropping out of college because they cannot obtain new Zip Cards due to the cyber attack on Transport for London, a college principal has warned.
TfL has had to suspend online applications for Zip Cards and the 60+ Oyster card since it spotted on September 1 that its website had been targeted by hackers.
Zip cards, which offer free bus travel and half-price Tube and train travel to children aged 11-15 and students aged 16-17, normally expire on September 30 and have to be renewed.
TfL has extended the deadline until October 31 and has advised children and students to continue to use their existing Zip cards, even once they expire.
However some students do not have an existing Zip card – sparking fears that they will not be able to afford to travel to college.
TfL’s advice is for passengers without Zip cards to pay the normal fare and then apply for a refund once its website returns to normal. However it only says it “may” be able to refund the fares.
Bus drivers have been told to allow children and teenagers to board without a valid Zip card, and Tube station staff have been given similar instructions.
However there are concerns about young Londoners getting stuck at stations as the ticket barriers are not always manned.
Unmesh Desai, a Labour member of the London Assembly, raised concerns with TfL at a meeting of the assembly’s transport committee on Thursday, after being alerted to the issue by Alison Arnaud, principal of New City College’s Tower Hamlets campus.
Mr Desai said: “They have 10,000 students across all their campuses, but this has implications for young people all across London.
“What she says is that schoolchildren can use the 11-15 Zip Card, but when going to college or sixth form they have to reapply to receive a 16+ Zip Card – but they can’t do that right now because of the application portal being suspended.
“She expressed the very real fear that many of her students won’t be able to pay and will drop out.”
Ruth Lomax, group executive director of communications & student support at New City College told the Standard on Friday: “Student services staff in London's colleges are inundated with queries about this from concerned students.
“We understand that TfL are working hard to make their systems safe but the very real impact on students and their families, both financial and the consequences relating to their attendance at college, does not seem to be fully understood.”
Geoff Hobbs, TfL’s director of public transport service planning, said Zip card user should continue to use their existing card, even if it had expired.
He said the cards could still be “loaded” with cash and would still work on Oyster readers even if they were out of date.
Mr Hobbs said: “Just use the old Zip card. There is a lot of discretion, with [bus] drivers and gate-line staff. The old Zip card will be fine.”
He said the inability to issue new Zip cards was one of an “immensely long list of adverse impacts” suffered by TfL, either by the cyber attack or its efforts to prevent further damage by shutting down many of its own internal systems.
He was unable to say when the Zip Card portal would reopen. TfL is also unable at present to issue 60+ Oyster cards used by older Londoners, or to carry out the annual address check for these cards.
Mr Hobbs said: “At some stage during October, we will work out whether we can turn on the system… or whether we will need to extend it further and do something else.”
Students can also apply for an 18+ Student Oyster, which gives 30 per cent off travelcards and bus season tickets.
The cyber attack exposed about 5,000 customer names, including email and home addresses and Oyster card refund data, to the hackers.
Mr Hobbs said: “To ensure children and older Londoners can continue to travel on our network, we have made the decision to continue to accept Zip Oyster photocards for under 16-year-olds throughout October that are due to expire on September 30.
“Additionally, we are postponing the yearly address check that we require for holders of 60+ Oyster cards until a later date. We have written to all affected customers to update them on this.
“Children will need to show their expired photocard to staff at the start and end of their journey on TfL services, or as requested.
“Customers with a 60+ Oyster photocard, who have recently been invited to complete the 60+ yearly address check, can continue to travel as normal.
“When our photocard systems are back up and running, we will write to customers again to let them know they can complete their Zip Oyster photocard application or 60+ address check.”
TfL is also unable to issue refunds for incomplete pay-as-you-go journeys using Contactless.
In addition, TfL’s roll-out of Contactless ticket barriers to 47 train stations outside Greater London, which had been due to happen on September 22, is being rescheduled “to a later date”.
