With the ever-impending global environmental crisis, many people have been pushing for more of an effort from big companies, for example ones in transport who have contributed to much of the environmental crisis. After having asked for so long, we are finally starting to see a change.  

The transport companies, for example South Western Railways (SWR), are prioritising a reduction in the amount of paper being used. For travel within the SWR transport network, paper season tickets will no longer be used from the 1st of June, but will be loaded onto a smartcard that can then be reused and updated as necessary. While it may have gone unnoticed by many, the phasing out of these paper tickets actually started on the 4th of April.  

TfL are also trying to make a change. Their phasing out of paper tickets to use Oyster cards and contactless has already been going on for several years. Before TfL’s move to Oyster cards, they used paper tickets and money, concepts long phased out. Currently, there are talks going on about phasing out Oyster cards by the end of this year to make everything contactless and completely paper free, which would greatly help reduce paper waste as well as be an influence for companies with similar practices. 

Manuela Riccardi, an employee of SWR, believes there are advantages and disadvantages to such a change. She believes that while the obvious sustainability element of it is important, it requires someone to have their phones available at all times, as well as issues with data protection if something goes wrong. 

Overall, whatever disadvantages this move may have, it is all part of the UK’s steps to a cleaner, greener future, and will only take some adjusting to before we can start to see a difference.