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Almost £170 million of passengers’ money is lying unclaimed on dormant Oyster cards, new figures show today.

The cash held by Transport for London includes £83.2 million in deposits on 34 million dormant cards.

On top of this, credit of £85.6 million is held on Oyster cards that have not been used for more than one year.

The total has soared from £100 million two years ago and the Liberal Democrats, who obtained the figures through a freedom of information request, called on TfL to make it easier for passengers to reclaim their cash.

The party’s Caroline Pidgeon said: “When TfL’s cash pile is growing by more than £2 million a month I simply do not accept they are doing everything they reasonably can to allow the public to claim back their own money.

“TfL is never shy in using publicity except, it seems, when that involves telling the public how they can get back cash left on dormant Oyster cards.”

The £70 million rise over two years suggests many Oyster users switched to contactless but failed to get their money back from the cards, classed as dormant if left unused for a year.

There has also been a growth in the number of tourists in London, some of whom keep the cards as souvenirs.

TfL said some of the dormant Oyster cards were held by occasional visitors to the capital and used infrequently.

It said the introduction of contactless payments reduced the need to buy an Oyster card for occasional forays to the city, adding that many Londoners also choose to keep a spare card for emergencies or to lend to visitors.

A £3 refundable deposit was required from March 2009, six years after the introduction of Oyster. The charge rose to £5 in 2011. Latest figures showed that 56.5 million Oyster cards have been issued, with a current credit of £211 million at an average of £3.74 per card and total deposits of £165 million.

Up to 16 million cards have been cancelled since being introduced in 2003, though TfL could not say how much money has been refunded as a result.

Mayor Boris Johnson wrote to the Lib-Dems: “TfL regularly sends email alerts to registered customers and will continue to remind customers about their options on unused Oyster cards.

“It is researching and designing a new poster campaign that will appear on the network later this year and will further advise customers of the benefits of returning unwanted cards.”

TfL’s director of customer experience Shashi Verma said: “Credit on Oyster cards does not expire and customers can get refunds when they wish. These can be obtained from any Tube station ticket machine or by contacting customer services on 0343 222 1234.”

Passengers travelling between St Pancras and Stratford International stations will be able to use contactless and Oyster pay-as-you-go on Southeastern’s high-speed services from today.