Mayor of London Ken Livingstone is trying to persuade train companies to accept the Oyster card which has transformed life for Tube and bus users in London.
The pre-paid swipe card has saved people time, eased congestion at ticket offices and sped up overall journey times, particularly bus journeys.
But the National Rail network is a backward no-go zone for most Oyster card holders. Queueing for tickets and unnecessary delays are the norm.
Many potential rail passengers are put off using rail by the extra cost and hassle of buying a separate rail ticket.
"I have a choice of either using my Oyster card and going on a slow bus or having to buy a travel card or train ticket (both more expensive) and having a much quicker rail journey," said one traveller in south east London.
Another passenger said: "Being able to use Oyster saves time. Being able to use Oyster on mainline overground trains in London would be extremely useful."
An angry fellow traveller added: "Train companies should be made to accept Oyster. Why should we have all this technology and not have all transport systems co-ordinated?"
Mr Livingstone has offered to pay for the installation of Oyster card readers at London stations but the train companies are refusing.
Transport for London chief Peter Hendy said: "It is a disgrace. Passengers want fares integration and information integration.
"We are not looking at the transport network as being some narrow commercial deal between some company running the train servce and its customers.
"I am looking at the transport network in London as something that contributes to London's economic prosperity and, against that, some piddling argument by a few train operating companies about the way they lose a few bob when they put Oyster readers in is trivial.
"The piece of transport network with unexploited capacity is the national railway network."