Help Me!! Oyster Card-London

I consider myself to be pretty good at understanding transport guides and fine print and such but I have more questions than answers after going thru the National Rail/London Metro web sites. The Oyster card seems to be the way to go for London, but I cannot find out the maximum rate per day per zone and do not want to load this card up only to find I am giving away pounds. The exchange is brutal.

Also, does anyone know which rail card will also work on the Gatwick express, if any at all. Many Thanks

I haven't been to London since the Oyster became the defacto ticket for locals and/or long term use. So I think it depends on how many days you need it. For between 1 and 3 days the travelcard still seems to be the best idea:

 

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tickets/2007/one-day/travelcard-day.asp

 

There used to be a 7 day visitors travel card, available exclusively for purchase prior to arrival in the UK, but I've yet to find any information on it while looking right now.

 

Edit: Here's the information on the 7 day cards:

 

http://www.ticket-on-line.com/cgi-bin/web_pass.buy?crypto_block=-_--0rMgxTV3WFUwIOH9TkVyhpIqf0dvWj0oeN3UHhhBVHY6ngAx06TtoUCwGb0lZYrMe5P9012_gQa5QG75EiCNH1--Y

 

 

Hmm, Oyster cards....looks like there is a daily cap on the amount you can be charged for use that is 50p less than the daily travel card. However, there is also a £3 deposit to get the card. That is if I'm reading it correctly:

 

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tickets/2007/downloads/TfL-Fares-Jan-2007.pdf#page=1

How long are you going to be in London? We spent three days there last year, and primarily used to HoHo busses (hop on, hop off). They take you around to all of the major tourist areas, and you can get on and off as much as you like. They currently run 18 pounds per person if you purchase them on line before you leave. Other than that, we walked.

 

Cheers,

I've found some two for one deals on theatre and dining with the Oyster card. That might make it more worthwhile.

 

As a tourist, you'll most likely focus on zones 1 & 2. It looks like if you're just going to do bus travel, a journey will cost £1 with a £3 per day cap. For the tube (and bus), you're looking at £1.50 per journey with a £4.60 per day cap. Plus the aforementioned £3 deposit per card.

 

Outside of zones 1 & 2, I'm afraid you'll have to work it out for yourself. I've rarely had to venture out further than that. Although an annoyingly good portion of the Kings Road in Chelsea is outside of zone 2, which stops at Sloane Square and points north of the Kings Road in South Ken.

Have you downloaded the brochure from the web site? It's a pdf file:

 

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/

 

I agree, it took me some reading to get it all straight, too, but according to my notes for our trip next month (most prices are estimated in US $$):

 

i. Pay individual bus or tube fares = 1.5 GBP

ii. One day OFF PEAK Travelcard: zones 1 – 6 = $12 each

iii. Buy at tube station

iv. Big Bus fare is $35 each for 24 hours

The Oyster card seems to be the way to go for London, but I cannot find out the maximum rate per day per zone and do not want to load this card up only to find I am giving away pounds.

Assuming that you're talking about the daily price capping on a pre-pay Oyster, it's 50p less than the corresponding one-day Travelcard for the zones and times that you've actually used the Oyster.

 

So, for example, if on a particular day you don't start using the Oyster at all until (say) 10.30 am, and all your journeys are within Zone 1, the corresponding one-day Travelcard would be the Zones 1-2 off peak at £5.10. This means that your Oyster will cap at £4.60 for the day.

 

The beauty of the price cap is that you just don't have to think about it. You will get the benefit of the price cap automatically.

 

Take, for example, a day when your journeys were as above during the day, and the Oyster capped at £4.60. But then suppose that in the evening you then made a Tube journey to Zone 3, and then came back. The corresponding Travelcard would now be the Zones 1-4 off peak at £5.70, so the new price cap is £5.20. You'd find that when you made that evening journey, you got charged an extra 60p to take you from the old price cap the new price cap - all without you having to do any more than just use the Oyster as normal.

 

Don't worry about any excess on the Oyster at the end of your stay. You should now be able to get a refund of any unused credit plus the deposit at any Tube station.

For between 1 and 3 days the travelcard still seems to be the best idea:

 

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tickets/2007/one-day/travelcard-day.asp

In strict money terms, that might be the case if you're sure that you're going to be using the Travelcard to its maximum benefit. That includes using it during peak hours - because 3 x one day off-peak Zones 1-2 Travelcards cost less in total than one three-day Zones 1-2 Travelcard. And if you have any day when you don't fully use the Travelcard, you'll almost certainly be better off with pre-pay Oyster. The great thing about the Oyster is that the price cap is a maximum charge. Use it less, and you pay the lower per journey fares; use it more, and you get capped. You don't have to decide in advance, unlike with a Travelcard.

Hi there, I was having a look around and saw your question. There is not travel card for the Gatwick express but you can buy a ticket easily enough at the train terminal at Gatwick

 

Oyster is easy but you'll have to pay a £3 deposit if you're not going to put a travel card on it. My advice - depending on how long you are staying - would be to buy a travel card for Zones 1-2. If you are going to travel out of those zones then you can top the oyster card up either in advance or just before you start your journey out of zone 2. It's a complicated business but oyster does make life a little easier- less chance of misplacing it compared to a paper ticket.

 

Enjoy your Trip

Oyster is easy but you'll have to pay a £3 deposit if you're not going to put a travel card on it. My advice - depending on how long you are staying - would be to buy a travel card for Zones 1-2. If you are going to travel out of those zones then you can top the oyster card up either in advance or just before you start your journey out of zone 2.

To clarify a bit: The difficulty caused by the deposit has now been minimised by the fact that you can now get a refund of the unused credit on a pre-pay Oyster card and of the deposit at any Tube station ticket office. It used to be real hassle for visitors, because it had to be done by post and the refund was made by cheque. But now this problem has been largely eliminated.

 

The advice for topping up an Oyster card with some pre-pay credit if you're travelling beyond the zones covered by the Travelcard loaded onto the Oyster is good. But a Travelcard can only be put onto an Oystercard if it's a 7-day Travelcard or longer. So unfortunately, many visitors won't be able to benefit from that. A one-day or three-day Travelcard has to be bought as a paper ticket.

 

And, of course, using Oyster pre-pay credit is always at least 50p cheaper than using a one-day Travelcard.

 

And welcome to CC, dhj73!

Hi Everyone,

I have a question. My wife and I will be in London for 3 days in June. We were planning on making use of the Hop-on/Hop-off bus and maybe the Tube. Does the Oyster card covers the Tube but does it cover these types of buses?

Bob

No, it won't cover the HoHo. But if you figure out where the HoHo goes you can duplicate the route using regular buses that are covered by the Oyster or a travel card. The only thing you'll miss out on, of course, is the infomative commentary from the driver/guide.

Only suitable for London buses and the London Underground.

Well, by "only suitable" if you mean for unlimited travel for a set maximum daily fee. But the Oyster can be used on a PAYG basis for some National Rail services around London (but don't ask me what that means from a practical standpoint).

OK, here's the list.

 

Pre-pay Oyster (also known as pay-as-you-go) can be used on the following modes of transport:-

• The Tube
• The Docklands Light Railway
• London Transport bus services
• Tramlink
• Some National Rail services

The current list of National Rail services on which you can use a pre-pay Oyster is given as:-

• Amersham to Marylebone
• Finsbury Park to King’s Cross/Moorgate
• Harrow & Wealdstone to Euston (but not at Kilburn High Road/South Hampstead)
• Kentish Town to Moorgate/Elephant & Castle/London Bridge
• Liverpool Street to Walthamstow Central Tottenham Hale/Seven Sisters (but not at intermediate stations)
• Richmond to Gunnersbury
• Stratford to Liverpool Street
• Stratford to Tottenham Hale/Seven Sisters
• Upminster to Fenchurch Street/Liverpool Street via Barking (but not at Forest Gate/Maryland)
• West Ruislip/South Ruislip to Marylebone (but not at intermediate stations)

As I read it, price capping should work even if some of your journeys are on bits of National Rail on which you can use pre-pay Oyster.

OK, here's the deal with Oyster: if you are just travelling on London Underground or London Buses, Oyster is great. If you are just going around the centre of town it's simple.

 

However, half of London's rail transport is provided by various companies in "National Rail" which is separate from the Underground, and most do not accept Oyster Prepay. Some train companies do accept Oyster Prepay (but do not sell it), but only at certain stations, and they often do not allow you to get off at intermediate stops. Gatwick Express sell Oyster Prepay but do not accept it for travel.

 

Confused? Here's a map to make it really clear.:confused:

Be careful - it's easy to make an innocent mistake and then get fined for fare evasion. Always ask before you travel.

 

If you are staying for a week, just buy a 7-day travelcard (this is also stored on an Oystercard) and you don't have to worry about any of these restrictions.

Welcome to London - it's a mad place!!

However, half of London's rail transport is provided by various companies in "National Rail" which is separate from the Underground, and most do not accept Oyster Prepay. Some train companies do accept Oyster Prepay (but do not sell it), but only at certain stations, and they often do not allow you to get off at intermediate stops. Gatwick Express sell Oyster Prepay but do not accept it for travel.

...

If you are staying for a week, just buy a 7-day travelcard (this is also stored on an Oystercard) and you don't have to worry about any of these restrictions.

Welcome to CC, donaudampfschiff!

 

I think that the problems with National Rail, while real, can be overstated for visitors. While what you say is very true for those who live in London, most visitors to London usually have little need for National Rail services. But that map is a great guide for those who may need to use them - thank you!

 

For completeness, it's probably also fair to point out that the position on National Rail will change as more operators progressively implement prepay Oyster, in accordance with Uncle Ken's wishes.

Yes, that's true for the most part, that most visitors will only need to use the tube. Many popular visitor destinations are, however, served by national rail services (some exclusively), for example Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Olympia, Greenwich, Richmond, Wimbledon, Stratford (evenutally the Olympic park), plus Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stanstead airports.

 

It's worth being aware of the complexity of the system as it's easy get caught out and get into trouble. It's still a new system and confuses even Londoners.

 

Print the map and take it with you!

:cool:

However, half of London's rail transport is provided by various companies in "National Rail" which is separate from the Underground, and most do not accept Oyster Prepay. Some train companies do accept Oyster Prepay (but do not sell it), but only at certain stations, and they often do not allow you to get off at intermediate stops. Gatwick Express sell Oyster Prepay but do not accept it for travel.

I think that the problems with National Rail, while real, can be overstated for visitors. While what you say is very true for those who live in London, most visitors to London usually have little need for National Rail services. But that map is a great guide for those who may need to use them - thank you!

 

For completeness, it's probably also fair to point out that the position on National Rail will change as more operators progressively implement prepay Oyster, in accordance with Uncle Ken's wishes.

Yes, that's true for the most part, that most visitors will only need to use the tube. Many popular visitor destinations are, however, served by national rail services (some exclusively), for example Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Olympia, Greenwich, Richmond, Wimbledon, Stratford (evenutally the Olympic park), plus Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stanstead airports.

Some good news for those who might want to use Oyster cards on National Rail services within London.

 

Yesterday, the Evening Standard reported that it's likely that from September 2009, Oyster cards - including pay-as-you-go - will be accepted by almost all National Rail operators within the London area. The only exception will be on South West Trains from Waterloo, because that is subject to franchise negotiations between the train operator and the Department for Transport. There will be further news on that later.

If you are staying for a week, just buy a 7-day travelcard (this is also stored on an Oystercard) and you don't have to worry about any of these restrictions.

Welcome to London - it's a mad place!!

 

The reason why Oyster Cards are a problem with National Rail is that the lines that don't take them havn't the machinery installed enabling inspectors and ticket barriers to physicallly read the Oyster Cards which are electronic Smart cards.

The 7 Day Travelcard you get from most places comes on an Oyster Card so you still cannot use it. If you buy a 7 Day Travelcard from a National Rail ticket office however, it comes on a card that humans can read so its OK.

 

Also 1 and 3 Day Travelcards are readable tickets on card and thus accepted on all the rail lines, including the ones that Oyster are not.

...can someone just tell me what to buy, please. I will be staying in London (3 days) near the Knightsbridge/Harrods underground line. I will be touring around most likely in Zones 1 and 2 for the most part. But...I want to go to Kew Gardens....and will have to make my way to Heathrow airport to fly home.

 

Do I buy an Oyster card? Will the Oyster card take me to all my destinations...I don't think Kew Gardens is located in Zone 1 or 2. What does a person do...pay a regular fare when boarding the underground to go to Kew Gardens?

 

I can take the underground to Heathrow, I believe. It is outside Zone 1 and 2...so again...is it best just to buy a separate ticket when boarding?

 

I can go to Kew Gardens on National Rail with an Oyster Card (so says the map provided by donaudampfschiff), can I go during peak hours? That is another consideration..I like starting out early to do my own touring...

 

So..considering all the various hours, means of transportation, sites that I want to see...is there an all-inclusive card that I can buy so that I never have to think about finding cash? (except for going to Heathrow..I know that it is a separate purchase..I think..:confused:)

 

Thanks so much for all and any help!!! :D

Since I come from Texas where there is not even the thought of a subway system, I need more info. I have ridden the sub in NYC and Montreal.

 

1. Is the Oyster Card like a pre-paid plastic credit card for transportation on the tube and the bus in the city?

2. You can buy this card at any tube stop. Correct?

3. Do you insert the card into a stile, swipe it over a card reader, or get it punched by a person, or what?

4. When you say "capped at £x" does this mean once I've taken enough rides that would normally cost (if paid in cash) a total of £x that I would have to get a new card? Or does this mean I can keep on riding (without worrying about the normal cost) for that day or whatever?

5. Can an Oyster card be used during the peak hours?

6. Is the tube tunnel-train or bus just horrendous at peak hours? (as I too like to get an early start)

7. When you transfer from one tube train to another, do you move freely? or have to use more of your Oyster card amount, etc.?

 

Thank you your your assistance.

Since I come from Texas where there is not even the thought of a subway system, I need more info. I have ridden the sub in NYC and Montreal.

 

I'll try to answer your questions:

 

1. Correct.

2. Yes.

3. There are round pads at the entrance to tube stations and when getting on a bus. You hold the card up to the pad, and it beeps and a green light goes on when it registers. It is important to also register as you exit a tube station, as this info is used to calculate your total fare/daily cap.

4. The second. To continue the previous thought, the system automatically calculates your lowest fare, depending on your usage, as registered on the said round pads. For instance: if you only go on one bus ride on Monday, it will charge you a single fare; however, if you take 4 rides within zone 1 on Tuesday, it will charge you the daily travelcard rate (minus 50 pence).

5. Yes.

6. *Sigh* Yes.

7. Move freely.

 

...can someone just tell me what to buy, please.

 

Now, don't panic. What you want to do is go to your nearest Underground station, go to the nicest looking ticket agent, tell them how many days you'll be there, and ask for an Oyster card with enough pay-as-you-go money to cover all days. Yes, you will be able to use it for Kew, even at peak times. Yes, you will be able to use it for the tube to Heathrow. The beauty of the pay-as-you-go system is that it doesn't restrict you to certain zones like a travelcard does.

 

I *heart* my Oyster card :).

Since I come from Texas where there is not even the thought of a subway system, I need more info. I have ridden the sub in NYC and Montreal.

 

1. Is the Oyster Card like a pre-paid plastic credit card for transportation on the tube and the bus in the city?

2. You can buy this card at any tube stop. Correct?

3. Do you insert the card into a stile, swipe it over a card reader, or get it punched by a person, or what?

4. When you say "capped at £x" does this mean once I've taken enough rides that would normally cost (if paid in cash) a total of £x that I would have to get a new card? Or does this mean I can keep on riding (without worrying about the normal cost) for that day or whatever?

5. Can an Oyster card be used during the peak hours?

6. Is the tube tunnel-train or bus just horrendous at peak hours? (as I too like to get an early start)

7. When you transfer from one tube train to another, do you move freely? or have to use more of your Oyster card amount, etc.?

 

Thank you your your assistance.

 

I think if you read this page about the Oyster Card it answers most of your questions.

 

The London Oyster Card

 

then read this page which will demonstrate whether an Oyster Card or a Travelcard is best for your visit

 

Oyster Card v Travelcard

 

After satisfactorily completing this, you will probably be an expert in the subject.

...can someone just tell me what to buy, please. I will be staying in London (3 days) near the Knightsbridge/Harrods underground line. I will be touring around most likely in Zones 1 and 2 for the most part. But...I want to go to Kew Gardens....and will have to make my way to Heathrow airport to fly home.

You’ve basically got two options.

 

The first option is to buy a Travelcard, or a combination of Travelcards. This is valid on a calendar day basis, and basically offers you unlimited travel on the modes of transport for which it’s valid for the entire validity of the Travelcard.

 

But you will want to make a decision about which flavour to buy and in what combinations. Your options (for what you set out above) are:-

1. Zones 1-2 off-peak one-day Travelcard – valid from 0930 on Mondays to Fridays for “the rest of the day” (which means for any journey that starts before 0430 on the following calendar day), and at any time at weekends and public holidays for “the rest of the day”. This is currently £5.60 for the day.
2. Zones 1-2 anytime one-day Travelcard – valid all day every day for “the rest of the day”. This is currently £7.20 for the day.
3. Zones 1-3 anytime one-day Travelcard – valid all day every day for “the rest of the day”. This is currently £8.60 for the day.
4. Zones 1-2 anytime three-day Travelcard – valid for three consecutive calendar days, all day every day for “the rest of the day”. This is currently £18.40 for the three days.
5. Zones 1-6 off-peak three-day Travelcard – valid for three consecutive calendar days from 0930 on Mondays to Fridays for “the rest of the day”, and at any time at weekends and public holidays for “the rest of the day”. This is currently £21.20 for the three days.
6. Zones 1-6 anytime three-day Travelcard – valid for three consecutive calendar days, all day every day for “the rest of the day”. This is currently £42.40 for the three days.

Only you can decide whether you’re going to want to travel before 0930 on any particular day, and only you know on which days of the week you’re going to be using public transport. So if you go down this route, you’d have to make your own calculations about what’s best for you.

 

However, my personal view is that even if you do this, the Zones 1-6 Travelcard is unlikely to be good value for you. You only need to do the trip to Heathrow once, and you’d probably be best off just paying the extra for that.

 

If you have a Travelcard for Zones 1-2 and you want to travel to Kew Gardens (Zone 3) or Heathrow (Zone 6), I believe that you should be able to pay an extension fare that takes into account the fact that you have a valid Travelcard for Zones 1-2.

 

The other alternative is to get a pay-as-you-go Oyster card, where you put a certain amount of money onto an Oyster card, which is just debited as you use it. No worries about where you’re going, or when. You can just use it anywhere that Oyster pay-as-you-go is accepted, which includes the entire Tube network (including Kew Gardens and Heathrow). The card automatically charges you the discounted Oyster card fare, and automatically applies the appropriate daily price cap when you have reached it – the level of the price cap applicable to you depends on what travel you’ve done and at what times, but all this is worked out for you. And the price cap – if you reach it – is always 50p less than the appropriate one-day Travelcard for the travel that you have done.

 

You need to pay a £3 deposit when you get the card, on top of whatever credit you put on it. It’s easy to top up credit if you need to. When you’re finished (ie when you get to Heathrow), you just go to the ticket office and hand back the card to get a full refund of the £3 deposit plus all of the unused credit on the card.

 

You should note two things about the map that donaudampschiff kindly posted above:-

• First, you don’t need to refer to that for your trips, because you can get to Kew Gardens station by Tube (District Line), and that map only deals with the validity of Oyster pay-as-you-go for “National Rail” (or “overground” or non-Tube) trains. You won’t need the overground train to Kew Gardens only the Tube.
• In any event, that map is out of date (as will any map of pay-as-you-go acceptance be after a short while, as there is continuous change in this respect). The current map is here: http://nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/london/OysterPAYG.pdf.

What would I do? Oyster pay-as-you-go. Least overall hassle.

2. You can buy this card at any tube stop. Correct?

3. Do you insert the card into a stile, swipe it over a card reader, or get it punched by a person, or what?

4. When you say "capped at £x" does this mean once I've taken enough rides that would normally cost (if paid in cash) a total of £x that I would have to get a new card? Or does this mean I can keep on riding (without worrying about the normal cost) for that day or whatever?

…

7. When you transfer from one tube train to another, do you move freely? or have to use more of your Oyster card amount, etc.?

In addition to Twickenham’s excellent answers, just a couple of additions.

 

2. In addition to buying this at Tube station ticket offices, there are some Tube stations which have machines that will dispense an empty (no credit) Oyster for £3, which is the amount of the deposit. You can then charge the Oyster at the ticket machines. This is useful if there are such machines and the queue for the ticket office is long.

 

Further, there is a network of other outlets for TfL tickets, some of which sell Oysters as well. Typically, these are newsagents or small shops. If you see a sign in a shop saying “Oyster ticket shop”, you can get one there too.

 

3. I can’t emphasise too highly that if you use the Tube, you must touch in when you enter, and you must touch out when you exit. If you fail to do either, you will automatically be charged a £4 penalty fare for that trip which does not count towards the daily price cap.

 

4. The system is actually even more sophisticated than Twickenham's overview. If you take one bus trip, you will be charged a single fare (at the Oyster rate, which is much less than the rate for a cash ticket). If you take four bus trips in a day, though, you will actually be price capped at the appropriate bus pass rate (£3.30, ie 50p less than the cost of a one-day buss pass).

 

But if you then take two off-peak zone 1 Tube trips, the Oyster fare for each of which is £1.60, you will have £1.60 deducted for the first trip (to a total charge of £4.90) and then 20p deducted for the second trip because you will then have the price cap lifted to £5.10, which is the appropriate price cap relating to a Zones 1-2 off-peak Travelcard (50p less than the Travelcard price of £5.60).

 

So, when you look back in retrospect, you will always have had a better deal from the Oyster pay-as-you-go than if you had bought, in advance, the exact combination of tickets or passes or Travelcards that would have been the lowest total cost for you.

 

7. There are some places on the Tube network which are official connecting places where you still have to touch out and then touch in again to change trains. These are relatively few now. However, one example that I can think of from personal use is changing from the Tube at Tower Hill to the DLR at Tower Gateway (currently closed, but due to reopen mid-2009). The whole trip on Tube and DLR is charged as one journey, but you must still touch out at Tower Hill, walk over to Tower Gateway and touch in again.

 

Like price-capping, you just need to do the sheep thing. Do as you’re told, and let the machinery do its wizardry. It works.

Thank you, Twickenham, Handfordr, and Globaliser....for all the information. I'm going to print out all the information that you've provided and study it.....and hopefully pass the exam.....and then make the right decision. LOL

I just want to make sure that I have the correct travel pass for my daily outings...I just don't want to get dinged for a penalty. We have a Proof of Payment system here as well, and the fine is quite heavy if you can't produce your pass or transfer pop.

Okay...now to study the London transit payment system....:D