Contactless card at reader

Fares capping

To ensure passengers get the best value for money when they travel, Transport for London (TfL) have fare caps which limit the amount people using Oyster or contactless cards pay for journeys they make in a single day or week. This is particularly useful for those who work part time. All you need to do is tap in and out whenever you travel using Oyster or a contactless card.

How does this work on the bus or tram?

Daily capping.

Once you have made three bus or tram journeys in a day using your Oyster/contactless card you will pay no more and can travel for free the rest of the day.

Weekly capping

Once you have made three bus or tram journeys on board any London bus or tram on 5 out of 7 days using Oyster/contactless you will pay no more that week. So if you work Monday to Friday, you can travel for free at the weekend.

How does this work on the Tube, DLR, London Overground, the Elizabeth line and National Rail?

Once you have made around three journeys (peak or off peak) in a day on any Tube, DLR, London Overground, the Elizabeth line or National Rail train within Zones 1-6 using Oyster/contactless you will pay no more and will be able to travel for free for the rest of the day.

Once you have made around three journeys on any Tube, London Overground, the Elizabeth line or National Rail train from Zones 7-9 using Oyster/contactless you will be able to travel for free for the rest of the day. However, there is a difference  between the cost of peak and off-peak travel.

Weekly capping  – now also available on Oyster

If you have reached the capping limit on 5 days out of 7 you will be able to travel for free for the other two days.

To ensure that capping applies, you must touch in and out for your journey (where touching out applies) regardless of if you have already reached the minimum journey threshold for that day/week.

Services not included in the capping prices

  • On the Heathrow Express, Gatwick Express and High Speed services to and from St Pancras International (HS1)
  • River boat services
  • IFS Cable Car

For those taking advantage of the bus Hopper fare (which grants passengers as many bus trips as they like within a 1 hour period for the price of a single fare of £1.75), each trip will only be counted as one journey under the capping system.

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Oyster Fares Central

Daily Caps and Travelcards (2021)

This page details all the London wide caps and travelcards which apply to rail travel. These caps apply to all modes: National Rail, Underground, Overground, TfL Rail and DLR. The only rail services within zones 1-9 which are not covered are the Heathrow Express services between Paddington and the Airport; and Southeastern high-speed between St Pancras International and Stratford International; where Oyster and contactless can be used, but fares charged are additional to any caps. Travelcards are only valid to/from Stratford International if marked Plus HS1.

The first table lists all the daily caps. All Railcards refers to those that can be added to Oyster: 16-25, 26-30, Senior, Forces, Disabled and Annual Gold cards. Most refers to the same list apart from Disabled.

The second table lists all the paper travelcards. Note that there is no off-peak zone 1-4, use the zone 1-6 instead.

The third table lists the different season ticket prices. There are no single zone travelcard seasons. If the required combination isn’t shown (eg 5-7) then the price is the same for a larger zonal coverage (in this case 4-7). If only zone 2 is required then choose 2-3, for only zone 6 it is 5-6. Adult and Child (5-15) travelcards can be bought on paper. 16+, Jobcentre, Apprentice and Student 18+ travelcards all require the appropriate Oyster photocard to be held.

* Annual seasons are not available on Jobcentre Oyster cards.

+wj Travelcard seasons for zones 2-9 and 4-9 also include Watford Junction.

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How to Use a Contactless Card on London Transport

Anyone with a contactless debit or credit card can use it to pay for travel in London. It’s ideal if you don’t have or want an Oyster card. Or if you run out of pay as you go credit on your Oyster card.

Your card is used the same way as an Oyster card – you tap in and out at the tube or train station ticket barriers or tap the yellow card reader when you get on a bus.

The main difference is that you don’t have to top-up your Oyster card with money, the fare is taken from your debit card or credit card the following day.

You need one contactless debit or credit card per person . You can’t pay for two or more people with one card.

Contactless single fares 2024

Underground.

For central London (zone 1) it costs  £2.70 off peak and £2.80 peak per journey with a contactless debit or credit card.

Read more about London’s zones .

What are the contactless peak/off-peak hours?

Off-peak fares apply on Fridays from 8 March until 31 May 2024

Monday–Friday 6.30am–9.30am and from 4pm–7pm.

If you travel into central London (zone 1) from an outer zone, there is no afternoon peak rate . You are charged the off-peak fare.

Off-peak fares are charged at all other times, including Public Holidays.

Contactless Daily Cap 2024

If you want to use your contactless card to pay for travel for the whole day, there’s a ‘daily cap’. This is the maximum you pay for unlimited travel in one day. For central London, it’s  £8.50 .

Contactless daily cap from 3 March 2024

It’s  £1.75 for one bus journey or for unlimited bus journeys within one hour with a contactless card. If you use the buses all day,  £5.25 is the maximum amount deducted from your card.

There are no zones for bus travel in London.

Contactless weekly fares

If you use a contactless card to pay for travel between Monday and Sunday there’s a weekly cap – the maximum amount deducted from your card.

As it runs from Monday to Sunday, the cap does not benefit everyone.

For anyone visiting London for 5-7 days, a weekly Travelcard or bus pass might be cheaper depending on the day you first use public transport.

For central London (zone 1) it’s  £42.70 . Contactless weekly cap prices are the same as weekly Travelcard prices.

  • You benefit from the contactless ‘weekly cap’ if you arrive in London on Monday or Tuesday and use it to pay for public transport every day until Sunday
  • If you arrive in London on Wednesday to Sunday and use public transport every day for 6-7 days, buy a weekly Travelcard instead

The cost for bus travel between Monday and Sunday is  £24.70.

  • You benefit from the contactless weekly bus fare if you arrive in London on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday and use the buses every day until Sunday
  • If you arrive in London on Thursday to Sunday and use the buses for the next 5-7 days, buy an ordinary weekly bus pass instead

How do I use a contactless card?

Tap your contactless debit/credit card on the yellow card reader when you get on the bus. You don’t need to tap your card when you get off.

On the underground/overground

Tap your card on the yellow card reader to open the ticket barriers at the start of your journey. Do the same when you arrive at your destination. Even if the barriers are open, tap the reader otherwise you are charged the full fare.

The following working day, your journeys are added up and the money is deducted from your bank account or added to your credit card bill.

Non-UK issued contactless card

Visitors with non-UK issued cards should bear in mind that overseas transaction charges might apply when you use a contactless card. It’s probably best to check the fees with your card provider first.

If you have two or more contactless cards, make sure they’re not near each other when you tap your card on the reader. Decide which one you’re going to use and stick to it.

If you use different cards you will not benefit from the daily or weekly cap and you could be charged the ‘full fare’ (expensive!).

A record of usage is available, but you need register your contactless credit/debit card with TfL.

If you don’t want to do this, get an Oyster card instead. Receipts are available when you buy and/or top-up a card at an underground station ticket machine. You don’t get one automatically, you have to select ‘Receipt’ on the screen. Look out for the prompt – it’s easy to miss.

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Last updated: 22 February 2024

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Getting around London

Getting around London: Pay as you go and Travelcard prices

London is big. We get it. So working out how to get from A to B can be slightly intimidating.

To help you with your travel planning and budgeting, we've laid out the best ticket options (and how much they cost*) for your time in London. Pay daily or buy a weekly London Travel card - it's up to you.

Daily Travel Card Prices

If you only need to use public transport for a day or two of your trip, TFL's (Transport for London) day pass with a price cap is all you need to know about. It's priced as a London day travel - one day travel pass. Tap in using your bank card as much as you wish throughout the day and you'll never be charged more than the daily London tube prices cap and they can be used for bus travel as well.   

Weekly Travel Card Prices

If you have a week in the city and you know you're going to be bouncing between the London Underground and those iconic red buses, purchasing a weekly London ticket could save you a few pennies. 

*The above prices are controlled by TFL and are subject to change.

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London's Tube and train fares to be cut on Fridays to lure people back to the city

Sadiq Khan wants more people in London on Fridays in the hope they will buy lunches, after-work drinks and evening entertainment - a big boost for the hospitality sector.

Friday 1 March 2024 20:01, UK

An underground train pulls into Leicester Square station in central London February 11, 2014. A planned 48-hour strike this week by staff on London's underground rail network which threatened to bring travel misery for millions has been suspended to allow further talks, unions said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Neil Hall (BRITAIN - Tags: POLITICS TRANSPORT BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT)

London's Tube and train fares will be cut on Fridays as the capital's mayor tries to lure more people on to public transport.

Sadiq Khan hopes that increasing the number of workers going to offices on Fridays will raise extra money for the hospitality sector through additional spending on lunches, after-work drinks and evening entertainment.

Those using contactless and Oyster cards will be charged off-peak fares all day on Friday under the £24m trial, which runs from 8 March until the end of May.

Someone travelling on the Tube from Zone 6 in outer London into Zone 1 at peak time currently pays £5.60 but the trial will see this cut to £3.60 on Fridays.

Peak times on weekdays are between 6.30am and 9.30am, and 4pm until 7pm.

Mr Khan said: "Encouraging more people back into the city on Fridays could give a much-needed boost to the hospitality, business and leisure sectors, supporting London's wider economic growth as we continue to build a fairer, greener and more prosperous London for everyone.

"So, I'm making a call to all Londoners: to help London keep roaring back - let's do Fridays."

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The number of people using the Tube in the middle of the week is at 85% of pre-pandemic levels but on Fridays this drops to just 73%.

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The daily pay-as-you-go price cap on Fridays will also be amended to an off-peak rate on Fridays during the trial.

Paper single tickets and Day Travelcards will still have peak-time restrictions, however.

The pilot will see 60+ and Freedom Pass cards - which cannot be used before 9am on weekdays - being valid all day on Fridays.

It follows Mr Khan's January announcement that TfL fares will be frozen until March next year, paid for through £123m of Greater London Authority funding.

Related Topics

London travelcard cost for each zone and fare caps for individual journeys in 2023

Fares rose by 5.9 per cent back in March

  • 12:37, 17 APR 2023

Pay-as-you-go and travelcard fares rose by 5.9 per cent in March 2023

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Back in March 2023, London travelcard prices and rail fares saw a staggering 5.9 per cent increase - the biggest rise in over a decade. Fares across the country have seen hundreds of pounds added to the cost of many annual season tickets, and individual journeys or day travelcards now cost significantly more.

In London, TfL prices all went up with pay-as-you-go fares rising by an increase of 10p to 30p. The price increase also impacted bus and tram fares, daily and weekly caps, daily and weekly travelcards, river bus services and the IFS cloud cable car. The adult peak pay-as-you-go fare for a journey in Zone 1 is now £2.80, while for off-peak it is £2.70.

Before March 2023, a pay-as-you-go single fare was £1.65 on buses, now it is £1.95. The daily cap for zones 1 & 2 used to be £7.70 and a weekly cap of £38.50. Now, it is £8.10 daily and £ 40.70 weekly. In case you've lost track of the new costs, we've compiled a list of the cost of every single travel card in each TFL Zone as well as the maximum fares for a single journey.

READ MORE: Drivers warned of '20p hack' which could save you from being slapped with huge £10k fine

The price of travelcards and pay-as-you-go fares rose back in March

For a one-day anytime or one day off-peak journey it would cost you a maximum of £8.10. For a Monday to Sunday 7-day travelcard, it would cost £40.70 A one-day anytime travelcard would cost £15.20, the same for off-peak journeys. While a 7-day travelcard would cost £40.70, monthly it is £156.30 and annually it is £1,628.

Zone 1 and 2

A Zone 1 & 2 one day anytime journey costs a maximum of £8.10, the same as off-peak. It costs the same amount for a Zone 1 & 2 travelcard as it would for one covering just those individual zones, so £40.70 weekly, £156.30 monthly and £1,628 annually.

Zone 1, 2 and 3

In Zones 1-3 it costs a maximum of £9.60 for a one-day anytime and off-peak journey as if you are travelling within those three zones. It is £47.90 for a 7-day Monday to Sunday ticket. One day anytime or off-peak travelcards cost £15.20, or they are £47.90 for a 7-day, £184 monthly and £1,916 annually.

Zone 1, 2, 4 and 4

A one-day anytime ticket costs a maximum of £11.70, the same as off-peak. A 7-day Monday to Sunday travelcard costs £58.50. One day anytime or off-peak travelcards cost £15.20, or they are £224.70 monthly and £2,340 annually.

Zone 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

One day anytime journeys cost a maximum of £13.90, the same as off-peak and for a 7-day Monday to Sunday ticket it's £69.60. A one-day anytime travelcard costs £21.50 while an off-peak costs £15.20. While a 7-day costs £69.60, monthly it's £267.30 and annually it's £2,784.

Zone 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

One day anytime costs a maximum of £14.90, the same for off-peak journeys. Monday to Sunday 7-day travelcards cost £74.90. A one-day anytime travelcard costs £21.50, while off-peak costs £15.20. A monthly travelcard is £285.70 and annually it's £2,976.

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Oyster card or Travelcard in London: How to choose

Oyster card or Travelcard London

When planning a trip to London, you need to think houw you’re going to get around and what tickets you’ll need to pay for public transport.

Buying single tickets is simply not recommended, as it works much cheaper to use a transport card or contactless payment. The transport cards that you will need to look into are basically the oyster card and the travelcard. Using contactless payment works out exactly the same as using an oyster card.

However, deciding what works best for you can be a little daunting, so we will explain the main differences and hopefully help you make that decision.

London Oyster card, Travelcard or Contactless payment

One important thing to remember is that every person needs their own card. Unless you are just using buses, in which case, more than one person can use the same card. But for trains, underground, overground, trams, riverboat services or anything else you need one card per person.

London Oyster Card: What is it

The London Oyster Card is a pay-as-you-go plastic card, the size of a credit card. In order to get one you need to pay £7, and you can top it up as many times as you need and use it again and again. It’s valid for travel on the Underground, overground, DLR (docklands light rail), TFL rail, Emirates airline, and some trains. It’s also valid for travel within any of London’s Travel Zones , so you don’t need to choose what zones you will need it for when buying one. Every time you use it, the fare will be calculated depending on the travel zones that you have travelled to and from, and the time of the day you have made the journey (peak / off-peak).

It is the best option if you are visiting London and going to use London’s public transport a few times a day, for example, if you need to travel to get to central London from your hotel, then to get to a different place in London and then back to the hotel.

With an oyster card, you will pay for each journey you make, and there is a maximum daily cap. Once you have reached this daily cap, you will not get charged any more for extra journeys.

⇒ Read More about London Oyster Card

Contactless Payment on London Transport

This is slowly becoming the most popular option for paying for London’s public transport. Contactless payments work exactly the same as the oyster card, with exactly the same fares, and it saves you having to spend £7 on an Oyster Card.

A few things to have in mind if you are travelling to London from abroad are transaction fees and exchange rates. But in this case, you’ll find that nowadays, cards such as Revolut have made travelling much easier.

⇒ Read more about contactless payments on London Transport

London Travelcard

The London travelcard entitles you to unlimited travel for a set number of days within the London Travel Zones chosen.

This card that can be purchased for 1 day, 1 week, 1 month or 1 year, and with it, you have unlimited travel for the London transport zones you have chosen.

Generally speaking, a one-day London travelcard is something I don’t usually recommend as the oyster card’s daily cap is cheaper than the one day travelcard. A 7-day travelcard is helpful if you are going to use London’s public transport a lot (which doesn’t need to be the case if you plan your trip well), if you are going to be travelling outside of zones 1 – 4 every day or if you go are going to spend more than five days in London.

⇒ Read more about the London Travelcard

How to choose between Oyster Card, Contactless or Travelcard

To choose between an oyster card or travelcard to save as much money as possible when planning a trip to London, there are two things that we must take into account: The number of days that you are going to be in London and the travel zones that you are going to travel to and from:

Number of days

As a general rule, after comparing prices, I usually recommend a London Oyster Card or Contactless payment method if you are going to be in London for less than five days. If you are staying in London for more than 5 days, it’s probably worth getting a 7-day travelcard.

Travel zones

If you are buying a travelcard, you need to know what zones you’ll be using. London’s most popular attractions are mostly in zone 1. Some tourist attractions can be found in zone 2, such as Camden Town Market. But you also need to have in mind where your hotel is.

⇒ Read more about London Travel Zones

Oyster Card Daily Capping: Something to keep in mind when choosing between Oyster Card, Contactless or Travelcard

I must mention that the oyster card has a daily cap, and once this daily cap has been reached for certain travel zones, you can travel for free within the same travel zones. You still need to use your oyster card as you normally would, but you won’t be charged.

The cheapest one-day travelcard for costs £15.20. This is the price of the 1-day travel card for zone 1, zones 1-2, 1-3 and 1-4. The maximum daily cap when using an oyster in zones 1 and 2 of London is £8.10, £9.60 for zones 1-3 and £11.70 for zones 1-4. So, if you use an oyster card and travel in zones 1 and 2, once you have reached £8.10 you can travel free within zones 1 and 2.

2023 Fares Comparison: Daily Oyster Card Cap – 1 Day Travelcard – 7 Day Travelcard.

What’s cheaper according to number of days and travel zones, taking into account 2023 fares, what you should never do if you land at heathrow airport.

If you are thinking about buying a London travelcard for your stay in London if you are going to be in London for more than 5 days, and you arrive at Heathrow airport, we wouldn’t recommend that you buy a 7-day travelcard for zones 1 – 6 at Heathrow underground station to use during your whole stay as you will be paying too much.

I would recommend that you buy an oyster card at Heathrow underground station, and add a zone 1-4 travelcard onto it (if you are going to be in London more than 5 days), but use it with pay-as-you-go credit to get to central London on the first day and then again when you return to Heathrow airport.

Transport passes for children in London

Children under the age of 11 travel free within London travel zones. Children over 11 can also benefit from reduced fares; you can find out more about this in our article: Travelling in London with kids .

Find out more

For more information, visit London’s official transport website: Transport For London

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What is your recommendation for buying a ticket for an 11 day stay in London (2 adults and children 16 and 13 years old). Hotel accommodation in Sutton with daily travel to and from the city centre, travel within zone 1-2 during the day + a day visit to the Harry Potter Studio. Thank you very much.

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Hi Jan, Personally I wouldn’t recommend Sutton if you are going to travel to Central London every day as you would need to combine Underground with trains. We know some people that live near Sutton and most of the times the trains have delays or cancellations. The Harry Potter Studios are located in North London, while Sutton is in the South, so that day you would need around 2 hours to go there and another 2 hours to come back…

Also, depending on the airport that you would be arriving to, I would recommend a different area to find accommodation.

Hope it helps. If you have any questions about any other areas let us know.

Have a nice day!

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Contactless cards & Apple Pay on London's public transport in 2024

Be informed and in control using contactless technology on london public transport.

Credit Card With The Contactless Symbol

In 2014 contactless payment technologies were implemented as another payment option on London's public transport. It is very similar to the Oyster card , the smartcard based travel solution currently used by the vast majority of passengers.

The big potential for contactless payment cards is that the cards are not specific to London public transport, you are using your own debit or credit card that you use every day for countless other purchases. As long as your payment card supports contactless technology they are an option for you to pay for public transport in London.

Using a contactless payment card is almost identical to using an Oyster card. You simply swipe your card at the ticket barriers just like an Oyster card. If you are not familiar with Oyster, please read the Oyster card page to bring you up to speed.

You can add supported payment cards to Apple Pay and then use your iPhone or Apple Watch to make contactless payments.

Oyster vs contactless   Is my card valid?   Apple Pay   Important aspects of contactless   Fares   Fare zones   Daily price cap   Child concessions

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Oyster v Contactless cards - Summary of the differences

The fare structure of using a Contactless card is almost identical to using an Oyster card. However, the contactless card has a 7-day cap running Monday to Sunday not available with Oyster as well as the daily cap.

Visitor Oyster cards have a non-refundable activation fee of £5. Newly issued Oyster cards cost £7 which is refundable. You can get £5 back from your Oyster Card if it was purchased before 23 February 2020. Contactless payment cards have no similar charges.

With Oyster you add credit to your Oyster before you travel and fares are deducted from your Oyster card immediately. With contactless cards the total cost of all the journeys that you make in one day is calculated at the end of the day and a single charge is made to your contactless payment card account. If you are from overseas and have a credit/debit card that you use for contactless payments remember you may incur foreign exchange charges by your issuer like any other purchase in British pounds.

Unlike the Oyster card the contactless facility has a 7 day cap as well as the Oyster daily cap used by Oyster. The price of this cap is exactly the same as a 7 day Travelcard. The only difference to a 7 day Travelcard is that a 7 day Travelcard can start any day of the week for 7 days, the contactless card 7 day cap runs from Monday to Sunday only.

Discount entitlements can't be added to a contactless payment card like an Oyster card. So if you are eligible for free or discounted travel, you should continue using your existing Oyster card. This in effect rules out children using contactless payment methods.

Contactless payment cards - is my card valid?

Contactless Payment Symbol

Most contactless payments are made with cards. However, mobile phone payments, key fobs, stickers and other methods of contactless payment are becoming more common using the technology.

The contactless payment symbol denoting a device supports the technology is displayed right, an example also is seen on the credit card image at the top of the page.

Contactless payment cards issued in the UK

If your card was issued in the UK on Visa, MasterCard, Maestro or American Express and displays the contactless payment symbol, you should be able to use it to travel on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground and most National Rail services in London.

Contactless payment cards issued on other platforms, such as Diners Club, JCB or Union Pay are not accepted.

American Express (AMEX) issued anywhere

All American Express contactless payment cards with the contactless symbol should be valid.

MasterCard issued outside UK

Nearly all MasterCard and Maestro contactless payment cards issued outside the UK are accepted. The majority of cards that aren't accepted are issued in the USA, Canada and the Netherlands.

Visa issued outside UK

Some Visa and V PAY contactless payment cards from countries other than the UK are not accepted for contactless travel on our services. Visa expects all its contactless payment cards to be accepted in the near future.

Others like Diners Club, JCB or Union Pay

Understand the differences between Travelcard, Oyster Card and contactlessd card. Ask bob if still confused.

Setting up Apple Pay to work with Contactless Payment - full details

Important aspects of using contactless payment cards

Overseas transaction fees.

You should be aware that as for other purchases, overseas transaction fees or charges may apply for visitors to London for travel made with a card issued outside the UK. Please do check with your card issuer as charges levied are variable, even between cards from the same issuer.

Watch out for card clash

Use the same card for all of your transport in London using contactless payment cards. If you use a different card at the end of the journey to the one at the start both cards will be charged the maximum fare on the transport system for that journey. Take care that no other contactless payment cards in your possession are not in the vicinity of the card reader, the card reader may pick-up the wrong card as a result.

Contactless payment fares

Every time you make a journey on London's public transport your contactless payment card is charged a fare, the same fare as Oyster cards. Once you reach the daily cap (see below) in a day that is the maximum you will be charged for public transport that day.

Oyster Card & Contactless Payment Card Fares - Compared to Single Cash Fares from 5 March 2023 - March 2024

No return fares.

ANY BUS JOURNEY: £1.75 (no fare zones)

* Peak fares apply Monday to Friday between 6.30am and 9.30am and 4pm to 7pm except public holidays

Should your journey not use TFL services (London buses/trams, Underground, Overground, DLR and TFL Rail), completely, for example part of your journey is via a different operator, most likely a railway company, then the standard Oyster/Contactless single fare based on zones may not be followed.

Children travel free if under 11 year old or are between 11 and 15 years with an Oyster 11-15 Photocard. On services operated by the railways such as Gatwick trains for example, only children under 5 travel free, child rate fares are available with the appropriate age Oyster Zip card.

Children's fares (11-15 yrs old) with an Oyster 11-15 Photocard on Oyster for any trip within zones 1 to 6 is £0.85 off peak, £0.90 peak

The London public transport system is divided up into zones that radiate from the centre. Nearly all the hotels and the main sights are in Zone 1. Heathrow Airport is in Zone 6 and the furthest zone out is Zone 9.

The majority of visitors will only travel in the two most central zones 1 and 2. The Underground Map has the stations and their zones marked. You can also view the rail and tube services map .

Some stations like Turnham Green are in two zones, you use whichever zone for these stations is most beneficial in working out your fare.

The fare you pay is set by which zones your departure and destination stations are in. Your journey starts when you go through the ticket barrier of the station entrance you depart from and finishes when you pass through the ticket barrier at the exit of your destination.

You cannot break a journey on a single fare, once you go though an exit barrier of a station that is journey completed. You can change trains at an interchange station and as you do not go through an exit barrier at the station your fare is not calculated until you exit through a barrier at your ultimate destination after switching trains.

London's red buses do not have zones. With Oyster or a contactless payment card, a flat fee per bus journey is charged wherever and whenever you ride.

You can now use contactless payment cards for a single fare on the high speed trains between St Pancras and Stratford, meaning you no longer need to use ticket machines. However, do note that special high speed fares apply and these fares fall outside the usual capping. The daily cap here may be more expensive than a rail-only paper ticket.

The Oyster / Contactless payment card daily price cap

Price caps are the maximum you will pay in a day, a price ceiling. No matter how many individual trips you make in any 24 hour period between 4.30am and 4.30am you will not be charged more than the price cap amount. This price cap spreads across all modes of transport, so if you mix bus, underground and DLR in one day the same price cap applies.

Fare capping & using Contactless cards on buses

Using a contactless card on the buses is the same as an Oyster, just swipe your card over the pad on entry and the machine will confirm your fare has been taken. That's it, you don't get a ticket and you don't swipe it again on exiting the bus.

If you use only buses to travel on a calendar day, there is a special lower daily cap than the daily cap stated below which is for when you use other transport in London in your travel mix. Check the London bus page for the current bus only cap. There is also a 7 day bus only cap available on contactless cards lower than the 7 day cap stated below, again look at the bus page for the current rate.

Price caps for Oyster & contactless card payments, compared to Travelcard prices

From 5 march 2023.

* Travelcard peak fares apply for any travel made Monday to Friday before 9.30am. All other travel is off-peak.

** Prices for a 7 day Travelcard. Also the 7 day cap for contactless payment cards between Monday to Sunday - not available on Oyster.

SPECIAL CAP FOR BUS TRAVEL ONLY: £5.70 (When you only travel on London's buses on 1 day).

CHILDREN'S OYSTER CAPS: Off-peak: £1.70 (zones 1-9). Peak: approx half of adult cap.

Child concessions with Contactless Payment cards

Discounts for children are not available on contactless payment cards - use another method like Oyster or Travelcard.

Transport for London

BUY VISITOR OYSTER CARD & TRAVELCARD FOR LONDON

London Travelcard & Oyster Card

Visiting London? Save time and money on London public transport

• Visitor Oyster Card • Travelcard for 1 day anytime / off-peak or 7 days anytime • Group day travelcards available

London transfers between airports, cruise ports and hotels

Which is better: Oyster, contactless or travelcard?

Oyster card, contactless card and travelcard

Which card should you choose?

One of the first decisions that a tourist has to make when travelling around London is whether to use an Oyster card , contactless card or travelcard .

The first thing to be aware of is that using cash to buy individual tickets is definitely the worst idea, as single tickets on the train are more than double the cost of Oyster and contactless, and you can’t even buy single tickets on the bus anyway. So which of the three cards do we recommend?

Oyster cards

Oyster card and Visitor Oyster card

An Oyster card is a credit card-sized piece of plastic. You load it up with money before you travel and then tap it down on the Oyster card readers on the buses and trains. The computer will then automatically deduct the correct fare from your credit. When you start running low on credit you can just top it up again at a ticket machine.

They come in two different types: normal blue Oyster cards are aimed primarily at the locals, whereas Visitor Oyster cards are aimed primarily at the tourists (although they are basically both the same, so it doesn’t really matter which one you get).

What are the benefits of using an Oyster card?

  • The biggest benefit of using an Oyster card is its joint cheapest fares for single journeys (along with contactless)
  • The Oyster daily cap is always cheaper than buying a 1-day travelcard
  • Oyster pay-as-you-go credit can be used in zones 1-9, whereas travelcards are only valid in the zones you buy them for
  • If you register your card online then you can turn on the ‘auto top-up’ feature which takes money out of your bank account whenever your credit gets low, so you don’t have to worry about running out
  • Pay-as-you-go credit never expires, so you can carry on using any leftover credit on your next visit
  • Visitor Oyster cards also come bundled with a book of discounts vouchers which can save you money at shops, restaurants and entertainment venues. These discounts are constantly changing all the time, but in the past they’ve included things like 10% off a boat ride, 10% off souvenirs in a particular gift shop, or 20% off a meal in a particular restaurant. The instructions for each venue will come with the vouchers, but most of the time all you have to do is show your Visitor Oyster card when you pay the bill, and the staff will apply the discount

What are the downsides of using an Oyster card?

  • One of the downsides of using an Oyster card is that you can’t pay two fares with one card, so each traveller in your group will need their own
  • The weekly cap only works from Monday to Sunday, whereas weekly travelcards can start on any day of the week you like
  • You have to pay a £7 deposit whenever you buy a new Oyster card, which cannot be used for fares. Once 12 months have passed by this deposit will be transformed into £7-worth of credit. But the £7 deposit on a Visitor Oyster card does not – you’ve lost that forever
  • You can’t buy a Visitor Oyster card in central London, only the normal blue Oyster cards. If you want a Visitor Oyster card then you have to buy it online in advance and have it posted to you

Contactless cards

Contactless cards

A contactless payment card is just your normal everyday debit or credit card. It works in exactly the same way as a London Oyster card . You just tap it down on the Oyster card readers on the buses and trains and the computer will automatically deduct the correct fare from your bank account.

What are the benefits of using a contactless card?

  • One of the main benefits of using a contactless card is that it’s just your normal everyday bank card or credit card, so you probably already have one
  • Contactless also has the joint cheapest fares for single journeys (along with Oyster)
  • The contactless daily cap is always cheaper than buying a 1-day travelcard
  • Contactless can be used in zones 1-9, whereas travelcards are only valid in the zones you buy them for
  • Unlike Oyster cards, you don’t have to pay a £7 deposit to set it up
  • Unlike Oyster cards, there’s no need to keep topping it up with credit because the money comes straight from your bank account
  • Contactless cards can be used in conjunction with Mobile Pay on your phone

What are the downsides of using a contactless card?

  • One of the downsides of using a contactless card is that you can’t pay two fares with just one card, so each traveller in your group will need their own
  • Unlike with Oyster, you can’t load a travelcard onto a contactless card
  • Not all foreign-issued cards are accepted, and foreign cards might have a transaction fee added on by your bank every time you buy a ticket, bumping up the price of your journey

Travelcards

Travelcards

Travelcards are credit card-sized pieces of paper. They can also be loaded onto an Oyster card . You choose the duration you want it to cover (either 1-day, one week, one month or one year), whether you want it to cover just the bus/tram, or the train/bus/tram together, plus the zones you want to travel through, and then you’ll be entitled to unlimited travel in those zones until it expires.

What are the benefits of using a travelcard?

  • The biggest benefit of using a travelcard is that you can make an unlimited number of journeys over one day, one week, one month or one year
  • Depending on how many journeys you make in total, a weekly travelcard might work out cheaper than the Oyster and contactless weekly cap
  • Unlike Oyster cards, you don’t have to pay a £7 deposit the first time you buy it
  • You can take advantage of National Rail’s 2-for-1 offer to get cheap entry into 150+ tourist attractions. All you have to do is print out the relevant voucher from daysoutguide.co.uk/2for1-london and then hand it over at the attraction, alongside a valid National Rail travelcard for the same day of travel. But here’s the catch: the travelcard has to be printed on orange paper. That means that you have to buy it from a National Rail station (the big overground hubs like Euston , King’s Cross , Liverpool Street , Paddington , Victoria and Waterloo ). Travelcards bought at London Underground stations are no good, because they will be printed on TFL’s pink paper. And travelcards loaded onto an Oyster card are no good either

What are the downsides of using a travelcard?

  • One of the downsides of using a travelcard is that you can’t share one between two people, so each person in your group will need their own
  • One day travelcards are always more expensive than the daily cap on Oyster and contactless
  • Unlike the pay-as-you-go-credit on Oyster and contactless cards, travelcards can only be used in the zones you bought it for. If you later decide that you want to travel outside of those zones then you’ll have to buy a completely separate ticket
  • Travelcards are only valid for 1-day, one week, one month or one year – you can’t buy a travelcard that covers any other stretch of days

How do Oyster, contactless and travelcard fares compare?

Bear in mind that travelcards only allow you to travel between a set period (either one day, one week, one month or one year), whereas the Oyster daily cap and contactless daily cap apply all the time.

You can think of the daily cap as a price ceiling – it doesn’t matter how many buses or trains you ride each day, the maximum amount that the computer will take from your Oyster or contactless card will never rise above the cap.

Peak and off-peak fares – For Oyster and contactless peak fares apply to all journeys that start between 6:30 AM and 9.30 AM (Monday to Friday), or 4.30 PM and 7 PM (Monday to Friday). It doesn’t matter what time the journeys finish. Any other journey is classed as off-peak. Note: Between the 8th March and 31st May 2024 TFL are running a trial called ‘Off-Peak Friday Fares’, where Fridays will be classed as off-peak all day.

For travelcards, off-peak applies to any journey that starts after 9.30 AM (Monday to Friday).

Which is the cheapest: Oyster, contactless or travelcard?

The Oyster and contactless cap is always cheaper than buying a one day travelcard … but bear in mind that you also have to pay an £7 deposit on top the first time you buy an Oyster card , so a 1-day travelcard can still work out as better value.

The Oyster and contactless weekly cap is identical to buying a weekly travelcard, but you need to make enough journeys to make a weekly travelcard worthwhile. If you make at least three or more journeys on six days, or two or more journeys on seven days, then a 7 day travelcard will be worth it, otherwise you should go for an Oyster card or contactless instead.

Where can you use Oyster, contactless and travelcards?

Buses – Oyster cards, contactless cards and travelcards can be used on TFL buses all over London. And because buses don’t have zones you can use a train/​bus/​tram travelcard in whichever zone you like, regardless of which zones you actually bought it for.

London Underground, London Overground, DLR, TFL Rail, National Rail – The pay-as-you-go credit on Oyster cards and contactless can be used in all of the Oyster zones (1-9), but travelcards can only be used in the zones you bought it for.

You can also use Oyster and contactless on the Heathrow and Gatwick Express, but bear in mind that it won’t count towards the daily cap – it will just be deducted from your credit.

Taxis – Contactless cards can also be used to pay for black cabs (assuming that the fare is less than the current limit of £100). But Oyster cards and travelcards cannot.

IFS Cloud Cable Car & Thames Clipper – You can use Oyster cards and contactless to pay for a ticket on the cable car and Uber’s Thames Clipper service, but bear in mind that the cost will not count towards the daily cap – it will just deduct the relevant fare from your credit. Travelcards cannot be used to pay the fare.

How long do Oyster, contactless and travelcards last?

The pay-as-you-go credit on an Oyster card lasts forever. If you don’t use all the money up during your first holiday then you can simply carry on using it during your next visit.

Contactless cards don’t expire either, because they take the money straight out of your bank account.

A travelcard is the only one with an actual expiry date, because you have to choose a start date and duration when you buy it – either one day, one week, one month or one year. Once the duration has passed then the travelcard will stop working.

Which is best: Oyster, contactless or travelcard?

So which is better? If you’re a foreign visitor coming to London for just one day then we recommend choosing a one day travelcard . The Oyster and contactless daily cap might seem cheaper, but when you factor in the Oyster card’s £7 deposit, and the fact that your bank might add on a transaction fee every time you use a foreign bank card overseas, then a travelcard will likely work out cheaper.

If you’re a foreign visitor coming to London for more than one day then we recommend buying an Oyster card or Visitor Oyster card instead… unless you’re planning on making two or more journeys on seven consecutive days, or three or more journeys on six of those days, in which case a weekly travelcard will work out cheaper.

If you’re a UK visitor then we always recommend using your contactless card , regardless of how many days you’re staying, because the fares are the same as Oyster and you don’t have to pay a deposit to get one.

London Squire book

Your comments and questions

Jane Is a two traveling together card, work out cheaper than a pay as go Oyster card

Staff Hi Jane. No, if you're talking about the railcard then it doesn't apply to Oyster pay-as-you-go fares. It's only really any good if you're travelling on trains outside of London - twotogether-railcard.co.uk/​using-your-railcard/​travel-times-tickets/

JohnP My sister and I are coming to London for a week of museums and galleries. We've been there three times before, but each time I get confused between travelcards, Oyster cards, etc. We arrive and depart through Heathrow, and we're staying near Holland Park/Kensington, so I THINK the 7 Day travelcard is what we should use, but I'm not sure. Any suggestions or help in explaining it more clearly would be greatly appreciated

Staff Hi JohnP. Weekly travelcards always have a start date on them (which you choose when you buy it) and they're valid for for seven consecutive days. You also have to choose which zones you want it to cover. You'll probably want zones 1-2, but it depends where you're going. Oyster cards 'might' be better because they don't have a date on them, they can be used in all the zones, and they cap the maximum price you can spend each day (regardless of how many journeys you take). You can look up the daily caps on our Oyster card page - city-guide.london/​transport/​oyster-cards.php . This might work out cheaper, but if you're making at least three or more journeys on six days, or two or more journeys on seven days, then a weekly travelcard will be better

Tony Hi. I'm London travelling across zone 1 and 2 for 3 days. Is it right that if I use a contactless card the cap will allow me to travel off-peak for less than a one day travelcard

Staff Hi Tony, that's right. The daily cap for zones 1-2 is only about half the cost of a 1-day travelcard

Bobbie I'll be in England for a month with several train trips. I just purchased a Senior Railcard. Can I get discounted fares on the tube? And how do I use it in conjunction with contactless credit card payment?

Staff Hi Bobbie. Most of the savings come from buying National Rail tickets, The only discounts you get on the tube are 33% off the daily cap for Oyster fares (off-peak only), 33% off single Oyster fares (off-peak only), and 33% off a zone 1-9 one day travelcard (when bought as part of a journey to London from outside London). You have to buy an Oyster card and get the Senior railcard loaded on to it. It doesnt work with contactless because its not possible to load the railcard onto your bank card - senior-railcard.co.uk/​using-your-railcard/​travel-times-tickets/

Vered Hello again, I just found 2 oyster cards from a London visit 3 years ago.. Would they still be valid? Would it be possible to put a week travel card on one of them? Thank you

Staff If you had any remaining credit refunded at the end of your last holiday then they would have been voided at the same time, so they’ll be no good. but if you didn’t then yes, you can load a travelcard on to them at a machine in the station

Susan Tchudi We're coming to London for ten days. We're staying in Kensington. We've always used travelcards in the past, but we'll probably want to go beyond zones 1 and 2, for example to Kew Gardens. So would it be better to get the Oyster card?

Staff Hi Susan. If youre staying for ten days then it will be cheaper with an oyster card, because you can only buy 1-day and 7-day travelcards. the maximum you'll pay with Oyster is the weekly cap x 1 (which is the same price as a weekly travelcard) plus a daily cap x 3 (which are cheaper than a 1-day travelcard) for whichever zones you travel through. all the caps are here: city-guide.london/​transport/​oyster-cards.php

JennyJ Hi, I am JennyJ. I go betwenn zone 1&3, there and back 3 times a week and also twice a week to zone 5 (hayes& harlington). I use an Oyster card and top up 20.00 as and when its low. What is the cap for this journey each weekplease. Is it £9 or £11 or neither. I dont know how to work out but dont think I am better off buying a card to cover zones 1-5 as only go max twice a week.

Staff Hi Jenny. The daily cap for the days when you're doing zones 1-3 is £9, and when you're doing zones 1-5 it’s £13,10. a weekly travelcard for zones 1-5 is currently £65,70, so its not worth it - city-guide.london/​transport/​adult-train-fares.php

Wangui Going through this information has been super helpful, thanks so much! My family of 4 foreigners are coming to London for 11 days from Heathrow Airport and staying at a location in Zone 6, are likely to be visiting attractions in Zone 1 everyday but also traveling to Surrey on 2 days. What is the cheapest means of travel payment to use? -VOC or travel card considering the £7 deposit and postage fee to a UK address for VOC? -If VOC then how much credit should be loaded on the cards? -Also is the weekly/daily cap applied to VOC automatic or how does it work; do the particular days eg Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday need to be specified?

Staff Hi Wangui. If it was me I would probably just keep it simple and get Visitor Oyster cards for everyone, and forget about the travelcards. Visitor Oyster cards have a weekly cap which is the same cost as a weekly travelcard anyway, so you wont be losing anything (apart from the £7 deposit - which you'd have to pay anyway because you'll need something to cover the other four days). How much credit you need will depend on where you’re going. The maximum amount you will pay each day is the ‘daily cap’ for the zones you travel through. The daily cap for zones 1-6, for example, is currently £14,10 - but maybe you’ll only be making 2 journeys each day, going there and back, so then you’d just pay two single fares instead - 2x£5,50 . If the running total between Mon-Sun reaches the weekly cap then the cost will be capped at that (currently £70,30). The caps all get applied automatically. Its all explained on our Oyster card page - city-guide.london/​transport/​oyster-cards.php

jan Hi, I am currently travelling to work from slough to zone 3, (i would also sometimes go to the other zones (1-6) - by bus/underground after work. I am using the contactless method. The job is Monday to Friday, I wanted to know if buying a weekly/ monthly travelcard would work out cheaper as I also have a 16-25 railcard. Also how does the weekly cap work? does it add your daily charges and refund you if you go over the cap?

Staff Hi Jan. Travelcards usually work out cheaper if you’re making two or more journeys on seven days a week, or three or more journeys on six days a week. You wont get it cheaper with for your railcard either, because it only gives a discount on 1-day travelcards for zones 1-9. I would recommend getting an oyster card instead because the fares and weekly cap are identical to contactless, but you can have your railcard added to it. You can’t do that with contactless. But check the travel times apply to you first, because they might not - 16-25railcard.co.uk/​using-your-railcard/​travel-times-tickets/ . The weekly cap will kick in when the sum total of all your journeys that week reaches the relevant amount (its the same price as a weekly travelcard). The computer will then automatically stop charging you. Bear in mind that it only counts up the fares between Mon and Sun, and not any other combination of days, like Tue to Mon

frankie Hi, I would like to ask, if you use the same contactless card but one day you use it as the actual physical card and then the next day you use your mobile phone to pay (but with the same debit card) would it count towards the weekly cap?

Staff Hi Frankie. Unfortunately not, no. The computer wouldn't recognise it as the same card because things like Apple Pay don't pass over your card number (it passes over a unique number based on your bank card and device instead). TFL says “Always use the same device or contactless card to touch in and out… For example, don't touch in with an iPhone and touch out with an Apple Watch or contactless card” - tfl.gov.uk/​fares/​how-to-pay-and-where-to-buy-tickets-and-oyster/pay-as-you-go/contactless-and-mobile-pay-as-you-go

Betty Hi I will be in London for a week. I will be staying at a hotel at the Heathrow airport and going back and forth between there and the actual city of London. Is the Travel card best and what zones would I pick? Thank you

Staff Hi Betty. it depends how many journeys you're going to be making. If you make two or more journeys on seven days, or three or more on six days, then a weekly travelcard will probably be cheaper. We’d normally recommend getting an oyster card. All the pros and cons are described above. Heathrow to central London is zones 1-6.

Canan Hi, I'll be visiting London this summer. My daughter is 10 years old (born in 2013). Is she going to be free of charge or discounted?

Staff Hi Canan. Under 11s are free on the buses and tube (as long as she’s accompanied by an adult on the tube) - city-guide.london/​transport/​child-train-fares.php

Cristina Grilo Amaral Hi, we are a family of 4 and will be in London for 6 days. We will be riding transport a lot on those days, in zones 1- 2; meaning we should make about 6 tube trips a day. We will arrive and depart via Heathrow so we have 2 journeys (1 outbound, 1 return). Can you please indicate which card you recommend? Thank you so much.

Staff Hi cristina. Price-wise, the best would be a zone 1-2 weekly travelcard put onto an oyster card, and then adding some pay-as-you-go credit onto the same oyster card to cover the two journeys out to heathrow zone 6. But if you want to keep it easy and dont mind paying a bit more, then just get zone 1-6 weekly travelcards instead

Elaine I am travelling with a 14 year old and I would use contactless for myself but what would be the best option for my 14 year old.

Staff Hi elaine. It depends on how many journeys you're making. If you're just talking about one day, there and back, then i would buy her single tickets at the self-service machine (using your card), and then use your card on the gate for yourself. So she will end up paying the adult cash fare, and you’ll get the adult contactless fare.

Mike M We are arriving in London in late May for 3 days and another 4 days in early June after travelling around UK on Britrail Pass. While in London what would be the best card to use on Underground and 1 day to Watford

Staff Hi Mike. I would get an oyster card. there are no dates on those, so you can carry on using your credit when you return in june. You can also use them out to Watford (assuming you’re going to see the Harry Potter studios)

Ali Hi, we are a family of 4 travelling to London over Easter from the UK. We have a friends and family railcard, and I'm just wondering what is the best way for us to travel around, given we will be sightseeing in London for a few days, and also travelling to Paris via Eurostar. We also will be visiting London again in the summer for a few days. It is myself, my partner and 2 kids (ages 7 and 14). Am I right in thinking contactless is best for 3 of us (and doesn't my 7 year old travel free?). Or should I sort getting an oyster cards for us instead? Thank you for your advice in advance. Cheers Ali

Staff Hi Ali. Contactless will be the cheapest for the two adults. Your 14-year-old can't use contactless if they don't have their own bank card (the system doesn't allow you to tap your card down twice to pay two fares), so I would get the 14-year-old an Oyster card and then have the 'Young Visitor Discount' applied to it once you arrive in London - more info about that here - city-guide.london/​transport/​child-train-fares.php . The 7-year-old will travel for free.

Ali Thank you so much for that perfect and swift response. Amazing!

Sue Can we pay contactless for ourselves and our grandchildren?

Staff Hi Sue. No, each person needs their own bank card. The system doesn't allow you to tap down multiple times to pay multiple fares. What you can do is use your card to buy them a paper ticket at the machine (which will be charged as a cash fare) and then tap down on the gate for yourself (for a contactless fare)

Sue We are coming to London for one day with two grandchildren 12 and 25 years old. If we use our debit contact less card for us can the grandchildren use our credit contactless card? Although we know that would be a full fare.

Staff Hi Sue. If you mean you want to use one debit card to pay two contactless fares, and one credit card to pay two contactless fares, then no. The system doesn't let you tap down twice to pay two fares. Each individual needs their own card. But you can use one card to buy more than one paper ticket from the machine. But then you'll be paying the cash fare.

Hiko Hi,I’d like to know about 7day travel card. I’m plannning to go to Birmingham,Brighton,Wembley,and sightseeing inside zone1-2.(My son loves soccer!) My hotel is in zone1.I will stay there about 8days. If I buy 7day travel card with zone1-2,how can I go outside of that zone? Can I ride the national rail with my travel card such far area?? Does the card pay the difference, when I go outside of the zone2,like Wembley zone4?

Staff Hi Hiko. I would buy yourself an Oyster card and have the travelcard loaded on to that (rather than getting a paper travelcard). Then you can load some extra pay-as-you-go credit onto the same Oyster card to cover the extra fares. You can ride National Rail trains with a zone 1-2 travelcard, but only in zones 1-2. If your journey goes further than that then the computer will recognise that the travelcard covers 1-2, and automatically take the extra money from your pay-as-you-go credit. But places like Birmingham and Brighton are too far away for travelcards and Oyster. You will have to buy totally separate tickets for those.

Siegrid I want to go by train from city airport London to St. Pancras and may pay cash. Is there a chance for paying?

Staff Hi Siegrid. Not sure what you mean by ‘chance’, but you can pay cash at some of the self-service machines, Some will accept cards only, and some cards and cash. it will say which at the top

Peter I have a 7 hour layover at Heathrow and wish to go into Covent Garden for the day. Which is the best option for me to travel into London.

Staff Hi Peter. If that's the only place you're going then I would just buy a single ticket at the machine (zone 1-6). You can choose a return journey and it will give you two single tickets. It's not worth getting an Oyster card or travelcard just for there and back.

Julia Dear all, we a family of two adults and one 12 year old want to spent Saturday and Sunday in London. We would only need zone 1 tickets. We arrive at Gatwick and already organized this transfer by bus because of the train stikes this weeekend. Would You recommend the visitors Oyster or just day travelcards for us?

Staff Hi Julia. If it's just one day then I would probably go for a travelcard, which is easier (they sell cheaper ones just for the bus, if that's what you're planning on doing). The fares with a Visitor Oyster Card are cheaper, but they make you pay an extra £5 activation fee on top the first time you buy one, which would wipe out any savings. But if you think you'll come back to London another time then it would be worth getting Visitor Oyster cards, because you can carry on using the same ones then.

Mike Is a monthly travel card valid for a calander month or 28 days

Staff Hi Mike. It lasts until the previous date the next month. So if you choose a starting date of 20th February it will end on 19th March. If you choose 10th December it will end on 9th January. So it could be a different number of days.

Marcella Am coming to London for two nights with husband, sister and brother in law who has dementia. Will be making trip from Stansted airport to Deptford and home again via Gatwick and staying mostly around Greenwich area. We can use contactless cards but my brother in law can’t really do any cards himself and we can’t use ours to put him through the barrier? Do we just get him a ticket? Are their staff available to help if need be Thanks

Staff Hi Marcella. Its not possible to pay two fares with one contactless card (it doesnt deduct two fares if you tap it down twice). Maybe the best thing to do is get him an oyster card with some credit on it, but tap it down on the gate yourself and send him through the barrier, then just follow straight behind him after youve tapped your contactless card down. It would only take a few seconds to get you both through. Or you could ask a member of staff to help. You can usually find them standing behind the extra wide barrier they always have for wheelchairs and buggies.

Cheryl Stefanik We live in the state of Washington (zip code 98198). What is the charge/fee to order an Oyster card vs. the charge/fee to get a Visitor's Oyster card? Is the only difference in function that we cannot add money to the Visitor's Oyster card online?

Staff Hi Cheryl. there's no way to order an Oyster card online and have it posted overseas. You can only do that with Visitor Oyster cards. If you want a normal Oyster card you'll have to buy it when you arrive in London. There are a few more minor differences. You can't load travelcards onto visitor oyster cards (but you probably wouldn't want to do that anyway). And visitor oysters come with their credit already added, whereas normal oysters will have it loaded on when you buy it. Visitor oysters also have a non-refundable £5 deposit, whereas normal oysters have a £7 deposit which automatically gets converted into credit for you to spend - but only after 12 months. The full list of differences can be found here - city-guide.london/​transport/​visitor-oyster-cards.php

Gordon Jamieson If your journey requires 2 tubes how does contactless work?

Staff Hi Gordon. You tap down at the start of your journey, and again at the end. You don't have to tap down for the station in the middle because you shouldn't have to pass through any barriers when changing platforms. (If you did happen to pass through a barrier then that would be the end of the journey)

Alex A Family of 5 travelling to London in early October. 2 adults, 2 children between 11-15 years, and 1 child who is 9 yo. Which ticket/card should we opt for as the youngest child travels free (I think) and the other 2 children get discounted fares. Can we arrange for a discounted fare oyster card when we arrive in London or do I need to arrange this from Australia before I leave? Or is there a travel card that can be bought for ‘students’? We will spend most of the time in Zone 1/2 but need to go to Watford for the Harry Potter Studios one day. PS we are arriving in London on the Eurostar as I heard you could buy oyster or visitor oyster cards on the train. Thanks, Alex

Staff Hi Alex. You can get Visitor Oyster cards posted to you overseas, buy them on Eurostar, or buy a normal Oyster card when you arrive in London. i would get either of those for everyone (apart from the 9 year old), and then have the ‘Young Visitor Discount’ applied to the kids cards when you’re in London. Its not possible to do that beforehand. it’s explained on this page - city-guide.london/​transport/​visitor-oyster-cards.php

Carol Two of us are headed to London for 14 days, most of that staying in Fulham. We are def there to sightsee in all directions. I want the card that's best for use on all forms of transportation including the Thames Clipper. Help!

Staff Hi carol. If you have a UK bank card then I would just use that, and pay contactless fares. Otherwise you should get an Oyster card - city-guide.london/​transport/​contactless-cards.php

HFPOM Hi, me and my wife are staying for 3 months in London, and we will be going from city center to Stanmore. What would be the best option? Thank you

Staff Hi Hfpom. There are pros and cons to all of them, which we’ve described on this page. But you’ll probably find that you’re better off with an Oyster card. If you have a UK bank card then might want to use contactless instead.

Chris Borland Hi, my and and I are coming to London for a long weekend, (Fri-Mon) what do you recommend we use for getting about seeing the sights?

Staff Hi Chris. It depends whether you're from the UK or abroad. Like we say above, if you have a UK bank card then the cheapest fares are with your contactless card. If you have a foreign bank card then you should go with Oyster in case your bank adds on a transaction fee every time you use it overseas

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COMMENTS

  1. Pay as you go caps

    Daily cap. A daily cap is calculated over 24 hours for pay as you go journeys that start at 04:30 and end on 04:29 the next day. Weekly cap. A weekly cap limits how much you pay for all your journeys in a fixed Monday to Sunday period. It works using adult rate pay as you go on contactless (card or device) or Oyster.

  2. Caps and Travelcard prices

    Places. Choose postcodes, stations and places for quick journey planning. Covers Travelcards and Cap fares for Tube, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line and most National Rail services.

  3. Fares from 3 March 2024

    With our Hopper fare, you can still make unlimited bus and tram journeys within one hour of first touching in for £1.75. The daily cap will be frozen at £5.25. Longer period caps will also be frozen: Bus and tram. 7 Day and Weekly Cap. Monthly.

  4. Capping

    Daily capping. Once you have made around three journeys (peak or off peak) in a day on any Tube, DLR, London Overground, the Elizabeth line or National Rail train within Zones 1-6 using Oyster/contactless you will pay no more and will be able to travel for free for the rest of the day. Once you have made around three journeys on any Tube ...

  5. Daily Caps and Travelcards (2021)

    The first table lists all the daily caps. All Railcards refers to those that can be added to Oyster: 16-25, 26-30, Senior, Forces, Disabled and Annual Gold cards. Most refers to the same list apart from Disabled. The second table lists all the paper travelcards. Note that there is no off-peak zone 1-4, use the zone 1-6 instead.

  6. London bus and Tube fares frozen as travelcards and caps increase

    But adult travel cards and adult daily and weekly caps will increase by 4.9%. For example, a Zone 1, 2 and 3 Tube anytime pay-as-you-go cap will increase by 40p to £10. Meanwhile, a Zone 1, 2 and ...

  7. Oyster Card

    For example, if you load £10 onto your Oyster card and travel by underground in central London (zone 1- off peak): If you make 1 journey £2.70 is deducted from your card. If you make 2 journeys, £5.40 is deducted. If you make 3 journeys, £8.10 is deducted (£8.50 from 3/3/24). You have now reached the 'daily cap' and all other journeys ...

  8. How to Use a Contactless Card on London Transport

    Contactless Daily Cap 2024. If you want to use your contactless card to pay for travel for the whole day, there's a 'daily cap'. This is the maximum you pay for unlimited travel in one day. For central London, it's £8.10. Contactless daily cap until 2 March 2024

  9. London Travelcard Prices and Types

    Daily Travel Card Prices. If you only need to use public transport for a day or two of your trip, TFL's (Transport for London) day pass with a price cap is all you need to know about. ... Tap in using your bank card as much as you wish throughout the day and you'll never be charged more than the daily London tube prices cap and they can be used ...

  10. London's Tube and train fares to be cut on Fridays to lure people back

    Someone travelling on the Tube from Zone 6 in outer London into Zone 1 at peak time currently pays £5.60 but the trial will see this cut to £3.60 on Fridays. Peak times on weekdays are between 6 ...

  11. Best ways for visitors to pay

    Pay as you go with daily capping is cheaper than buying a Day Travelcard when you travel in London Zones 1-9. Travelling with children. Children under five travel free with a fare-paying adult. If your child is under 11, they can travel free on: Buses and trams; Tube, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line and some National Rail services.

  12. London travelcard cost for each zone and fare caps for individual

    Before March 2023, a pay-as-you-go single fare was £1.65 on buses, now it is £1.95. The daily cap for zones 1 & 2 used to be £7.70 and a weekly cap of £38.50. Now, it is £8.10 daily and £ 40.70 weekly. In case you've lost track of the new costs, we've compiled a list of the cost of every single travel card in each TFL Zone as well as the ...

  13. Oyster cards and travelcards in London

    Oyster cards have a daily price cap - once you reach this limit, you won't pay for any additional journeys (excluding Thames Clippers River Bus where there is no capping). ... If you are using a contactless payment card to travel around London, touch your card on the yellow card reader in the same way as Oyster cards at the start and end of ...

  14. London Travelcard: How does it work, fares, when do you need one

    1 day Travelcard. The price of the 1 day London travelcard for zones 1, 1-2, 1-3 and 1-4 costs £15.20. We don't normally recommend using the 1 day travelcard, as it is actually cheaper to use an oyster card, a visitor oyster card, or a contactless card as these payment methods have a daily cap. The daily cap applied to these zones are: £8.10 for travel within zones 1-2; £9.60 for zones 1 ...

  15. London bus and Tube fares frozen as caps increase

    But adult travel cards and adult daily and weekly caps will increase by 4.9%. For example, a Zone 1, 2 and 3 Tube anytime pay-as-you-go cap will increase by 40p to £10. Meanwhile, a Zone 1, 2 and ...

  16. PDF Adult rate prices 2024

    The caps below apply to all Tube, DLR, Elizabeth line and London Overground services, and most National Rail services in Zones 1-9* Zone. Daily Peak: Daily Off-peak: Monday to Sunday Day Anytime: Day Off-peak 7 Day: Monthly Annual: Zones 1 only £8.50 £8.50; £42.70 £15.90; £15.90 £42.70;

  17. London Travelcard Prices 2024

    Travelcards are not always the cheapest way to travel in London. 1-Day Travelcards - The Oyster daily cap and contactless daily cap are always cheaper than a one day travelcard (by around two-thirds).. Weekly Travelcards - Weekly travelcards are always cheaper than buying seven one day travel cards, but whether it works out cheaper than the Oyster card weekly cap depends on how many ...

  18. London Visitor Oyster Card Fares

    Visitor Oyster Card Fares 2024 - London Bus, Tube & Daily Caps. London Visitor Oyster card bus fares 2024. Bus fares. Single fare. Daily cap. Weekly cap. All zones. £ 1.75. £ 5.25.

  19. Fares

    Contact us about contactless. Or send a letter to: TfL Customer Services. 9th Floor. 5 Endeavour Square. London. E20 1JN. Information about fares for all TfL services.

  20. Oyster card or Travelcard in London: How to choose

    The cheapest one-day travelcard for costs £15.20. This is the price of the 1-day travel card for zone 1, zones 1-2, 1-3 and 1-4. The maximum daily cap when using an oyster in zones 1 and 2 of London is £8.10, £9.60 for zones 1-3 and £11.70 for zones 1-4.

  21. London Oyster Card Fares

    Oyster Card Fares 2024 - London Bus, Tube & Daily Cap Prices. London Oyster card bus fares 2024. Bus fares. Single fare. Daily cap. Weekly cap. All zones. £ 1.75. £ 5.25.

  22. Pay as you go

    Using contactless or an Oyster card to pay as you go for your travel is easy and flexible. You can add money to an Oyster card or use contactless (card or device) straight away. You only pay for the journeys you make and it's cheaper than buying a paper single or return ticket (train companies may offer special deals on some journeys).

  23. Contactless Fares

    29. 30. 31. Contactless card charges for travel on the bus and London underground, with TFL fare zones, daily and weekly caps, and how to get a receipt for your train journey.

  24. Contactless Cards & Apple Pay On London's Public Transport

    Also the 7 day cap for contactless payment cards between Monday to Sunday - not available on Oyster. SPECIAL CAP FOR BUS TRAVEL ONLY: £5.70 (When you only travel on London's buses on 1 day). CHILDREN'S OYSTER CAPS: Off-peak: £1.70 (zones 1-9). Peak: approx half of adult cap. Top of the page.

  25. Bus and tram fares

    If you travel on Tube, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line, IFS Cloud Cable Car or River Bus services in between Hopper journeys, you'll be charged a standard fare. ... Daily cap 7 Day Bus & Tram Pass Monthly Bus & Tram Pass Annual Bus & Tram Pass; £0.85: £2.55: £12.30: £47.30: £492: 16+ If you have a 16+ Zip Oyster photocard and live ...

  26. Which is best? Compare Oyster v Contactless v London Travelcard

    The daily cap for the days when you're doing zones 1-3 is £9, and when you're doing zones 1-5 it's £13,10. a weekly travelcard for zones 1-5 is currently £65,70, so its not worth it - city-guide.london/ transport/ adult-train-fares.php