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London Oyster card 2022

Transport laissez passer for buses, trains & Underground in London

Oyster Cards London — Preferred pick: Oyster card is oftentimes cheaper for tourists on London Transport

The majority of Londoners currently use an Oyster card routinely to pay for all their public transport needs.

Even so, many are fast migrating away from Oyster cards to contactless payment cards, typically the Visa, MasterCard or American Express cards they use for everyday expenditure.

For short-term visitors to London it's non as clear cut and the Oyster card continues to dominate every bit the preferred selection for public transport effectually London. The Company Oyster carte is a popular option.

Why visitors more often than not use Oyster cards and not Contactless payment cards

For an overseas company to London, your credit or debit card that supports contactless payment will probably incur significant foreign exchange charges equally fares are converted from pounds sterling to your local currency.

Overseas transaction fees or charges tin can ofttimes apply for non-UK cards. This volition be ane accuse per twenty-four hour period, non each time you travel, depending on your bill of fare issuer.

This is compounded past the nature of continuous small daily debits on your account that is the nature of contactless payment.

Similar Oyster carte yous need a contactless carte du jour for each person travelling and you cannot use contactless payment for child fares.

If you are staying five or more days in London with an Oyster y'all can load a 7 twenty-four hours or monthly Travelcards electronically on to the Oyster card which has the potential to make pregnant cash savings - this is not available with contactless cards or Visitor Oyster Cards.

Contactless payment cards - more details

What is an Oyster card? And why few people buy single tickets

Unless you lot are going to brand just one single journey on public ship in London then you should really be looking to use either an Oyster card, contactless payment card or a London Travelcard travel pass and not pay for unmarried tickets.

For example, paying cash for a single Underground journeying in the centre of London is more than double the price of the aforementioned fare with an Oyster card.

The Oyster card is a permanent reusable electronic ticket of credit menu size (encounter image above) which is topped up from time to fourth dimension by its possessor with cash that is used to pay the fares. You tin summit it upwards at ticket machines or for standard Oyster cards if yous register the card.

After each journey the fare is taken from the greenbacks on your Oyster bill of fare. This is chosen Pay As You Go.

Cardinal Point : The Oyster fare for any private journeying is the lowest fare available (contactless carte du jour fares are identical to Oyster). For each calendar day in that location is a fare cap (the maximum you can pay in a unmarried solar day on public transport) and this is always less than the alternative 1 twenty-four hour period Travelcard. Oyster fare caps are explained in more particular further downwards the page.

The alternative travel pass called Travelcard is a much more uncomplicated production. Y'all buy it for durations of i day, 7 days, 1 month or one year and it gives you unlimited travel in those days for a set fee paid upfront. We have a defended folio for the London Travelcard.

Cardinal Betoken : If y'all use an Oyster card for 5 or more days in any seven calendar days, a vii Day Travelcard will commonly be cheaper than using Oyster on a Pay As You Go basis every solar day.

Oyster cards (but not Visitor Oyster cards) accept the flexibility to load a seven twenty-four hours Travelcard electronically on to the Oyster and you can utilise both Oyster Pay Equally You Go and a 7 24-hour interval Travelcard seamlessly together. And then if you lot are in London for x days, you tin use Oyster for 3 days and the 7 day Travelcard for the other 7.

Where you can use an Oyster menu

Travelcard or Oyster Cards In London Discussion: Ask Bob about Oyster Cards London

Oyster cards & Heathrow/Gatwick trains

Yous can now use London'due south Oyster cards and contactless payment options to pay for fares on the Gatwick Express, Thameslink and Southern Trains services between London and Gatwick Drome.

From 19 February 2019, Oyster cards, contactless banking company cards and mobile devices are accepted on the Heathrow Express. This will speed up the procedure of ticketing for this train for customers who can now enter with only a tap of your card on the ticket barrier. Prices are the same as buying your ticket at the station, with a single peak charged at £25 and off peak £22. You tin save money by booking your tickets online in advance or in accelerate using the Heathrow Express app. Children aged 15 and under can use a Zip Oyster card to travel free on the service.

You can as well utilize Oyster cards on the TFL Rails service from Heathrow to Paddington in addition to the London Underground.

For the Gatwick Express train service the cheapest fares are obtained direct from Gatwick Express and not using an Oyster, and then do wait at the Gatwick Express page.

For Thameslink and Southern Trains the Oyster is a cheaper for a unmarried journey using Oyster just for return journeys and visitors arriving and then parting at Gatwick there are good reasons to buy train tickets instead.

Oyster cards & Visitor Oyster cards

There are two types of Oyster card. If yous buy in London yous become the standard Oyster card, if you buy outside London including airport trains and National Limited coaches, overseas agents and you will get a Visitor Oyster menu.

Oyster & Company Oyster card differences - the key facts

Oyster fares and caps are the same whether you use a standard Oyster or a Visitor Oyster, a common misconception.
Visitor Oyster cards you pay an activation fee (£five in 2022) which is non-refundable. If you lot purchase an Oyster carte du jour in London you pay a eolith (£5 in 2022) which is refunded (in cash/coins) when you surrender/abolish the Oyster card.
Y'all cannot load 7 solar day Travelcards on Company Oyster cards only standard Oyster cards. If you are in London for 5 plus days having a 7 day Travelcard loaded on your Oyster can save you meaning cash. For 5 days daily travel in London, Oysters and 7 day Travelcards for most visitors volition exist almost identical in toll. For half-dozen or 7 days the sixth and seventh days are effectively gratuitous for a 7 day Travelcard compared to the Oyster total price.
At the end of your trip with both Visitor Oyster cards and standard Oyster cards you lot tin cancel at ticket machines or at a Company Centre and get any cash left on the Oyster refunded (in cash/coins). However, at the time of writing at that place is no such facility at Gatwick Aerodrome to become refunds. Yous can also get your refund by phone or postal service, handy if yous take left the country and detect the carte du jour in your wallet when you get domicile. The refund volition be in British pounds though in the form a cheque.
A standard Oyster menu y'all can if y'all wish register, Visitor Oyster cards yous cannot. The main advantages of being registered is that if you lot lose your Oyster you can cease its utilize, you can get a good audit trail of your journeys and you lot tin asking a refund of greenbacks left on your Oyster straight into your depository financial institution account.
Visitor Oyster cards have "special offers" fabricated bachelor to purchasers, ordinarily discounts on anything from food to theatre tickets relevant to visitors. Whether yous would make utilise of whatsoever of these offers is another affair and the specifics of offers are oftentimes not clear.

BUY Company OYSTER Carte du jour FOR LONDON

Visiting London? Buy your Visitor Oyster Carte hither

Valid on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, Tfl Runway and about National Track services in London

Returning your Oyster card at finish of your trip

If you plan on returning to London at some time and then y'all can retain your Oyster and use information technology again on your render however far in the futurity.

Otherwise you volition want to reclaim your Oyster eolith and any cash remainder left on your Oyster or Visitor Oyster. Yous can practise this using whatsoever ticket machine. The machine will cancel the Oyster carte du jour and refund your eolith plus any cash left on your Oyster up to £10.

If you forget to get the refund while in London you can post the Oyster carte du jour dorsum to TFL client services requesting the refund. For overseas visitors the large disadvantage is that the refund volition be in the form of a cheque in British pounds.

This procedure is the aforementioned for both Oyster cards and Company Oyster cards.

Where is best place to buy an Oyster card?

The virtually convenient identify to buy Oyster cards for visitors are Underground stations, including Heathrow Airdrome. You tin pay cash or credit carte.

Even so there are no longer manned ticket offices at Clandestine and DLR stations, you have to buy from a ticket motorcar.

If y'all adopt a man to serve you in that location are as well many Oyster Ticket Stops all over London in neighbourhood stores, newsagents etc. that display a sign in their window.

If you feel nervous purchasing a public transport laissez passer from a ticket machine subsequently inbound a strange country yous can buy Visitor Oyster cards from Visit Britain (see link below) and have them delivered to your dwelling address internationally. Run into section to a higher place for differences between the Oysters bought in London and Visitor Oysters.

BUY VISITOR OYSTER CARD FOR LONDON

Visiting London? Buy your Company Oyster Card here

Valid on jitney, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, Tfl Rail and well-nigh National Rail services in London

Using your Oyster Carte du jour

You lot tin can use Oyster Cards in two ways:

Oyster 'Pay Every bit You Go' mode

Yous purchase say £x to be loaded on to your carte du jour. Every time you make a journey the appropriate fare is deducted automatically from your original £x on the menu. The fare deducted is far cheaper than if you lot purchased tickets individually.

You then top up the Oyster card with further amounts as required. A key signal is that at that place is a daily price cap (meet section further down the page) where yet much you travel in a day your total outlay never goes above this price cap.

Fixed elapsing, flat fee with unlimited travel

You tin buy Travelcards and electronically load them onto your Oyster (merely not 1 twenty-four hour period Travelcards and you cannot load whatsoever Travelcard onto a Visitors Oyster card). This gives you a fixed cost for unlimited travel for a set time menstruum 7 days, 1 month or one yr. If you lot travel less than v days in whatever 7 then the Oyster Pay as You Go pick volition well-nigh certainly exist cheaper. This way of combining Oyster cards and Travelcards is covered in more detail on our London Travelcard page.

Standard and wide barriers

Gaining access to trains

To gain access to the trains of all types, and again to get out a station you accept to laissez passer through automatic barriers. There is always one wide ticket bulwark for wheelchairs, pushchair's and people with large suitcases.

You swipe the Oyster Card over a bright xanthous pad, the barrier will bank check validity and and so open the barrier. This procedure is repeated at the destination and the fare is calculated and deducted from your Oyster.

On buses yous swipe the Oyster over the same yellow pad. That'due south it, you don't swipe again on exit.

Fare zones

The London public transport system is divided upwards into zones that radiate from the centre. Most all the main hotel districts and the main sights of London are in Zone 1.

For the vast majority of visitors y'all volition only travel in the two most central zones 1 and ii, though many may make an odd trip to places similar Heathrow Drome or the Harry Potter Movie Studios in the outer zones.

The Underground map (link right) has the stations and their zones marked.

Some stations like Turnham Green are in ii zones, y'all utilise whichever zone for these stations is nigh beneficial in working out your fare.

The fare you lot pay is set past which zones your difference and destination stations are in. Your journeying starts when you lot go through the ticket barrier of the station entrance you depart from and finishes when y'all pass through the ticket bulwark at the exit of your destination.

Yous cannot suspension a journeying on a single fare - once you become though the go out barrier of a station that is journey completed. At London Undercover and DLR interchange stations yous practice not normally go through a ticket barrier to switch train and your fare is calculated as one journeying, the exit barrier at your ultimate destination being the end bespeak of your journey.

At major railway stations like Victoria and Euston, where y'all may interchange between a commuter train and the London Underground, you will normally have to go through ticket barriers to make the interchange. At these stations you are given a brusque fourth dimension period (15-xxx minutes) to make the interchange - take a coffee or take a longer break and yous will be charged for 2 dissever journeys.

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

Fare zone maps (PDF)

Underground map Tube & Runway map

The Oyster daily cost cap

Price caps are the maximum you lot will pay in a twenty-four hour period, a cost ceiling. No thing how many individual trips you make in any 24 hour period betwixt 4.30am and 4.30am you will not exist charged more than the price cap amount. This price cap spreads beyond all modes of send, and so if y'all mix bus, clandestine and DLR in one twenty-four hour period the aforementioned price cap applies.

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

Zones	Oyster daily cap	Peak*	Off-elevation	7-day cap**
		1-twenty-four hours Travelcard
Zone 1-2	£7.40	due north/a	n/a	£37.00
Zone 1-3	£8.70	n/a	northward/a	£43.50
Zone 1-iv	£10.60	£thirteen.ninety	£thirteen.90	£53.20
Zone i-five	£12.seventy	£nineteen.60	£thirteen.ninety	£63.xxx
Zone i-6	£xiii.l	£19.lx	£13.xc	£67.70

* Travelcard peak fares apply for any travel made Monday to Friday earlier nine.30am. All other travel is off-height.

** Prices for a 7 twenty-four hour period Travelcard. Too the 7 day cap for contactless payment cards between Mon to Sunday - not bachelor on Oyster.

SPECIAL CAP FOR BUS TRAVEL Simply: £4.65 (When you merely travel on London's buses on 1 day).

CHILDREN'Southward OYSTER CAPS: Off-peak: £ane.55 (zones 1-2). Peak: approx half of adult cap.

Oyster & Contactless Payment carte fares

Every time y'all make a journeying on London's public transport your Oyster card is charged a fare. Once yous reach the daily cap (come across above) in a twenty-four hours no more fares are deducted from your Oyster carte.

Oyster Card & Contactless Payment Bill of fare Fares - Compared to Unmarried Cash Fares

		Fare 1 Journeying
	Zone	Peak*	Off-Acme	Greenbacks Fare
Within One Zone	Zone 1	£2.40	£2.40	£5.fifty
Within One Zone	Zone 2	£one.70	£1.l	£5.50
Across Zones	Zone ane to 2	£3.00	£2.50	£five.50
	Zone ane to three	£three.40	£ii.eighty	£five.50
	Zone i to four	£4.00	£2.90	£6.00
	Zone ane to five	£4.80	£3.xx	£six.00
	Zone 1 to 6	£5.30	£3.30	£6.00
	Zone 2 to half-dozen	£three.00	£ane.70	£6.00
Gatwick Express Train		£19.xc	£19.90
Heathrow Express Train		£25.00	£22.00
Southern/Thameslink trains zone 1 stations		£15.fifty	£viii.l

No render fares.

ANY BUS JOURNEY: £1.50 (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 non employ TFL services (London buses/trams, Underground, Overground, DLR and TFL Track), completely, for instance part of your journey is via a unlike operator, about likely a railway visitor, then the standard Oyster/Contactless unmarried fare based on zones may not be followed.

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

Children's fares (11-xv yrs old) with an Oyster 11-15 Photocard on Oyster for any trip within zones one to 6 is £0.75 off peak, £0.85 peak

Grouping Tickets - 1 24-hour interval Group Travelcard for Groups of 10 or more

This ticket is for groups of 10 or more travelling together.

This in scope is the same every bit a 1 day off-pinnacle Travelcard for zones ane-half dozen and 1-9 providing unlimited travel on all services afterward 9.30am Mon to Friday and all day Saturday, Sun and Bank Holidays.

The pricing is especially attractive if yous have kids in the group and those staying in one of the outer zones, however if you lot are staying in the centre of London zones 1 to iii it will be cheaper to buy individual Oyster cards.

If you lot are a group of 10 or more then practice cheque out this product.

Ask Bob about Oyster Cards London

Seniors concessions

There are no seniors fares for visitors. If you reside in London and are of pensionable age you can get a Freedom pass giving free travel. If you are 60+ and live in London the Seniors Oyster ID Card that makes gratis bus travel available. You tin can use online or get a class from your local Mail Office.

Anybody with an English National Concessionary double-decker pass can use that on London'south red buses too and travel free of charge.

If you take a railways Seniors Railcard you can go your i/iii discount on off-height Oyster fares. You lot have to ask a fellow member of staff to load the concession onto a standard Oyster card (note, not a Visitors Oyster card) at an Underground Station afterward showing your Seniors Carte.

If you have a railways Seniors Railcard you tin also buy ane day off-peak zone 1-vi Travelcards at with the discount practical.

Child concessions

This is a very complex discipline and is covered in item at the foot of the page.

A child is defined as under 16 years erstwhile, but in the last couple of years information technology has been possible to get child fares after jumping through a few hoops up to the age of 17.

Children under 11 tin can travel costless on the London Secret, DLR and buses without a ticket. If a child is between 11 and 15 years one-time you lot require an Oyster eleven-15 Photocard (which has a fee see below). This allows xi to fifteen year olds to travel at child fares on the Secret, DLR, Overground and some trains, free on the buses.

If you are a brusque term visitor (in London for up to 14 days) with kids between 11-15 yous can accept reward of the Immature Company Discount. This means you lot tin get half price fares on an Oyster Menu on a temporary basis for your child without going through the hoops and expense of getting an Oyster ID menu. You practise need to read advisedly the rules of this scheme though.

Child fares - more details

Children'south Fare Concessions

Children Under 5

Children under five can travel complimentary at whatsoever time on the Tube, DLR, buses and trams as long every bit they are accompanied by an adult with a valid ticket. You do not demand a ticket for free travel. Children in this category practice not demand Oyster ID Cards*.

Children 5-10

Under-11s tin can travel free at any time on buses and trams without the need for a Oyster ID Bill of fare*. You do not need a ticket for free travel.

They can likewise travel complimentary at any time on the Tube, DLR , Overground and any TfL railroad train service when they are travelling with an adult who has a valid ticket. Up to 4 children under eleven years old accompanied by a paying adult travel costless.

Travel on the national railways which operate suburban commuter trains in London simply take free travel for those under 5. In the last year or so many train routes in London accept switched from the railways to TfL Rails. Confusingly a few national railways routes where both rail and TfL rail operate on the same tracks children nether xi can travel free on the railways trains - this includes the popular road for visitors between Euston and Watford Junction (for Harry Potter Studio Bout).

Unaccompanied children between 5 and 10 must have a valid Oyster ID Card*.

Children xi-15

Children aged 11 to xv years must get an 11-15 Oyster ID Card* to travel free on buses and trams and at child-charge per unit on Tube, DLR and London Overground services. You exercise non need a ticket for free travel, just the ID Carte du jour.

You cannot get a standard child charge per unit Oyster menu without an Oyster ID Carte du jour.

Immature Visitor Discount (for visitors to London staying upwards to 2 weeks)

If you are a brusk-term visitor to London y'all tin become child fares on a special kid Oyster carte du jour that expires afterwards 14 days. There are restrictions. You tin can only get these Oyster cards credited with a Young Persons Discount at Underground stations, TfL Track stations, Company or Travel Information Centres and Victoria National Runway station ticket office. For total details of this scheme click through on the Child Fares banner, beneath.

Alternatives to Oyster cards for children

You can go around the Oyster ID carte requirement by purchasing a 1 twenty-four hour period Travelcard for the child (longer length Travelcards do require an Oyster ID Card), paying the cash fare or purchasing your Child Travelcard online in advance from the TfL Visitor Store.

You tin buy 7 mean solar day child Travelcards at railway stations (not Underground or Overground) with a railway ticket function. The railways will issue a railways photocard gratis of charge if you lot bring along a passport size photo of your child. Y'all can only use this for buying tickets from the railways which in practise for visitors means Travelcards.

Children 16-17

All sixteen to 17-yr-olds can travel at child-rate on bus, Tube, tram, DLR and London Overground services with a sixteen+ Oyster ID Card*.

Withal, you lot can only use this concession on Oyster cards and 7 Twenty-four hour period Travelcards or longer, not ane day Travelcards.

Students 18+

If yous are 18 or over and enrolled with a participating education institution registered on the TfL scheme and are resident in London while studying there is an Oyster ID carte that gives a thirty% disbelieve on adult-charge per unit Travelcards and Bus & Tram Pass flavor tickets.

Utilize for a child's Oyster ID bill of fare

Accelerate application for Kid Oyster ID Card

*Oyster ID Cards

Visitors to London from overseas can order an Oyster Photocard in accelerate for their children and collect on arrival at a travel center. In that location is a Travel Eye at Heathrow Airport also as in Central London. If you are resident in the Great britain but live exterior London you can over again social club online merely the Oyster ID Carte is sent to your home accost.

Annotation y'all need to apply (online) at least 4 weeks prior to inflow.

Note: At that place is a not-refundable £10-£20 administration fee for each Oyster ID Card

BUY VISITOR OYSTER Carte du jour & TRAVELCARD FOR LONDON

Visiting London? Salvage time and money on London public transport

• Visitor Oyster Menu • Travelcard for 1 day anytime / off-peak or vii days anytime • Group twenty-four hours travelcards bachelor

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Source: https://www.londontoolkit.com/briefing/oystercard.htm