Current Oyster fares

During our optional orientation session on living in London on a budget, the cost of current Oyster Card fares for travel came up, so:

For FULL details go to http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14825.aspx

BUSES:
If you can make your whole journey just using one bus, this will be cheaper than using the tube. A single bus ride is every time you get on a bus, regardless of how long you stay on the bus. This is not always the case overseas, where you often get tickets that are good for any amount of travel within a set length of time.

You MUST buy a ticket or have a topped-up Oyster card BEFORE you board a bus.

Without an Oyster card: Cash price for a single one trip on one bus: £2.30

With an Oyster card: Single trip: £1.30

If you only use buses one day, there is a daily cap on your Oyster card of £4.00.

This means that once you have made £4 worth of bus journeys, you won’t be charged any more that day. So, you’d be charged £1.30 for your first 3 bus journeys that day, then just 10p for the fourth journey and nothing for any further bus journeys. The price cap day ends at 4.30am the following day, so includes travel on late night buses.


TUBE AND OVERGROUND TRAINS IN LONDON
(including the Docklands Light Railway, or DLR):


(NB - prices correct 29/8/2011, information taken from TfL's website)

Things to bear in mind –

PEAK TIME on London transport:
6.30am – 9.30am and 4pm – 7pm Monday to Friday.

OFF-PEAK TIME on London transport:
9.30am – 4pm and after 7pm Monday to Friday.
ALL DAY on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays

If you use both buses and trains in one day, you’ll be charged up to the train/tube price cap.


16-25 RAILCARD

If you use your ISIC to buy a 16-25 Railcard (£28 from a railway station: it gives you 1/3 off off-peak national rail travel), you can also go to the ticket office at a tube station and have them put a 1/3 discount on your Oyster card which will then apply to the off-peak daily price cap.

Go to: http://www.16-25railcard.co.uk/ for more information.

If you’re planning to do even one or two rail journeys to visit places in the UK, then just those trips might save you more than the £28 for the railcard – but plan ahead and check that out).


NATIONAL RAIL TRAVEL:

Finding out times and prices: You can look for train tickets and prices on the National Rail enquiries website: www.nationalrail.co.uk The site also has a cheapest fare finder tool. Click on “add railcard” to see what difference a 16-25 railcard would make to the cost of your journey.

* Photos by wecand and sharkbait , used under Creative Commons, with thanks.