London experts - I need help with public transit

[chrismch]

We don't do public transit at home so this is all new to us. Trying to decide when we will need to buy a 1 day fare or just pay for fares as needed. How many daily uses of the bus or tube would make it a better fee to use a day pass?

[maren91]

I like to buy the one-day travel cards that are good for unlimited use on rail, tube and train. When you have a one-day travel card you are eligable to use the 2-for-1 travel coupons http://www.2for1entry.co.uk/ I believe the off peak (after 9:30am) cost is 5.10 pound. If you are in London for longer than a few days you should consider an Oyster Card http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/default.aspx

 

Hope this helps.

[daiB]

We don't do public transit at home so this is all new to us. Trying to decide when we will need to buy a 1 day fare or just pay for fares as needed. How many daily uses of the bus or tube would make it a better fee to use a day pass?

 

 

 

Hi Chris,

 

The main advantage to a pass is that you avoid the queue's in the underground (lines), also you do not have to cope with change to buy individual tickets.

 

The length of time will determine what type of ticket to buy.

 

 

 

:):)Happy Cruising:):)

 

 

 

:cool:

 

Dai

[Globaliser]

Trying to decide when we will need to buy a 1 day fare or just pay for fares as needed. How many daily uses of the bus or tube would make it a better fee to use a day pass?

Do not buy Tube fares one at a time. The Tube is now a flat rate of £4 per ticket if you buy single tickets with cash. This is deliberately set at a punitive level to make you buy other tickets. In fact, all cash fares are now set at deliberately high levels to discourage people from buying cash singles.

 

IMHO, the only sensible option for virtually every visitor to London is to buy a pre-pay Oyster card. This way, you don't have to ask the question you've asked. You only pay for the trips you use (at the low Oyster card rate, not the punitive cash rate), until you reach the appropriate price cap. Then you stop paying. And the price cap is still cheaper than buying a one-day fare.

 

You might want to read what I wrote in this thread about the Oyster card (OK, I copied it from something I wrote elsewhere). And then read this thread for some more about price capping.

 

Remember that you can always get a refund of the outstanding balance and the deposit on your Oyster card at any Tube station ticket office, so there are no more issues about being "locked in".

[pcur]

We used a one day Tube pass during our last trip, and it was great! Bought it at the vending machine.

 

Now, for us newbies, the trick is to undertand how to read the tube map and pick the right train.

 

Find the name/color of the line you want, and look AT THE VERY END STATION. That's what will flash on the overhead signs. If you know your stop is along the way (check the map) then that's your train!

 

It's the same in all subways all over the world, but London's is sooooooo long and extensive, that you have to study up a little before embarking.

 

I'm used to BART in the SF Bay Area, and there are about 10 stops on any line, so it's all on one easy-to-read map (emphasis on the words "easy....to...read").

 

The only disadvantage to the Tube is you are underground! If you want to see the city, then I recommend the hop on/off for your transpo: more expensive, but you get to go all over and a narrative, too.

[rsquare]

Actually, the other neat thing about the Day Travelcard is that you can use it on any bus by just showing it to the driver when you board. Not sure how this works with an Oyster card. Bus stops in Central London have lists of what busses stop there, and schematic route maps, so taking a bus is not much more difficult than taking the Underground. Some of the covered bus stops have scrolling signs to tell you which bus will come next.

[sailingkiwi]

Actually, the other neat thing about the Day Travelcard is that you can use it on any bus by just showing it to the driver when you board. Not sure how this works with an Oyster card. Bus stops in Central London have lists of what busses stop there, and schematic route maps, so taking a bus is not much more difficult than taking the Underground. Some of the covered bus stops have scrolling signs to tell you which bus will come next.

 

On buses you just touch your oyster card on the yellow touch pad by the driver. If you are boarding a double decker bus you board at the front by the driver. If you are catching a "bendy bus" then you can board at any door, as there are touch pads through out the bus.

[Globaliser]

Actually, the other neat thing about the Day Travelcard is that you can use it on any bus by just showing it to the driver when you board. Not sure how this works with an Oyster card.

To add to what sailingkiwi has said, I just wanted to confirm that if you're using pre-pay on your Oyster, when you put your Oyster on the reader pad on the bus, the fare that's deducted counts towards the price capping for the day. Remember: the Oyster price cap is always cheaper than the relevant one-day paper Travelcard, and you don't have to decide in advance whether you're going to use enough public transport that day to make a Travelcard worthwhile.

[davejohn]

To add to what sailingkiwi has said, I just wanted to confirm that if you're using pre-pay on your Oyster, when you put your Oyster on the reader pad on the bus, the fare that's deducted counts towards the price capping for the day. Remember: the Oyster price cap is always cheaper than the relevant one-day paper Travelcard, and you don't have to decide in advance whether you're going to use enough public transport that day to make a Travelcard worthwhile.

 

We bought the Oyster cards at a newsstand next to our hotel and loaded them with £10. After zipping around London for 2 days we turned them in to get the deposit back and I was surprised that they also refunded the unused fares. Very painless.

Dave