On 24 Jan, 21:52, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:28:58 +0000, shaunrobinson70

wrote:

Hi all,

bringing my girlfriend down to London from pm-Wed 10th Feb until pm-Sat
13th Feb and was wondering what is the most economical and easiest way
to travel round london. I visit 3 or 4 times a year but since it's her
first time I expect she will mostly like to see the main touristy parts
so should think we will probably be staying within zones 1-2.
I've only ever purchased day travelcards before when I have been down
and have never used Oyster so which would be best please?

Any help appreciated.

Prepare to get lots of different answers!

If you know you will make a number of bus and tube journeys then it is
probably sensible for you to just get off peak one day Travelcards for
the zones you know you will use.

Latest prices here

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresa...aytickets/2911....

If you don't think you will secure sufficient value from a one day
travelcard then it would be handy to have an Oyster card set for Pay as
you Go in your pocket if for no other reason than you get lower fares on
Oyster than paying cash.

Cash bus fare = £2, * Oyster Bus fare = £1.20
Cash tube fare in Zone 1 = £4, Oyster tube fare = £1.80.

You can get an Oyster card at an Underground Ticket Office. You pay £3
deposit for it and then load cash on top of that. You touch in on the
bus when you board - including on bendy buses if you get on at the
middle or rear doors. There are card readers on poles as you get on.
Your fare is deducted automatically from this one touch of your card.

On the tube, Overground, DLR and now National Rail you must touch in and
touch out. *You need to have a positive cash balance equal to the
minimum fare to be allowed entry to the rail system. On entering the
system will deduct an entry charge of £6 peak, £4.30 off peak. On exit
the system will work out your fare and will typically add back money to
your card so you charged the correct fare. For a Zone 1 trip it would
add back £4.20 so you only pay £1.80. * There are different charge bands
depending on whether you travel between 0430 and 0930 and 1600 and 1900
(peak times M-F), other times count as off peak. *The Oyster system will
keep track of your charges and will "cap" your daily charges to the same
as the relevant Day Travelcard rate.

The real issue is that Oyster is now pretty complicated and has some
fiendish rules that can catch people out. *I don't like to say this but
I'm struggling to keep up and I think I understand it pretty well. *If
you just want a very simple ticket and accept that you might make a
small financial loss on it then the One Day Travelcard is worth having
in your pocket.

Have a good visit!

And someone on a touristy visit is particularly likely to be caught
out, spending short amounts of time at what may turn out to be an OSI,
thus paying maximum fares and cancelling all capping. Add that to the
£3 and they could be extremely out of pocket, with no convenient way
of getting a refund.

I'd agree with just getting a day travelcard, and long may they
continue to be available.