Paul wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4307770.stm

Tubes and buses hit by fare hike

(snip)

However fares will fall for holders of the Oyster pre-pay smartcards.

There will be much debate about the rights and wrongs of the increase
in cash single fares on the Tubes and buses, but the BBC News story
story contains the critical information on how to avoid these fares
increases. And that is to ***get an Oyster card and start using the Pre
Pay system to pay for single fares on the Tubes and buses***.

It is that simple. The problem is people get horrendously confused by
the Oyster card system, confusing the two functions it has - that it
can be loaded with a Travelcard season ticket, and that it can be
loaded with Pre Pay 'credit'.

(It is true that those two functions are linked - in the sense that
when travelling on routes that accept Pre Pay - i.e. all of the
Underground and a few National Rail routes - those with a Travelcard
season ticket loaded on their Oyster card will automatically have the
appropriate sum deducted from their Pre Pay should they travel outside
of the zones covered by their Travelcard. However this advanced
functionality is irrelevant for those who merely wish to make a journey
or two on a Tube or bus and are currently paying by cash.)


So, go and get an Oyster and tell everyone you know to do the same. To
get an Oyster card online go to http://www.oystercard.com, and select
'Create account' from the menu on the left hand side of the screen.
Once you've created your account, either click on 'Get an Oyster card'
in the same left hand menu or click on the 'Order a new Oyster card'
link in the centre of the screen. On the next screen click on 'buy Pre
Pay'. You can get a card with between £10 and £50 of Pre Pay already
loaded on it delivered to your address. There is a £3 deposit,
refundable should you wish to ever return the card.

Voila - your card will arrive within a week.