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best way to get around london for 3&half days
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. |
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