Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

I'm taking my family to london this summer and was trying to determine which
card was better - Travel Card or Oyster Card. We'll be traveling within
Zones 1 & 2 mainly.

Thanks for the help!

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Feb 18, 4:13 pm, "John L." wrote:
I'm taking my family to london this summer and was trying to determine which
card was better - Travel Card or Oyster Card. We'll be traveling within
Zones 1 & 2 mainly.

Thanks for the help!

3 Oyster cards are better at least because it is hard for people
sitting down to destroy them.

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On 18 Feb, 16:40, Offramp wrote:
On Feb 18, 4:13 pm, "John L." wrote:

I'm taking my family to london this summer and was trying to determine which
card was better - Travel Card or Oyster Card. We'll be traveling within
Zones 1 & *2 mainly.

Thanks for the help!

3 Oyster cards are better at least because it is hard for people
sitting down to destroy them.

But it depends entirely on whether you'll be using National Rail
within those zones and whether you will make enough individual trips
to reach the Oyster capping limit. The day travelcard costs a few p
more than the Oyster capping limit for whichever zones you need, but
gives total flexibility, while Pay As You Go (which you probably mean
by Oyster) isn't valid on most NR. Also, if you haven't already got
Oyster cards, you'll have to pay a £3 deposit for each one. I'd think
that a day travelcard is almost certainly the best bet for occasional
day visitors to London in nearly all circumstances.

You can get a day return combined with travelcard which saves a bit by
not charging you for arriving in London through those zones in the
first place.

And remember that you can travel on buses in any zone with a
travelcard, eg if you use Underground and trains within zones 1 and 2
and a bus to go further out, you would only need a zone 1 and 2
travelcard.

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:13:16 GMT, "John L."
wrote:

I'm taking my family to london this summer and was trying to determine which
card was better - Travel Card or Oyster Card. We'll be traveling within
Zones 1 & 2 mainly.

If you're keeping to the tourist area you probably won't need to use
National Rail (which isn't covered by payg Oyster). Oyster will be
slightly cheaper per day. You'll also score with Oyster any day you
make only a couple of journeys. But there's a £3 deposit - do you
want the hassle of getting it back?

Overall, if you're only here for a few days, buy Travelcards. The
difference in cost is minimal.

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

John L. wrote:

I'm taking my family to london this summer and was trying to determine which
card was better - Travel Card or Oyster Card. We'll be traveling within
Zones 1 & 2 mainly.

Thanks for the help!


As other replies have suggested, it really does depend on a number of
factors. However if you could provide us with some more information
then we could provide some more focused answers.

(1) How many days will you be in London for?

(2) Will you just be travelling on the Underground and the buses, or
will you also be using National Rail (i.e. mainline rail) services?

(3) When during the day will you be travelling - specifically will you
be travelling before 9.30am on weekdays at all?

(3) Are you planning on going out of zones 1 & 2 much - and if so will
you be travelling by Underground, bus or National Rail?

(5) How are you arriving in London - specifically are you coming in
from Heathrow airport, and if so how?

(6) How likely is it that you or your family will be coming back to
London / how often do you visit London?

(7) Are you brining (your) children along, and if so how old are they?


To get an idea of the zonal system, take a look at the Tube map here
(which only shows the Underground, DLR and a few mainline aka
Overground routes):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...d-Tube-map.gif

If you want a comprehensive map - including zones - of all rail
services in London including National Rail (i.e. mainline) routes see
this map (PDF):
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system...onnections.pdf

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On 18 Feb, 16:40, Offramp wrote:
On Feb 18, 4:13 pm, "John L." wrote:

I'm taking my family to london this summer and was trying to determine which
card was better - Travel Card or Oyster Card. We'll be traveling within
Zones 1 & 2 mainly.

Thanks for the help!

3 Oyster cards are better at least because it is hard for people
sitting down to destroy them.


I wouldn't be so sure of that. I'm pretty sure that I managed to break
three Oyster cards because I kept them in my back trouser pocket all
the time - force of habit meant that's where I had kept my tickets all
the years. I might have had my suspicions after the second, but was
only sure of this after the third! AIUI basically what happens is that
the tiny antennae in the card break when the card gets bent enough -
and that's exactly what I was subjecting mine to day after day after
day!

And yes, I now keep my Oyster card elsewhere about my person, and
haven't had a problem at all. Don't get me wrong - I think they're
pretty rugged, just don't keep them in your back pockets!

Paper Day Travelcards are fairly resilient in my experience, as long
as you don't perform origami with them.

Anyway, I definitely don't think the OP should choose his ticket
according to any such criteria!

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Feb 18, 6:42*pm, Mizter T wrote:
On 18 Feb, 16:40, Offramp wrote:

On Feb 18, 4:13 pm, "John L." wrote:

I'm taking my family to london this summer and was trying to determine which
card was better - Travel Card or Oyster Card. We'll be traveling within
Zones 1 & *2 mainly.

Thanks for the help!

3 Oyster cards are better at least because it is hard for people
sitting down to destroy them.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. I'm pretty sure that I managed to break
three Oyster cards because I kept them in my back trouser pocket all
the time - force of habit meant that's where I had kept my tickets all
the years. I might have had my suspicions after the second, but was
only sure of this after the third! AIUI basically what happens is that
the tiny antennae in the card break when the card gets bent enough -
and that's exactly what I was subjecting mine to day after day after
day!

And yes, I now keep my Oyster card elsewhere about my person, and
haven't had a problem at all. Don't get me wrong - I think they're
pretty rugged, just don't keep them in your back pockets!

Paper Day Travelcards are fairly resilient in my experience, as long
as you don't perform origami with them.

Anyway, I definitely don't think the OP should choose his ticket
according to any such criteria!

Years ago I left an annual travelcard (from NR/BR, ie all paper, as
opposed to the paper-coated plastic ones LU did) overnight in what
became a puddle from a leaking kettle so it was completely soaked
through.

After it dried out it continued to work the barriers, and even
continued to to so when the paper layers started to come apart,
although eventually I had to get a duplicate.

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

Thanks for replies. The answers to the questions below a

1) We'll be in London for 7 days
2) We wont be using National Rail
3) Odds are we'll be traveling before 9:30am a few days (but not all)
5) We'll be coming in to London through Heathrow - not sure yet by what
means
6) We're coming from the US so it will be awhile before we're back again
7) We're bringing 2 kids (ages 14 & 6)

Thanks again for the help.



"Mizter T" wrote in message
...

John L. wrote:

I'm taking my family to london this summer and was trying to determine
which
card was better - Travel Card or Oyster Card. We'll be traveling within
Zones 1 & 2 mainly.

Thanks for the help!


As other replies have suggested, it really does depend on a number of
factors. However if you could provide us with some more information
then we could provide some more focused answers.

(1) How many days will you be in London for?

(2) Will you just be travelling on the Underground and the buses, or
will you also be using National Rail (i.e. mainline rail) services?

(3) When during the day will you be travelling - specifically will you
be travelling before 9.30am on weekdays at all?

(3) Are you planning on going out of zones 1 & 2 much - and if so will
you be travelling by Underground, bus or National Rail?

(5) How are you arriving in London - specifically are you coming in
from Heathrow airport, and if so how?

(6) How likely is it that you or your family will be coming back to
London / how often do you visit London?

(7) Are you brining (your) children along, and if so how old are they?


To get an idea of the zonal system, take a look at the Tube map here
(which only shows the Underground, DLR and a few mainline aka
Overground routes):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...d-Tube-map.gif

If you want a comprehensive map - including zones - of all rail
services in London including National Rail (i.e. mainline) routes see
this map (PDF):
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system...onnections.pdf

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Feb 18, 8:47*pm, "John L." wrote:
Thanks for replies. The answers to the questions below a

1) We'll be in London for 7 days
2) We wont be using National Rail
3) Odds are we'll be traveling before 9:30am a few days (but not all)
5) We'll be coming in to London through Heathrow - not sure yet by what
means
6) We're coming from the US so it will be awhile before we're back again
7) We're bringing 2 kids *(ages 14 & 6)

Thanks again for the help.



In that case the best thing might to be get seven-day travelcards on
Oyster.

1) If you get at least a seven-day travelcard, you pay £0 deposit,
which is one headache sorted.

2) With a seven-day travelcard, you can use it any time of day; no
waiting till 0930.

3) It will cover National Rail in the zones (whether you need it or
not).

4) It will still cost less than seven times the off-peak daily capping
limit, let alone the peak capping limit.

If you also put a bit of Pay as You Go credit on the card, you can use
it to go beyond whatever zones you get (on the Underground) and you
can use the travelcard on buses in any zone for no extra.

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Feb 18, 8:57*pm, MIG wrote:
On Feb 18, 8:47*pm, "John L." wrote:

Thanks for replies. The answers to the questions below a

1) We'll be in London for 7 days
2) We wont be using National Rail
3) Odds are we'll be traveling before 9:30am a few days (but not all)
5) We'll be coming in to London through Heathrow - not sure yet by what
means
6) We're coming from the US so it will be awhile before we're back again
7) We're bringing 2 kids *(ages 14 & 6)

Thanks again for the help.

In that case the best thing might to be get seven-day travelcards on
Oyster.

1) If you get at least a seven-day travelcard, you pay £0 deposit,
which is one headache sorted.

2) With a seven-day travelcard, you can use it any time of day; no
waiting till 0930.

3) It will cover National Rail in the zones (whether you need it or
not).

4) It will still cost less than seven times the off-peak daily capping
limit, let alone the peak capping limit.

If you also put a bit of Pay as You Go credit on the card, you can use
it to go beyond whatever zones you get (on the Underground) and you
can use the travelcard on buses in any zone for no extra.

I should have said, maybe you could get your Oysters with seven-day
zone 1 - 2 travelcards and £0 deposit at Heathrow, and at the same
time get as much Pay As You Go credit as you need to get from Heathrow
to zone 2 on the Piccadilly Line.

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On 18 Feb, 20:57, MIG wrote:
On Feb 18, 8:47 pm, "John L." wrote:

Thanks for replies. The answers to the questions below a

1) We'll be in London for 7 days
2) We wont be using National Rail
3) Odds are we'll be traveling before 9:30am a few days (but not all)
5) We'll be coming in to London through Heathrow - not sure yet by what
means
6) We're coming from the US so it will be awhile before we're back again
7) We're bringing 2 kids (ages 14 & 6)

Thanks again for the help.

In that case the best thing might to be get seven-day travelcards on
Oyster.

1) If you get at least a seven-day travelcard, you pay £0 deposit,
which is one headache sorted.

2) With a seven-day travelcard, you can use it any time of day; no
waiting till 0930.

3) It will cover National Rail in the zones (whether you need it or
not).

4) It will still cost less than seven times the off-peak daily capping
limit, let alone the peak capping limit.

If you also put a bit of Pay as You Go credit on the card, you can use
it to go beyond whatever zones you get (on the Underground) and you
can use the travelcard on buses in any zone for no extra.


John, just to say I'm basically in agreement with MIG's assessment,
though I will add a little extra information.

First off, your 6 year old travels free at all times on the buses,
Underground and DLR. Your 16 year old meanwhile is counted as an
adult.

I don't know how you are planning to travel in from Heathrow to
central London. There are basically two options, the Heathrow Express
- a non-stop mainline rail service which takes you direct to
Paddington station - it's quick at just 15 minutes, departs every 15
mins but is quite pricey (though inclusive deals with airlines or
travel agents might make it cheaper). Travelcards and Oyster cards are
*not* valid on this service whatsoever - tickets can be bought
onboard, though they are cheaper if you buy before you board and
cheaper still if you buy online beforehand. Your 6 year old would need
a child fare for this.

Their website is he
http://www.heathrowexpress.com

(I should add that if you are going that way you might find it costs
much the same for four of you to get a black cab in to town, but
beware that this will take longer, especially when it's the rush hour
when the roads get jammed up.)

The second option is to travel in from Heathrow on the Underground,
specifically the Piccadilly line. It takes longer, at 45 mins, because
it stops a lot on the way in, but it's considerably cheaper plus it
might well get you closer to where you want to be in central London,
and if not it provides an opportunity to interchange with many other
Underground lines.


The reason why how you travel in from Heathrow is relevant to your
choice of ticket is this - Heathrow is in zone 6, so you can't just
use a zones 1&2 Travelcard from it. However it is possible to load a 7-
day Travelcard for zones 1&2 on your Oyster card, plus put some extra
money on it so you can use the "Pay-as-you-go" facility to
automatically pay the extra fare from Heathrow/zone 6 into zone 2.
This is obviously only relevant if you are going to be coming in from
Heathrow on the Underground, or otherwise making trips outside zones
1&2.

The thing is that whilst the "visitBritain" website allows you to buy
Oyster cards in advance and have them sent to a US address, it only
allows you to buy them loaded with "Pay as you go" credit, not
Travelcards as well. See:
http://www.visitbritaindirect.com/en...oductCode=T105

However visitBritain also allows you to buy paper Travelcards - i.e.
they are issued as a printed paper ticket, rather than being loaded on
Oyster.
The specific ticket you're after is the "Adult, Zones 1-2, 7-days,
Peak" at a cost of US$35.50:
http://www.visitbritaindirect.com/en...oductCode=T102

If you were to buy this paper Travelcard then it would *not* be valid
on the Underground from Heathrow in itself - you would need to buy an
extension ticket (or three!) from Heathrow to cover you to get into
zone 2, which would cost you GBP 3 each. Technically this could be
done from the ticket machines if you knew what you wanted, but it
would be easier to get it from the ticket office - the issue being
that the ticket office is often pretty busy. Coming back from central
London into Heathrow you would also need to buy extension tickets, but
would have to do so from a ticket office.


Of course when you arrive at Heathrow you could go and buy your zones
1&2 Travelcards loaded on Oyster cards, and add a little extra Pay-as-
you-go credit to cover the journey in from Heathrow plus the journey
back to Heathrow - the extra fare to cover your journey in from or
back to Heathrow if using Oyster Pay-as-you-go would is GBP 1.80 or
GBP 1.00 depending upon the time of day.

Whilst this again does mean you'd have to deal with this on arrival,
you don't have to go to the normal ticket office to buy these more
complicated tickets - you can go to a special Transport for London
Travel Information Centre that is located right next to the entrance
to the Underground station, but is separate from it. This is often far
less busy and has lots of helpful (and multilingual) staff, and is
more like a travel agent in that you can sit down in front of a desk
and buy your tickets in quite a civilised manner. (I'm pretty sure
that they can't sell single Underground tickets there, which in many
ways actually helps to keep it much less hectic.) You would be able to
buy your zones 1&2 Travelcards on Oyster and add some extra Pay-as-you-
go credit right here.

The Travel Information Centre at Heathrow is open 6.30am to 10pm and
is next to the Underground station for Terminals 1,2 & 3, rather than
the Terminal 4 station - so if your flight does arrive at Terminal 4,
please don't try and follow this specific bit of advice! The ticket
office at Terminal 4 station could of course sell you your Travelcards
on Oyster, but there might be quite a queue there.

If you do travel in by Heathrow Express, you could buy your
Travelcards from any Underground ticket office in central London, as
well as a number of convenience stores. Indeed if it's all a bit much
at Heathrow you could of course just buy a normal single fare on a
paper ticket for your journey in on the Underground, then deal with
all this Oyster card malarkey when you've had a nap and refreshed
yourselves!


Sorry for the extra long post, I guess this just goes to prove that
life is complicated! If you've got any other questions, or if the
above is about as clear as mud, then please feel free to ask away.

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

In message
, at
12:59:39 on Mon, 18 Feb 2008, MIG
remarked:
I should have said, maybe you could get your Oysters with seven-day
zone 1 - 2 travelcards and £0 deposit at Heathrow,

Sounds like a good plan!

and at the same time get as much Pay As You Go credit as you need to
get from Heathrow to zone 2 on the Piccadilly Line.

And to get back the Heathrow at the end of the week.
--
Roland Perry

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

In message
of
Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:53:14 in uk.transport.london, Mizter T
writes

[snip]

Sorry for the extra long post, I guess this just goes to prove that
life is complicated! If you've got any other questions, or if the
above is about as clear as mud, then please feel free to ask away.

Your long post omitted to mention the service I use when I must use
Heathrow and can choose the mode - Heathrow Connect (HC)
http://www.heathrowconnect.com/.
30 minute service interval and about 30 minutes travel time.
Roughly half as expensive as Heathrow Express (HE) which has double the
service interval and half the travel time.
Roughly double the cost of London Underground and half the travel time.
I have never known HC packed (I await screams telling when it is so ;).

I don't recall the signage at Heathrow but HC leaves from the HE
platform. Follow signs for that service. The OP should make sure not to
take HE or a courteous ticket inspector will take loads a money.
--
Walter Briscoe

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:53:14 -0800 (PST), Mizter T wrote:

First off, your 6 year old travels free at all times on the buses,
Underground and DLR.

How does he get through the gates?

--
jhk

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

"Jarle H Knudsen" wrote in message
.. .

How does he get through the gates?

Accompanied by an adult, via the manned luggage gate, one would assume.

Ian

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

Mizter T wrote:


I wouldn't be so sure of that. I'm pretty sure that I managed to break
three Oyster cards because I kept them in my back trouser pocket all
the time - force of habit meant that's where I had kept my tickets all
the years. I might have had my suspicions after the second, but was
only sure of this after the third! AIUI basically what happens is that
the tiny antennae in the card break when the card gets bent enough -
and that's exactly what I was subjecting mine to day after day after
day!


I think something similar must've happened to my Oyster Card when I had
one. It just stopped working for no obvious reason.

I decided to give up and stick with proper tickets untuil the technology
gets more reliable. IMHO it's worth paying the little bit extra for the
reassurance.

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On 19 Feb, 11:03, "Ian F." wrote:
"Jarle H Knudsen" wrote in messagenews:137zpin9e3jsz.13134vklzudbc$.dlg@40tud e.net...

How does he get through the gates?

Accompanied by an adult, via the manned luggage gate, one would assume.

Ian


That's absolutely correct. On the Underground and DLR they need to be
accompanied by an adult to be let through the gates. If they are not
accompanied then they need a 5-10 Oyster photocard - application forms
for this are available from Post Offices in Greater London, and
applications must them be made in person at said Post Offices, along
with supporting documentation. I don't think you actually have to
present the relevant child at the Post Office though!

On buses and trams 5-10 year olds don't need any kind of ticket
whether accompanied or not. At Wimbledon this simply means they are
let through the gate to get to and from the Tramlink platform.

Any children aged 5-10 will still need tickets for travel on National
Rail services, as does any child aged 5-16. However off-peak Day
Travelcards for children for zones 1-6 cost just GBP 2.00 (GBP 2.60
for zones 1-9, GBP 2.40 for zones 2-9), *and* up to four children
travelling with an adult who has any kind of valid Travelcard can get
child Travelcards for just GBP 1.00 (I presume that currently National
Rail would issue these for zones 1-6, whilst TfL would issue them for
zones 1-9, but I am not certain of that).

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On 19 Feb, 11:26, "solar penguin"
wrote:
Mizter T wrote:

I wouldn't be so sure of that. I'm pretty sure that I managed to break
three Oyster cards because I kept them in my back trouser pocket all
the time - force of habit meant that's where I had kept my tickets all
the years. I might have had my suspicions after the second, but was
only sure of this after the third! AIUI basically what happens is that
the tiny antennae in the card break when the card gets bent enough -
and that's exactly what I was subjecting mine to day after day after
day!

I think something similar must've happened to my Oyster Card when I had
one. It just stopped working for no obvious reason.

I decided to give up and stick with proper tickets until the technology
gets more reliable. IMHO it's worth paying the little bit extra for the
reassurance.


I think the technology is pretty reliable - I know people who are
still using their original Oyster card that they got back in 2003,
having been using it on a near daily basis ever since.

I certainly ain't going to start paying £3 or £4 for a single
Underground journey, or pay £2 for a bus fare just for the sake of
'reassurance', because I don't think anyone really needs to worry
about that. If I did buy paper tickets I'd end up paying well over the
odds all the time, buying Day Travelcards for a few journeys around
town which I would have paid significantly less for using Oyster -
quite often I never reaching any daily cap anyway. If I have a season
Travelcard on Oyster then again I'll save in comparison to having it
on paper when it comes to getting ticket extensions for journeys
outside my zones (at least on the Underground and DLR).

No doubt I'm sure incremental improvements are possible to the system
and any such improvements are of course most welcome (whether it be to
the cards themselves or to the validator equipment) - indeed perhaps
more recent Oyster cards have already been improved in comparison to
the first generation ones, though I've no idea if that has happened at
all yet. Plus there is always the possibility of a dodgy batch of
cards, though maybe that was more likely in the early years.

I was annoyed when my card broke, and yet more annoyed when it
happened again - it was a fuss going to get them replaced, especially
as this happened early on and not all the Tube ticket office staff
were that clued up as to the proceedure for replacements. However I
understand that things have improved very significantly in that
department as staff have become familiar with the system.

But since I figured out that keeping my Oyster card in my back pocket
was a bad idea and stopped doing so I've had no problems at all. So
that's my basic bit of advice - by all means get and use an Oyster
card, just don't sit on it.

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Feb 19, 12:25*pm, Mizter T wrote:
On 19 Feb, 11:26, "solar *penguin"
wrote:





Mizter T wrote:

I wouldn't be so sure of that. I'm pretty sure that I managed to break
three Oyster cards because I kept them in my back trouser pocket all
the time - force of habit meant that's where I had kept my tickets all
the years. I might have had my suspicions after the second, but was
only sure of this after the third! AIUI basically what happens is that
the tiny antennae in the card break when the card gets bent enough -
and that's exactly what I was subjecting mine to day after day after
day!

I think something similar must've happened to my Oyster Card when I had
one. *It just stopped working for no obvious reason.

I decided to give up and stick with proper tickets until the technology
gets more reliable. *IMHO it's worth paying the little bit extra for the
reassurance.

I think the technology is pretty reliable - I know people who are
still using their original Oyster card that they got back in 2003,
having been using it on a near daily basis ever since.

I certainly ain't going to start paying £3 or £4 for a single
Underground journey, or pay £2 for a bus fare just for the sake of
'reassurance', because I don't think anyone really needs to worry
about that. If I did buy paper tickets I'd end up paying well over the
odds all the time, buying Day Travelcards for a few journeys around
town which I would have paid significantly less for using Oyster -
quite often I never reaching any daily cap anyway. If I have a season
Travelcard on Oyster then again I'll save in comparison to having it
on paper when it comes to getting ticket extensions for journeys
outside my zones (at least on the Underground and DLR).

No doubt I'm sure incremental improvements are possible to the system
and any such improvements are of course most welcome (whether it be to
the cards themselves or to the validator equipment) - indeed perhaps
more recent Oyster cards have already been improved in comparison to
the first generation ones, though I've no idea if that has happened at
all yet. Plus there is always the possibility of a dodgy batch of
cards, though maybe that was more likely in the early years.

I was annoyed when my card broke, and yet more annoyed when it
happened again - it was a fuss going to get them replaced, especially
as this happened early on and not all the Tube ticket office staff
were that clued up as to the proceedure for replacements. However I
understand that things have improved very significantly in that
department as staff have become familiar with the system.

But since I figured out that keeping my Oyster card in my back pocket
was a bad idea and stopped doing so I've had no problems at all. So
that's my basic bit of advice - by all means get and use an Oyster
card, just don't sit on it

A question that springs to mind: if your balance/travelcard expiry
could be ascertained from quoting the ID of the card (perhaps
unregistered), did you have to get a new Oyster and register it and
make a journey via a specified station before you could be reimbursed/
valid again?

It occurs to me that there are issues with transferring balances
between different cards, particularly if you can't prove that you are
the same person. Can't get my head round what they all are for the
minute ...

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:42:18 -0800 (PST), Mizter T
wrote:

On 18 Feb, 16:40, Offramp wrote:
On Feb 18, 4:13 pm, "John L." wrote:

I'm taking my family to london this summer and was trying to determine which
card was better - Travel Card or Oyster Card. We'll be traveling within
Zones 1 & 2 mainly.

Thanks for the help!

3 Oyster cards are better at least because it is hard for people
sitting down to destroy them.


I wouldn't be so sure of that. I'm pretty sure that I managed to break
three Oyster cards because I kept them in my back trouser pocket all
the time - force of habit meant that's where I had kept my tickets all
the years. I might have had my suspicions after the second, but was
only sure of this after the third! AIUI basically what happens is that
the tiny antennae in the card break when the card gets bent enough -
and that's exactly what I was subjecting mine to day after day after
day!

You would be correct. In Hong Kong they ran a campaign to advise people
not to put their Octopus cards in back pockets simply because repeatedly
sitting on the card does result in internal breakages. They trialled
protective plastic cases for the cards - I had one given to me when I
visited MTRC a number of years ago.

There was also a campaign to stop people flicking their tickets but I
think that was for the old magnetic SVT tickets rather than Octopus.
That again was to stop damage to the ticket and the encoded data.

And yes, I now keep my Oyster card elsewhere about my person, and
haven't had a problem at all. Don't get me wrong - I think they're
pretty rugged, just don't keep them in your back pockets!

Is the right answer.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:49:14 -0800 (PST), MIG
wrote:

A question that springs to mind: if your balance/travelcard expiry
could be ascertained from quoting the ID of the card (perhaps
unregistered), did you have to get a new Oyster and register it and
make a journey via a specified station before you could be reimbursed/
valid again?

It occurs to me that there are issues with transferring balances
between different cards, particularly if you can't prove that you are
the same person. Can't get my head round what they all are for the
minute ...

I can't see what the issues would be. I don't believe anyone has an
entitlement to access details from the Oyster central system / help desk
relating to the balance or validity of a card if it is unregistered.

Sure the holder of a card can check it at a ticket machine but why would
this be given out over the phone?

I don't see any issue with a transfer from a registered card to another
registered one. This must be possible to deal with the hotlisting of
stolen cards and issue of replacements / processing of refunds.

I'm not up to speed with all of the detailed procedures but the lack of
registration of a card does result in some facilities like card
hotlisting not being possible.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Feb 19, 8:36*pm, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:49:14 -0800 (PST), MIG

wrote:
A question that springs to mind: if your balance/travelcard expiry
could be ascertained from quoting the ID of the card (perhaps
unregistered), did you have to get a new Oyster and register it and
make a journey via a specified station before you could be reimbursed/
valid again?

It occurs to me that there are issues with transferring balances
between different cards, particularly if you can't prove that you are
the same person. *Can't get my head round what they all are for the
minute ...

I can't see what the issues would be. *I don't believe anyone has an
entitlement to access details from the Oyster central system / help desk
relating to the balance or validity of a card if it is unregistered.

Sure the holder of a card can check it at a ticket machine but why would
this be given out over the phone?

I'm assuming that the card is broken and so you can't read it at a
machine, so the only way to find the balance on it would be to check
the computer by (someone) visually reading the ID off the card.

I think you'd have to do it face to face with both cards, but can a
ticket office authorise it? If you phoned up and quoted the ID of a
supposedly broken card (hoping it would turn out to be unregistered)
and asked for the balance to be transferred to a different card, there
could be a laborious scam in there somewhere.


I don't see any issue with a transfer from a registered card to another
registered one. This must be possible to deal with the hotlisting of
stolen cards and issue of replacements / processing of refunds.

I'm not up to speed with all of the detailed procedures but the lack of
registration of a card does result in some facilities like card
hotlisting not being possible.
--
Paul C

Admits to working for London Underground!

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

Mizter T wrote:

But since I figured out that keeping my Oyster card in my back pocket
was a bad idea and stopped doing so I've had no problems at all. So
that's my basic bit of advice - by all means get and use an Oyster
card, just don't sit on it.

For what it's worth, I've had mine in my back pocket (and there's been
an awful lot of sitting on floors, sitting down, etc), since I first got
it in 2003.

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On 20 Feb, 00:38, Dave Newt wrote:
Mizter T wrote:
But since I figured out that keeping my Oyster card in my back pocket
was a bad idea and stopped doing so I've had no problems at all. So
that's my basic bit of advice - by all means get and use an Oyster
card, just don't sit on it.

For what it's worth, I've had mine in my back pocket (and there's been
an awful lot of sitting on floors, sitting down, etc), since I first got
it in 2003.


Perhaps one of us simply has a more substantial derriere, and that
person isn't you...

Perhaps I should learn the bobaraba...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7233565.stm

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:13:33 +0000, Walter Briscoe
wrote:

In message
of
Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:53:14 in uk.transport.london, Mizter T
writes

[snip]

Sorry for the extra long post, I guess this just goes to prove that
life is complicated! If you've got any other questions, or if the
above is about as clear as mud, then please feel free to ask away.

Your long post omitted to mention the service I use when I must use
Heathrow and can choose the mode - Heathrow Connect (HC)
http://www.heathrowconnect.com/.
30 minute service interval and about 30 minutes travel time.
Roughly half as expensive as Heathrow Express (HE) which has double the
service interval and half the travel time.
Roughly double the cost of London Underground and half the travel time.

Depending, of course, on where in London the traveller is travelling
to/from.

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:13:41 +0000, James Farrar wrote:

Your long post omitted to mention the service I use when I must use
Heathrow and can choose the mode - Heathrow Connect (HC)
http://www.heathrowconnect.com/.
30 minute service interval and about 30 minutes travel time.
Roughly half as expensive as Heathrow Express (HE) which has double the
service interval and half the travel time.
Roughly double the cost of London Underground and half the travel time.

Depending, of course, on where in London the traveller is travelling
to/from.

Indeed. I'd say HC actually takes longer on average than the Picc for
most destinations, due to having to wait up to half an hour for a
train (versus 5 mins on the Picc).

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

Mizter T wrote:

On 19 Feb, 11:26, "solar penguin"
wrote:

I decided to give up and stick with proper tickets until the
technology gets more reliable. IMHO it's worth paying the little
bit extra for the reassurance.


I think the technology is pretty reliable - I know people who are
still using their original Oyster card that they got back in 2003,
having been using it on a near daily basis ever since.

I certainly ain't going to start paying £3 or £4 for a single
Underground journey, or pay £2 for a bus fare just for the sake of
'reassurance', because I don't think anyone really needs to worry
about that. If I did buy paper tickets I'd end up paying well over the
odds all the time, buying Day Travelcards for a few journeys around
town which I would have paid significantly less for using Oyster -
quite often I never reaching any daily cap anyway.

I live in South London, and most of my journeys involve trains, so I
have to get Day Travelcards anyway. I only ever needed to use Oyster
once or twice a year. (In fact I thought it was the lack of use that
caused the card to seize up!)

I was annoyed when my card broke, and yet more annoyed when it
happened again - it was a fuss going to get them replaced, especially
as this happened early on and not all the Tube ticket office staff
were that clued up as to the proceedure for replacements. However I
understand that things have improved very significantly in that
department as staff have become familiar with the system.


I'm nowhere near a tube ticket office, but woman in the newsagents was
certain that the broken card couldn't be replaced if it was my fault
that I'd broken it. I'd have to buy a new one. And there was no chance
of getting back the money stored on the old card, because if she
couldn't even read it in the first place, there was no way she could
know how much money there was.

Are you saying that she was wrong? Or that tube station staff have
better facilities for dealing with faulty cards?

But since I figured out that keeping my Oyster card in my back pocket
was a bad idea and stopped doing so I've had no problems at all. So
that's my basic bit of advice - by all means get and use an Oyster
card, just don't sit on it.

Maybe I'll think about it if PAYG ever gets inflicted on the stations
round here. But until then, I'll stick with what's most reliable, even
if it does mean paying a quid or two more each year.

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

In message , at 08:32:53 on
Wed, 20 Feb 2008, solar penguin
remarked:
And there was no chance of getting back the money stored on the old
card, because if she couldn't even read it in the first place, there
was no way she could know how much money there was.

The amount of money on the card is held on the central database too,
surely?
--
Roland Perry

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

solar penguin wrote:

Mizter T wrote:

On 19 Feb, 11:26, "solar penguin"
wrote:

I decided to give up and stick with proper tickets until the
technology gets more reliable. IMHO it's worth paying the little
bit extra for the reassurance.


I think the technology is pretty reliable - I know people who are
still using their original Oyster card that they got back in 2003,
having been using it on a near daily basis ever since.

I certainly ain't going to start paying £3 or £4 for a single
Underground journey, or pay £2 for a bus fare just for the sake of
'reassurance', because I don't think anyone really needs to worry
about that. If I did buy paper tickets I'd end up paying well over the
odds all the time, buying Day Travelcards for a few journeys around
town which I would have paid significantly less for using Oyster -
quite often I never reaching any daily cap anyway.

I live in South London, and most of my journeys involve trains, so I
have to get Day Travelcards anyway. I only ever needed to use Oyster
once or twice a year. (In fact I thought it was the lack of use that
caused the card to seize up!)


Well, Oyster PAYG is useful even if you're just nipping out on the bus
(or indeed tram) - you pay 90p rather than £2 for a single journey.
But certainly yes, if you're using mainline rail services then as a
basic rule of thumb you're normally better off with a Travelcard.



I was annoyed when my card broke, and yet more annoyed when it
happened again - it was a fuss going to get them replaced, especially
as this happened early on and not all the Tube ticket office staff
were that clued up as to the proceedure for replacements. However I
understand that things have improved very significantly in that
department as staff have become familiar with the system.


I'm nowhere near a tube ticket office, but woman in the newsagents was
certain that the broken card couldn't be replaced if it was my fault
that I'd broken it. I'd have to buy a new one. And there was no chance
of getting back the money stored on the old card, because if she
couldn't even read it in the first place, there was no way she could
know how much money there was.

Are you saying that she was wrong? Or that tube station staff have
better facilities for dealing with faulty cards?


She was indeed wrong. I am not completely au fait with all the
procedures, but basically if your Oyster card stops working then you
can the money back. However the newsagents are not able to deal with
issues such as this at all - though she really should have known
better than to say what she did.

If you had registered your card already then sorting out a replacement
can be done more easily - a Tube station ticket office will be able to
provide you with a replacement Oyster card there and then along with
reinstating the balance on it, or I understand that if you call the
Oyster helpdesk they would send a replacement one out to you, again
with the PAYG balance reinstated. I am not quite sure what happens
with regards to a deposit when a card stops working - i.e. whether
they would take a further £3 deposit out of your PAYG balance.

If your card was not registered then I think it still might be
possible for you to get a replacement card along with your money back
- try contacting the Oyster helpdesk. If they can help you then I
suppose you would need to send them the broken card.

Note than cards that are currently unregistered can be registered if
you take them to a Tube ticket office along and fill in a registration
form.

So in actual fact your money is currently still sat on the big Oyster
database waiting for you to use it again, so try getting in contact
with the Oyster helpdesk and they should be able to sort you out - the
number is 0845 330 9876 (open 8am until 10pm), or if you wish to dial
a London number you can use (020) 7227 7886.

(The whole issue of replacements for lost/stolen and broken Oyster
cards is one which I'm a little hazy on with regards to all the
details, however I do intend on getting my head round it soon and when
I do I'll start a new thread on this issue.)


But since I figured out that keeping my Oyster card in my back pocket
was a bad idea and stopped doing so I've had no problems at all. So
that's my basic bit of advice - by all means get and use an Oyster
card, just don't sit on it.

Maybe I'll think about it if PAYG ever gets inflicted on the stations
round here. But until then, I'll stick with what's most reliable, even
if it does mean paying a quid or two more each year.


As a south Londoner I would absolutely love Oyster PAYG to be
"inflicted" on all mainline stations in London, I find it incredibly
convenient. I think your worries about reliability are overblown - as
I say above, if your card does break (and one can attempt to avoid
this by not sitting on it!) then you can get your money back.

One thing I can say for sure is that if I had been using paper tickets
over the course of a year I would have paid a *very great deal more*
than just one or two quid a year, and I know that would be the case
for a great number of people. I can quite understand that given your
usage of public transport your situation is different - but for a huge
number of people using Oyster OAYG is a cheaper and easier alternative
to buying a Day Travelcard (though of course this definitely ain't the
case if you want to travel by train in south London).

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On 20 Feb, 09:49, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 08:32:53 on
Wed, 20 Feb 2008, solar penguin
remarked:

And there was no chance of getting back the money stored on the old
card, because if she couldn't even read it in the first place, there
was no way she could know how much money there was.

The amount of money on the card is held on the central database too,
surely?
--
Roland Perry


Yes, that's absolutely correct. My comprehensive reply to 'solar
penguin' that I've just posted deals with this and other issues.

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

In message of Wed, 20 Feb
2008 07:40:59 in uk.transport.london, asdf
writes
On Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:13:41 +0000, James Farrar wrote:

Your long post omitted to mention the service I use when I must use
Heathrow and can choose the mode - Heathrow Connect (HC)
http://www.heathrowconnect.com/.
30 minute service interval and about 30 minutes travel time.
Roughly half as expensive as Heathrow Express (HE) which has double the
service interval and half the travel time.
Roughly double the cost of London Underground and half the travel time.

Depending, of course, on where in London the traveller is travelling
to/from.

Indeed. I'd say HC actually takes longer on average than the Picc for
most destinations, due to having to wait up to half an hour for a
train (versus 5 mins on the Picc).

Assuming random arrival, you have an argument.
Given the knowledge that it leaves Heathrow T123 at 26 and 56 minutes
past the hour and Paddington at 3 and 33 minutes past the hour, random
arrival is not sensible. (I work on "get there just before the hour and
half hour".) Sunday is another ball game.
--
Walter Briscoe

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

Mizter T wrote:
On 20 Feb, 00:38, Dave Newt wrote:
Mizter T wrote:
But since I figured out that keeping my Oyster card in my back pocket
was a bad idea and stopped doing so I've had no problems at all. So
that's my basic bit of advice - by all means get and use an Oyster
card, just don't sit on it.
For what it's worth, I've had mine in my back pocket (and there's been
an awful lot of sitting on floors, sitting down, etc), since I first got
it in 2003.


Perhaps one of us simply has a more substantial derriere, and that
person isn't you...


Well, I do have a little padding...

Perhaps I should learn the bobaraba...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7233565.stm

LOL! Not that much though.

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:10:33 +0000, Walter Briscoe wrote:

Your long post omitted to mention the service I use when I must use
Heathrow and can choose the mode - Heathrow Connect (HC)
http://www.heathrowconnect.com/.
30 minute service interval and about 30 minutes travel time.
Roughly half as expensive as Heathrow Express (HE) which has double the
service interval and half the travel time.
Roughly double the cost of London Underground and half the travel time.

Depending, of course, on where in London the traveller is travelling
to/from.

Indeed. I'd say HC actually takes longer on average than the Picc for
most destinations, due to having to wait up to half an hour for a
train (versus 5 mins on the Picc).

Assuming random arrival, you have an argument.
Given the knowledge that it leaves Heathrow T123 at 26 and 56 minutes
past the hour and Paddington at 3 and 33 minutes past the hour, random
arrival is not sensible. (I work on "get there just before the hour and
half hour".) Sunday is another ball game.

Unfortunately most people don't have that degree of control over when
their flight lands!

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Feb 21, 12:25*am, asdf wrote:
On Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:10:33 +0000, Walter Briscoe wrote:
Your long post omitted to mention the service I use when I must use
Heathrow and can choose the mode - Heathrow Connect (HC)
http://www.heathrowconnect.com/.
30 minute service interval and about 30 minutes travel time.
Roughly half as expensive as Heathrow Express (HE) which has double the
service interval and half the travel time.
Roughly double the cost of London Underground and half the travel time..

Depending, of course, on where in London the traveller is travelling
to/from.

Indeed. I'd say HC actually takes longer on average than the Picc for
most destinations, due to having to wait up to half an hour for a
train (versus 5 mins on the Picc).

Assuming random arrival, you have an argument.
Given the knowledge that it leaves Heathrow T123 at 26 and 56 minutes
past the hour and Paddington at 3 and 33 minutes past the hour, random
arrival is not sensible. (I work on "get there just before the hour and
half hour".) Sunday is another ball game.

Unfortunately most people don't have that degree of control over when
their flight lands!

Or how long it takes to get through customs, baggage reclaim and lots
of long passageways.

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Feb 18, 12:47*pm, "John L." wrote:
Thanks for replies. The answers to the questions below a

1) We'll be in London for 7 days
2) We wont be using National Rail
3) Odds are we'll be traveling before 9:30am a few days (but not all)
5) We'll be coming in to London through Heathrow - not sure yet by what
means
6) We're coming from the US so it will be awhile before we're back again
7) We're bringing 2 kids *(ages 14 & 6)

Thanks again for the help.

"Mizter T" wrote in message

...



John L. wrote:

I'm taking my family to london this summer and was trying to determine
which
card was better - Travel Card or Oyster Card. We'll be traveling within
Zones 1 & *2 mainly.

Thanks for the help!

As other replies have suggested, it really does depend on a number of
factors. However if you could provide us with some more information
then we could provide some more focused answers.

(1) How many days will you be in London for?

(2) Will you just be travelling on the Underground and the buses, or
will you also be using National Rail (i.e. mainline rail) services?

(3) When during the day will you be travelling - specifically will you
be travelling before 9.30am on weekdays at all?

(3) Are you planning on going out of zones 1 & 2 much - and if so will
you be travelling by Underground, bus or National Rail?

(5) How are you arriving in London - specifically are you coming in
from Heathrow airport, and if so how?

(6) How likely is it that you or your family will be coming back to
London / how often do you visit London?

(7) Are you brining (your) children along, and if so how old are they?

To get an idea of the zonal system, take a look at the Tube map here
(which only shows the Underground, DLR and a few mainline aka
Overground routes):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...d-Tube-map.gif

If you want a comprehensive map - including zones - of all rail
services in London including National Rail (i.e. mainline) routes see
this map (PDF):
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system.../print_maps/Lo...



I too am going to London from the US but in March. So far all I've
read has been very useful. I have had the same dilemma - oyster card
or travel card. I am only going to be in central london for 6 days,
probably no rail use but tube & buses at all different times. 2
adults & 2 children: 12 & 9. It sounds like the oyster card for 7
days is the best bang for the buck. True?

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Feb 18, 8:13*am, "John L." wrote:
I'm taking my family to london this summer and was trying to determine which
card was better - Travel Card or Oyster Card. We'll be traveling within
Zones 1 & *2 mainly.

Thanks for the help!

If we get an oyster card, can we get any money back if there is money
left on the card?

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

On Feb 18, 2:53*pm, Mizter T wrote:
On 18 Feb, 20:57, MIG wrote:



On Feb 18, 8:47 pm, "John L." wrote:

Thanks for replies. The answers to the questions below a

1) We'll be in London for 7 days
2) We wont be using National Rail
3) Odds are we'll be traveling before 9:30am a few days (but not all)
5) We'll be coming in to London through Heathrow - not sure yet by what
means
6) We're coming from the US so it will be awhile before we're back again
7) We're bringing 2 kids *(ages 14 & 6)

Thanks again for the help.

In that case the best thing might to be get seven-day travelcards on
Oyster.

1) If you get at least a seven-day travelcard, you pay £0 deposit,
which is one headache sorted.

2) With a seven-day travelcard, you can use it any time of day; no
waiting till 0930.

3) It will cover National Rail in the zones (whether you need it or
not).

4) It will still cost less than seven times the off-peak daily capping
limit, let alone the peak capping limit.

If you also put a bit of Pay as You Go credit on the card, you can use
it to go beyond whatever zones you get (on the Underground) and you
can use the travelcard on buses in any zone for no extra.

John, just to say I'm basically in agreement with MIG's assessment,
though I will add a little extra information.

First off, your 6 year old travels free at all times on the buses,
Underground and DLR. Your 16 year old meanwhile is counted as an
adult.

I don't know how you are planning to travel in from Heathrow to
central London. There are basically two options, the Heathrow Express
- a non-stop mainline rail service which takes you direct to
Paddington station - it's quick at just 15 minutes, departs every 15
mins but is quite pricey (though inclusive deals with airlines or
travel agents might make it cheaper). Travelcards and Oyster cards are
*not* valid on this service whatsoever - tickets can be bought
onboard, though they are cheaper if you buy before you board and
cheaper still if you buy online beforehand. Your 6 year old would need
a child fare for this.

Their website is he
http://www.heathrowexpress.com

(I should add that if you are going that way you might find it costs
much the same for four of you to get a black cab in to town, but
beware that this will take longer, especially when it's the rush hour
when the roads get jammed up.)

The second option is to travel in from Heathrow on the Underground,
specifically the Piccadilly line. It takes longer, at 45 mins, because
it stops a lot on the way in, but it's considerably cheaper plus it
might well get you closer to where you want to be in central London,
and if not it provides an opportunity to interchange with many other
Underground lines.

The reason why how you travel in from Heathrow is relevant to your
choice of ticket is this - Heathrow is in zone 6, so you can't just
use a zones 1&2 Travelcard from it. However it is possible to load a 7-
day Travelcard for zones 1&2 on your Oyster card, plus put some extra
money on it so you can use the "Pay-as-you-go" facility to
automatically pay the extra fare from Heathrow/zone 6 into zone 2.
This is obviously only relevant if you are going to be coming in from
Heathrow on the Underground, or otherwise making trips outside zones
1&2.

The thing is that whilst the "visitBritain" website allows you to buy
Oyster cards in advance and have them sent to a US address, it only
allows you to buy them loaded with "Pay as you go" credit, not
Travelcards as well. See:http://www.visitbritaindirect.com/en...oductCode=T105

However visitBritain also allows you to buy paper Travelcards - i.e.
they are issued as a printed paper ticket, rather than being loaded on
Oyster.
The specific ticket you're after is the *"Adult, Zones 1-2, 7-days,
Peak" at a cost of US$35.50:http://www.visitbritaindirect.com/en...oductCode=T102

If you were to buy this paper Travelcard then it would *not* be valid
on the Underground from Heathrow in itself - you would need to buy an
extension ticket (or three!) from Heathrow to cover you to get into
zone 2, which would cost you GBP 3 each. Technically this could be
done from the ticket machines if you knew what you wanted, but it
would be easier to get it from the ticket office - the issue being
that the ticket office is often pretty busy. Coming back from central
London into Heathrow you would also need to buy extension tickets, but
would have to do so from a ticket office.

Of course when you arrive at Heathrow you could go and buy your zones
1&2 Travelcards loaded on Oyster cards, and add a little extra Pay-as-
you-go credit to cover the journey in from Heathrow plus the journey
back to Heathrow - the extra fare to cover your journey in from or
back to Heathrow if using Oyster Pay-as-you-go would is GBP 1.80 or
GBP 1.00 depending upon the time of day.

Whilst this again does mean you'd have to deal with this on arrival,
you don't have to go to the normal ticket office to buy these more
complicated tickets - you can go to a special Transport for London
Travel Information Centre that is located right next to the entrance
to the Underground station, but is separate from it. This is often far
less busy and has lots of helpful (and multilingual) staff, and is
more like a travel agent in that you can sit down in front of a desk
and buy your tickets in quite a civilised manner. (I'm pretty sure
that they can't sell single Underground tickets there, which in many
ways actually helps to keep it much less hectic.) You would be able to
buy your zones 1&2 Travelcards on Oyster and add some extra Pay-as-you-
go credit right here.

The Travel Information Centre at Heathrow is open 6.30am to 10pm and
is next to the Underground station for Terminals 1,2 & 3, rather than
the Terminal 4 station - so if your flight does arrive at Terminal 4,
please don't try and follow this specific bit of advice! The ticket
office at Terminal 4 station could of course sell you your Travelcards
on Oyster, but there might be quite a queue there.

If you do travel in by Heathrow Express, you could buy your
Travelcards from any Underground ticket office in central London, as
well as a number of convenience stores. Indeed if it's all a bit much
at Heathrow you could of course just buy a normal single fare on a
paper ticket for your journey in on the Underground, then deal with
all this Oyster card malarkey when you've had a nap and refreshed
yourselves!

Sorry for the extra long post, I guess this just goes to prove that
life is complicated! If you've got any other questions, or if the
above is about as clear as mud, then please feel free to ask away.

Thank you so much, this was so helpful!!!
Nancy in the US

Travel Card vs. Oyster Card
 

In article
,
() wrote:

On Feb 18, 8:13*am, "John L." wrote:
I'm taking my family to london this summer and was trying to
determine
which card was better - Travel Card or Oyster Card. We'll be
traveling within Zones 1 & *2 mainly.

Thanks for the help!

If we get an oyster card, can we get any money back if there is
money left on the card?

Yes. And the £3 deposit.

--
Colin Rosenstiel