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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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

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.

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.