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London Travelcard v Oyster Card
Make an informed choice on the right London travel pass for you




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For the visitor to London, the question of which travel pass to purchase can be very confusing.
There is no simple answer, it all depends ...

Scope:
Both cards cover most of the public transport available to you.
- The entire London Underground network.
- The entire London bus network.
- The overland rail network
- Docklands Light Railway (DLR)
- 33% discount on river services

Importantly, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton Airports are far outside the area covered by both cards. At Heathrow you can use both on the London Underground and public buses, but not the Heathrow Connect and Heathrow Express dedicated airport trains. 		Oyster Card

Travelcard
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Oyster Card or Travelcard ?
The main difference between Travelcard and Oyster Card in terms of scope are the overground trains, not the London Underground or DLR (Dockland Light Railway)
Unfortunately, much of the overground rail system has yet to install the machinery that can recognise the electronic Oyster Cards, so the Oyster Card is not valid here. The old fashioned paper Travelcard is fine.
For most visitors, this has little impact - perhaps the notable exception are the trains from Waterloo to Hampton Court. At present you cannot use Oyster on this line.

Map showing where Oyster is valid on overground rail system
Zones:
The London public transport system is divided up into zones that radiate from the centre. Nearly all the hotels and the main sights are in Zone 1.
The more zones you travel, or the more zones that your pass covers the more you pay. Most visitors only go out of Zone 1 the central area on their way to the airport.

However, popular attractions like Hampton Court, Greenwich, Wimbledon and Kew Gardens are examples of places outside Zone 1

Rail & Underground Zonal Map
What is cheapest - Travelcard or Oyster Card:
You didn't really expect a simple answer, did you ?

Travelcard is a flat rate pass, you pay a set fee for the zones required and there is unlimited travel. Travlecard has very good 2 for 1 admission offers that can save you a lot of money. For short term visitors Travelcard also offers an advantage if you have 11-15 year olds in your party, allowing you access to discounted fares without the need for photocards that take 3 weeks to process in the application process.

Oyster Card Pay As You Go, means you are charged a discounted journey rate for each journey. There is a daily price cap on Oyster, where, however many journeys you make in a calendar day, you are never charged more than the price cap.

If you are staying 5 or more days, the daily price cap of Oyster Card works out more than the average cost per day of a 7 day Travelcard making the 7 day Travelcard the better buy.

Oyster for most people works out marginally cheaper for straight transport. Do study the sections on 2 for 1 attraction offers on Travelcard, children (especially if you have 11-15 year olds) and coverage of Oyster on overground railways before making your final decision.
Oyster also has the inconvenience for short term visitors of making a deposit and subsequently reclaiming this deposit plus any outstanding balance on your Oyster Card.
Oyster Pay as You Go v Cash Fares For Single Journey Zone 1 (from 2nd January 2009)
  Underground Bus
Zone Cash Oyster
(Peak)		 Oyster
(Off peak)		 Cash Oyster
(Peak)		 Oyster
(Off peak)
1
£4.00
 £1.60
£1.60
 £2.00 £1.00 £1.00
Oyster Price Cap v Travelcard Daily Prices (from 2nd January 2008)
Zones Oyster
(Peak)		 Travelcard
(Peak)		 Oyster
(Off peak)		 Travelcard
(Off Peak)		 Travelcard
3 Day Peak		 Travelcard
7 Day Peak
1-2
£6.70
 £7.20
£5.10
 £5.60 £18.40 £25.80
1-3
£8.10
 £8.60
£5.80
 - - £30.20
1-4
£9.50
 £10.00
£5.80
 £6.30 - £36.80
1-5
£12.10
 £12.60
£7.00
 - - £44.00
1-6
£14.30
 £14.80
£7.00
 £7.50 £42.40+ £47.60
+ Off peak 3 Day Travelcard £21.20
Peak v Off Peak - Travelcard / Oyster Card Definitions:
Travelcard - If you intend to travel before 09:30, Monday to Friday then you need a peak Travelcard. On Saturdays and Sundays all travel is off peak. There is no evening peak period.

Oyster Card - The peak fares will apply if you travel between 06:30 and 09:30 or from 16:00 to 19:00 Mondays to Fridays.
All travel at weekends and holidays is off peak.
The Oyster Card Deposit
With Oyster Card Pay as You Go, you pay a £3 deposit plus however much you wish to store on the Oyster Card to pay fares up to a maximum of £90.
At the end of the stay you need to surrender your Oyster Card and claim back the deposit plus any outstanding balance on your credit card.
If you are coming back to London at a future date you can keep the Oyster Card and resume using it immediately on your return.

There are no deposits on Travelcards, you pay up front and dispose of the ticket when it expires.

Oyster Card & Travelcard Offers - 2 For 1 Entry To Attractions
Both Oyster Card and Travelcard have offers that are particularly attractive to visitors, especially the 2 for 1 admission offers to attractions.
Its fair to say that for most visitors the Travelcard offers are much more attractive than the Oyster Card offers at present. Travelcard offers include 2 for 1 admission to the Tower of London and the Hop on, Hop Off buses for example, that Oyster do not.
Note : To take advantage of these offers you need to download vouchers from the web site (link below) and you need to purchase your Travelcard from a rail station ticket office (not London Underground or DLR railway)
Oyster Card Offers (None valid at this moment in time)
Travelcard Offers

Children Under 16
There are no family tickets available on London's public transport, the main reason being that free travel is available for many children.

5-10 Years Old
Children under 11 travel free on London's buses and do not need a photocard.
If your child is aged 5 to 10 and needs to travel unaccompanied on Tube, DLR and London Overground services they will need a 5-10 Oyster photocard to travel free at any time. Children accompanied by an adult can travel free on Tube, DLR and London Overground services without an Oyster photocard.

11-15 Years Old
Children 11-15 years old travel free on London's buses but require a photocard.
A photocard is not needed for single or return tickets bought with cash for the Tube, DLR or London Overground or 1 or 3 Day Travelcards. For everything else your child will need a photocard if you do not want to pay full adult fares.
For short term visitors, photocards are impractical as it takes 3 weeks to apply for such a photocard.
Your best option is probably to look at the Travelcard passes that have child products that do not involve the need for photocards.
Seniors
There are no special rates for seniors.
Senior residents of London can get a Freedom pass enabling free bus travel.
National Concessionary passes issued by English local authorities outside London are not valid for free travel on trams, the Tube, DLR, London Overground and National Rail but are valid on London's buses, (but not airport buses).