Getting around London

Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 06:44 PM
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Getting around London

Will be in London soon with a friend for four full days. I have been there several times and my friend has spent time there, too, although a long time ago for both of us. To save a few bucks I plan to take the tube from Heathrow to my hotel near St. James Park tube station (I know I have a connection to make). We are traveling to London separately. We will be leaving London together by train from Victoria Station.

The question remains what to do for transportation while in the city. I like to walk a lot but my friend has some limitations on how much walking she can do. Nice to have options. Other than taxis, we could get either travel cards or Oyster cards, use Uber or Lyft if Lyft is in London. How difficult is it to get a travel card or Oyster card? I have apps for both Uber and Lyft but have not used either -- I'm a newbie. Would welcome advice.
Diane
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 06:58 PM
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I returned from a week in London a few days ago. I bought an Oyster card at a tube station and loaded it right away. It was easy to follow the instructions on the machine.

A friend who lives in London recommended an outfit called Swiss Cottage,..
similar to Uber ,but with a fixed rate for a desired destination.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 07:56 PM
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>>Other than taxis, we could get either travel cards or Oyster cards, >A friend who lives in London recommended an outfit called Swiss Cottage,..similar to Uber
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 09:56 PM
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Or you can use your regular bank or credit card instead of an Oyster, as long as it has a contactless payment symbol on it.
Using contactless payment, you will never pay more than the maximum daily or weekly charge.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 10:16 PM
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Buses are easy to use, but may of course be slow in traffic.

Every stop in central London will have a diagram of the routes and stops served from that particular stop, and most will include a diagram/map of all the routes served by all the stops in the immediate area, and where they are. For example, these are the routes that run near your hotel:
http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-...astreet-a4.pdf

This map will help familiarise you with the routes you're likely to want for getting around the main attractions:
http://content.tfl.gov.uk/key-bus-ro...ral-london.pdf

For the sake of completeness, here are all the public transport maps:
https://tfl.gov.uk/maps
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Old Jul 23rd, 2017, 11:21 PM
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janisj, yes, I will be there 4.5 days including my arrival afternoon at Heathrow. So getting an Oyster at the airport sounds like a plan. I wonder where that name came from--someone must have a sense of humor.

When I go to another country I always purchase a daily or weekly pass. I was in Venice recently and purchased a weekly vaporetto pass; it was simple -- one price and I could travel all I wanted within that week. Is the Oyster like that? I feel a bit stupid that it seems so complicated.

Found out that there is no escalator or elevator at the St. James tube station. That might be an issue and I will have to find out how many stairs there are once I get to the hotel. It's not that my friend can't walk or use stairs, it's a matter of how much she can do.

Thanks for the information and links. I will check out everything thoroughly.

Diane
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 12:27 AM
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If you just use pay-as-you-go cash on the Oyster, it will never charge you more in one day than the equivalent of a one-day travelcard. You can put a 7-day travelcard on it.

A 7-day travelcard for zones 1+2 plus the add-ons for trips to and from Heathrow would cost £38.60. If on the days you travel to and from Heathrow that's all you do, the maximum you would spend using PAYG would probably be £26.

In terms of the mechanics of using it, all you do is put the card on the reader and the computer does the calculations; but if you're putting PAYG cash on it, you need to keep an eye on how much is left and top up as necessary (not difficult, thousands of convenience stores, and any tube station, will do the necessary, but it would be a nuisance if you suddenly find you've run out once you're boarding a bus with a queue behind you).
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 12:28 AM
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You can put money on the Oyster; there's a daily maximum that is charged. For zone 1 and 2 it's 6,60 per day. You can buy a weekly pass (which is just loaded onto your Oyster card), but for 4,5 days there's no point as it's 33 pounds for a week.

The journey to/from Heathrow is another zone, so that is more expensive. If you start with, say, 10 or 15 pounds on your card you can always top up if you need more.

If you use a contactless payment card you will not need to bother with any of that. Just touch in and out with your card. The amount will show up on you CC or bank statement; there's a maximum cap of 6,60 per day or 33 pounds per week.

There may be foreign exchange charges on your card; but there will also be charges if you use your card to buy and top-up an Oyster.
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 03:18 AM
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In London, buses can be great, especially if you are located near a good bus line.

I can not walk for long, and sometimes it is a relief just to get in a taxi rather than deal with public transportation. When I visited London almost two years ago, I had never used Uber before but found it was enormously easy and helpful. There are many, many Ubers available and we usually had someone arrive within a minute or two, no matter where we were.
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 05:20 AM
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If she can't handle stairs you won't be taking many tube rides. Buses and taxis will be the way to go for most journeys. Not only are there stairs at the St James's tube station (and most others), there would be a looooong walk at the LHR end.

To get in from the airport check justairports.com It is a pre-booked car service that door-to-door from LHR to St James's will cost between £30 and £35. Much more expensive than the tube but half the cost of a taxi.
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 05:45 AM
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I have no mobility problems and still found a number of tube stations
a loooong walk ( especially if changing lines) and stairs almost everywhere.


Janis makes a good point...a car service is worth saving yourselves
a lot of time and effort ( schlepping the luggage all over the city.)
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 05:48 AM
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>

We stayed in a flat at the corner of Palmer and Petty France in 2007. The Palmer Street entrance to the St. James Park tube station was just a few steps away. The line there was built in cut and cover fashion, meaning it is not very deep, but there are stairs down to the station, at least from that entry. The other entrance is the main tube system office, if I recall correctly, but I think I only went that way once--can't remember if there were many stairs or not that way. But, as janisj says, if steps are a problem, busses may be your best options, and there is a major bus stop on Victoria Street just a block away from the Palmer Street tube station entrance.
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 08:51 AM
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Just returned from London, where we used bus, tube, and car service to get around. We ended up with a 7-day Oyster travel card loaded, plus a PAYG for other days. We had sort of a mobility issue because we had a 1.5 year old in a stroller (who was reluctant to stay in a stroller). So, many tube stations are not ADA-compliant in US-speak (no lifts, not accessible in wheelchairs). We found that buses were easier for us, because it was overground, so we could still sight-see. We also used Uber and black cab intermittently.
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 09:18 AM
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Here is a tool we used:
https://www.rome2rio.com/s/London-He...HR/Camden-Town
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 08:47 PM
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This has been an interesting web journey. Thank you all for the input. I have been researching buses and I think that's a good plan for us with several lines that go close to the St. Ermin's Hotel. Uber is looking better all the time (lol). In rush hour the tube might work if we're so inclined. Rome2Rio has been wonderful. I use it all the time and have been looking at ways to get to the sights we want to visit in London.

I will arrive Heathrow alone with one carry-on bag and my purse. My friend will arrive the next day by train.

I have used JustAirports on several occasions, but thought I could handle the tube this time to save a few dollars. I took the Paris Metro once from CDG to the Latin Quarter and walked a couple of blocks to my hotel. I hope it's as easy in London as it was in Paris. I'm not as young as I used to be.

Speaking of JustAirports, the concierge at a hotel in London told me that JustAirports was no longer in business (this was 2010) and I needed to take a taxi. He was really snooty. I did take JustAirports that time, booked online. Maybe he was getting a cut by getting me a cab--don't know. Doesn't matter any more.

Diane
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 09:12 PM
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For getting around town, I find Citymapper a great tool.

This shows you which tube stations are easily accessible:
http://content.tfl.gov.uk/avoiding-s...tube-guide.pdf

The tfl site is the best resource for information on London's public transport.

Have a great time!
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 09:36 PM
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>>Speaking of JustAirports, the concierge at a hotel in London told me that JustAirports was no longer in business (this was 2010) and I needed to take a taxi. He was really snooty. I did take JustAirports that time, booked online. Maybe he was getting a cut by getting me a cab--don't know. Doesn't matter any more.>Uber is looking better all the time (lol)
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Old Jul 24th, 2017, 10:05 PM
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@luvtotravel, if you could manage the Paris metro journey you outline, you should have no trouble with the London underground for a solo journey from the airport - especially following janisj's suggestion to change at Hammersmith
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Old Jul 25th, 2017, 03:15 AM
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" in general uber will cost more than just taking cabs. And you can hail cabs everywhere"

This was not my experience. The black cabs seemed significantly more expensive. If we encountered one we would take it but on less busy streets we didn't always see them.

On previous visits we found that people were using private car services or minicabs to avoid dealing with the black cabs. All my husband's family members seemed to have a list of numbers to call.

I am not addressing the philosophical concerns however.
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Old Jul 25th, 2017, 03:24 AM
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Black cabs are more expensive, but you can hail them on the street, they can use bus lanes (Uber cannot) and I find that generally they are better at evading busy roads and traffic jams, since they know all London's backroads and shortcuts.

I've use Uber when I wanted to be picked up from home or late at night when I wasn't sure there would be a black cab available.
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