child travel cards
 

Hi, I have read all of the posts and threads on the travel cards that I can find and I am still somewhat confused.I am travellling to London for a week in February with my husband and 3 kids (13, 10, 8). I am planning on waiting until I get there to be the zone 1 only 7 day card, as my kids do not want to go to the zoo. I know that my husband and I do not need photos, but do my kids? I read several links suggesting that childrsn's rates need some kind of photo. Thanks fo any info...

hi jilldmd, Don't worry about being confused...it's confusing! You really have to dig to find the info and even then it isn't always crystal clear.

I would go assuming your kids do need photos as the text at the website (www.tfl.gov.uk) states only adult Zone 1 and Zone 1&2 do not need photos. Stick a few in your wallet before you leave. And we're talking faces cut out of snapshots, not formal pictures.

You all qualify for a daily family travelcard which is a real bargain financially (under 3 GBP for Zones 1 & 2) but is a little restrictive (after 9:30 am travel and everyone must travel together for each trip)

Kids age 14 and 15 need a child photocard just to prove that they're age-eligible for child rates. However, I learned this towards the end of a 3-week visit with a 15-year-old, buying family travelcards most days, so I suspect that it's not enforced very enthusiastically.

OTOH, the transportforlondon web site does indicate that a photo is needed for the 7-day travelcard. Your best bet is to have proof of age (i.e., passport) and photos handy when buying the passes. The photos don't have to be formal passport-type ones, just roughly that size. You could go through the family snapshots and pick out a few in which one of the kids looks good and another doesn't, to cut up.

http://www.transportforlondon.gov.uk...t_season.shtml

As obxgirl pointed out, when purchasing family travelcards, the adult(s) and child(ren) are considered to be a group who must travel together. When we visited, we therefore bought two adult/child pairs, in effect two families, so that we could travel in pairs rather than as a group of 4, if we chose to.

Family travelcards worked well for us because we did a home exchange on the outskirts of London, and didn't go into the city every day. For 7 straight days around the city, the savings on the family travelcards really aren't worth the hassle of daily purchases and waiting til 9:30 on weekdays, IMHO.

Confusion does seem to reign here:

The VISITORS travel cards do not require photos, they come in two types: central zones (1-2) and all zones (1-6), there are versions for adults and children, and you can get cards for various lengths (days). These can be purchased in advance via www. tickets-on-line.com.

The FAMILY travel card is a one-day pass for a family group traveling together (after 9.30 a.m. weekdays). Your kids won't need a photocard, because of their ages. If they were 14 or 15 a photocard would be needed, but in practice a child's passport will usually suffice.

The weekly Visitors TravelCard will cost almost £64 for your family versus £55 for a series of 7 days of family travel cards. The £9 savings work out IF: you are always traveling together and you don't need to travel before 9.30am on weekdays.

The daily purchases also work well if you have a day where you don't need to take public transport. On the other hand, pre-purchasing the Visitors TravelCards frees you from having to get in line every day to purchase tickets.

Now, if I could only be sure that this makes things LESS confusing....

David White
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Thanks David. Isn't the zone 1 only card slightly less expensive? Also, to clarify, my kids DO NOT need photos for their 1 week zone 1 card? I have decided to do the weekly card, as we are usually up and out early and don't want to wait for 9:30. Also, I don't want to have to line up every day to purchase the cards. I imagine we will be on the tube and the buses a lot in February, so i am sure that I can't really go too wrong.

I should also mention, I am aware that I need to wait until I get to London to buy the zone 1 card. Will I still NOT need a photo?
Thanks.

You won't need a photo for the adult cards, but IMHO the transportforlondon web site is inconsistent regarding the kids' travelcards. Adult 7-day travelcard for just zone 1 is about £3 less than for zone 1&2.