London - single ride bus ticket

Old Oct 1st, 2015, 06:32 PM
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London - single ride bus ticket

I know there used to be street side ticket machines that sold various bus tickets. My 7 day travelcard will have expired and I need one more bus trip, from the Charing Cross area to St Pancras. I looked on Google street view but have not been able to make out any ticket machines in the area. Maybe they have been discontinued. Do I have any single ticket options? No need for a one day unlimited pass, as I need just the one bus ride. Thanks.
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Old Oct 1st, 2015, 10:40 PM
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There is no such thing as a single ride bus ticket any more.

The easiest solution is to use your Oyster card or contactless credit or debit card and swipe it over the touchpad at the bus entrance.

If you have neither, the only options are to buy a single day travelcard (from thousands of newsagents and convenience stores), take a taxi or buy a tube ticket and use the tube.
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Old Oct 1st, 2015, 11:32 PM
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It seems hard to believe but you can't buy a ticket on the bus itself. You can buy a single ride for 1.50 but as flanneruk states (and as I understand it) it needs to be loaded onto either an Oyster card or a contactless payment card - a credit/debit card registered with London Transport.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2015, 12:13 AM
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The credit/debit card doesn't have to be registered with TfL. It just needs to be contactless, with its logo. Also it must be either Amex, MasterCard, Maestro or Visa.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2015, 01:55 AM
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Cynthia, is your 7-day travel pass not loaded onto an Oyster Card? just put a little extra money on the Oyster card to cover your bus trip.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2015, 02:40 AM
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Yes, what Tulips said. That's what I did in the same situation.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2015, 07:45 AM
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My guess is your travel card is a paper one (for the 2for1's). If so, then you will have to do what flanner said. If on an Oyster - yes, just add money
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Old Oct 2nd, 2015, 09:12 AM
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Thanks, all. I will shift my plans from the paper travelcard to an Oyster with a 7 day travelcard loaded plus a few extra pounds just for this sort of thing. And instead of turning in the card when I leave, I will save it for a future trip. There always has been a future trip, and always will be.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2015, 12:40 PM
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>

Is it just you? Or are you traveling with someone else? If the latter, you need the paper travelcard for the 2for1 deals, which will save you a lot more than just the 1.50 and some hassle for a bus ride.

If you're on your own, just do the oyster.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2015, 01:11 PM
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Yes, just for me. I got in the habit of getting the National Rail travelcards over the years ago when I would often end up traveling with another person and would use the 2-4-1 vouchers. And I stuck to that even when I was going alone.
Time to break that unnecessary habit.
It is possible my USAA credit card could be used for cashless, but no matter what some kid on their customer service line says, I could not be certain it would work on the bus until I tried it, and that might catch me short. Oyster for me from now on!
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Old Oct 2nd, 2015, 09:29 PM
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If your contactless card works at the Heathrow tube platform barrier, it'll work on every bus.

If your Amex, Visa, Mastercard or Maestro card's got the contactless symbol (https://www.emvco.com/best_practices.aspx?id=117) it'll almost certainly get you through the Heathrow barrier. If it won't work at Heathrow, go and buy an Oyster

The issue isn't snotty kids: it's what charges your overseas credit card company imposes on what it sees as foreign transactions. TfL bunches each day's charges, and transmits your daily total as one charge.

To take an artificial example: a typical £5 deposit plus £44.80 load the same day for 7 days PAYG would incur one charge on one £49.80 transaction.

Seven daily triggerings of the £6.40 daily cap with an overseas contactless card would create seven daily card charge charges on seven £6.40 transactions.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2015, 10:00 PM
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Here is the correct link:

https://www.emvco.com/best_practices.aspx?id=117 (w/o that pesky trailing parentheses )
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