London Transport
 

I'll be in London this summer and I want to know what type of bus/tube pass to get. I understand there's a visitors pass and an oyster pass. Please let me know it you've used any of these of if there's something better.

merrin

Firstly, how long are you here for?

If you're a tourist, you have no need to rush around. Walk, take the bus. I wouldn't worry about all these complex tickets, if it costs you maybe 10GBP more, then so what? It's nothing compared to the hassle of trying to find out what to buy.

Also, take taxis. I rarely use public transport - and I live in London - on the very rare occasions that I do, it's an old routemaster bus where you can pay the conductor. When I'm abroad, I never bother even thinking of touching public transport, I see taxis as an inbuilt expense. Usually I'll always walk, after all what's the rush when you're away from home?

I had gone to London and we got the tube pass that allowed us on any line. It was well worth the price and we liked taking the tube. We took the tube mostly at night when we went to the plays or else in the morning to get to our first destination and then would walk back to the hotel at the end of the afternoon. As for taxis I don't think we ever took one.

I was in London on Business last week and bought a 1 day off peak tube ticket. It was around £4.50 for 1 day and gave unlimited use within zone 1.
It is more for peak and for more Zones but just to avoid having to buy a ticket every journey makes it great value and cheaper than individual trips too.

Muck

"merrin" needs to tell us how long he/she is staying, where he/she is staying, and what he/she plans to do whilst in london.

Frankly, I think the poster needs to go to the Transport for London homepage
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/

You might want to download the TfL fares brochure from here:

<b>http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tickets/2005/downloads/tfl-fares-2005.pdf</b>

I like using the buses. They're everywhere (which the Tube is not), and you don't have to walk and climb to change lines. A one-week Bus Season Ticket will get you all over greater London for about $3 a day. The best map for sightseeing is

<b>http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/cen_bus.pdf
</b>

London Tube and Bus Passes come in 1, 3 and 7 day travel cards, so I'd get whatever matches your schedule, as they are very handy..

When I was there, we bought the 3-day pass and it was invaluable...while the Tube is clean, quick and easy, the only downside is you don't see the surface...I remember taking the bus out to Waterloo station as we were leaving, and wondering why I didn't take the bus more often. When I go back this fall, I'll take surface transportation more just so I can see more of the city and hear less of &quot;Mind the gap&quot;. ;)

We did take one cab home one night, and it was very nice to experience that too. Cabbies are notoriously efficient and helpful, it's worth it just to do at least once.

Good luck,

Jules

Forget Oyster, it's an electronic stored-value card which is really intended for people who are here for a long time.

There are some passes that cover buses only, but mainly you would be looking for a Travelcard. The last time I looked at the pricing equivalences, you started saving on a Travelcard once you had done more than the equivalent of the two journeys a day a commuter would make within the period, i.e., after 10 journeys on a 7-day Travelcard. And they have the advantage of not having to find change for each trip, and ease of interchange between bus, tube and suburban train within the zone(s) you need. Most visitors won't need more than zones 1 and 2, and maybe only zone 1, depending on where you plan to go.

Don't forget the Oyster, which is not travelcard in itself, but a platform on which you can put various types of travelcards/passes etc. You can get an Oystercard at any tube station, without a photo. You can keep the card for your next trip.
I have an Oyster card on which I place a monthly bus pass, good for all buses, all of the time. I also put about &pound;20 worth of stored value so I can hop on the Tube whenever I like. So, if you are there for more than four days, you would do well to get a weekly Travelcard - good for all buses, tubes, trams, DLR and overland trains - within a certain zone. Zone 1 is usually fine for most tourists. If you go outside this zone, get an extension before you travel from the ticket office. Of course, if you want, you can simply buy a paper Travelcard but you won't be able to impress your friends on your return with that!

I feel compelled to acknowledge that the possibility of impressing anyone with a plastic transport pass never has occurred to me.