Iowa_Redhead

Yep, this is yet another Oyster related question. I'll be in London alone, so the 2 for 1 deals don't work for me. I'll be in London for 4 1/2 days and plan to use the tube mostly.

What is the difference between a 3 day travel card loaded on the Oyster and just using PAYG? I looked at tfl's website and can't find an answer. Any ideas?

Thanks!

jent103

In terms of how you use it, nothing. It depends on how much you plan to use the tube and buses as to which would be a better deal, but I usually buy travelcards just to make life easier (you're not always having to worry about whether you have enough PAYG credit left). I believe the PAYG credit caps per day at the cost of a one-day travelcard, but I'm not 100%. So if you plan to use public transit a lot, either a 3-travelcard plus a bit of PAYG credit, or maybe just a 7-day travelcard, will end up being a better deal than the equivalent of several one-day travelcards.

The ticket agents have always been extremely helpful in helping me figure out which option would be a better deal. I wouldn't stress about it beforehand; just ask for their help when you get there.

xyz123

Well let's do the math....7 day travelcard on oyster is £25.80 assuming you stick to zones 1 & 2...you can go outside zones 1 & 2 and buy extension fares but let's leave it at that....if you're tubing in from Heathrow the extension would be £2 peak (0630 to 0930 and 1600 to 1900 weekdays) and £1.10 non peak...this would be put on the same oyster card as PAYG...one and done (again as long as you stay in zones 1 & 2) finished...done...nothing else to worry about...

But is it the best buy for 4.5 days....on any day you stay in zones 1 & 2, if you use PAYG the most you will pay on any given day is £5.10 (as long as you start out each weekday after 0930) so four full days is only £20.40 but remember we're talking caps...if you use less say one return trip on the tube on a given day, then it's only £3.20 for that day and if you only use buses on a given day, then it's only £3.30, no peak/off peak distinction and again that's a cap...if you only took one return bus trip on that day you would pay only £2....the PAYG fare from Heathrow would be £3.80 peak and £2.20 off peak and it might affect the caps a bit.....maybe it's getting too complicated.

Most likely, you will be better off with simply putting £20 on a PAYG oyster card (actually an oyster card is an oyster card and now even if you buy a 7 day travelcard on oyster as your first purchase, unfortunately you now still pay the £3 deposit so that's not a factor) and monitor it...you might need a bit more as the 4 days develop but that would probably be my recommendation.....incidentally in another thread somebody gave misinformation...there is no 3 day travelcard available on oyster there are 3 day paper travelcards but you probably don't want one.

Yes I know it's a bit complicated but at least the way I do it, there are several days I don't reach the cap or just use buses and as far as not having enough credit left on PAYG, just pop into any tube station, touch the yellow reader on one of the machines and it will tell you instantly how much credit you have left and you can then add if needed....it really should not be a deal killer.

Iowa_Redhead

xyz123, thank you. I think I was just making things way more complicated than they needed to be. I did glance at that thread about a 3 day travelcard, which started my confusion.

I doubt I'll hit the cap for at least 2 of the days, so that helps make PAYG even better for me. Worst case scenario I spend around $5-10 more for transport in London. I waste more than that each week with unnecessary driving!

It's definitely time for me to quit planning my vacation and go, December can't come soon enough!

helen_belsize

Definitely PAYG. it can't cost more than the travel card for the day and it is much more flexible. You don't have to worry about which zone you are in it just works it out for you. You can bus all day and get the lower daily rate. If one day you want to travel early it will max out at the all day travelcard equivalent. You may well find that some days you walk all day and take one bus so you just pay the single bus fare at the Oyster rate.

What you can't do with an Oyster at the moment is travel on a railway train to somewhere like Eltham, if you want to visit Eltham Palace (just been, fantastic if you like Art Deco). In this case you can buy a travel card for the day in an underground station that will take you through on tube and rail, tell them your destination and they sell you the correct travel card. You CAN travel on the surface rail line called London Overground with an Oyster card. The staff will be happy to help, but be patient in a really busy station like Tottenham Court Road.

Finally PAYG you must check in and out when leaving your station because it will assume you travelled to zone 6 if you don't check out on each journey. Not difficult in central areas but some stations like Olympia quite hard to find the touch pad.

TfL's website seems to have a limited view of what tourists need to know.

KayF

I agree, I'd go for Pay As You Go. With a travelcard, if you have one day where you don't use public transport because you walk everywhere, or are sick or something, then you've wasted a day of transport you've paid for. With PAYG, you only pay for what you use. You can check how much you have left on your Oyster Card easily at any station. Just hold the card up to a reader (the one where you can top up with cash/card) and it will tell you the balance. Then you can top up if you want.

On the tube you must swipe in and out - even if the barriers are open which happens sometimes late at night. On the bus, you only swipe once, when you board.

Kay

MissPrism

If you look at the little screen as you swipe your card on the tube, it tells you your balance.

alanRow

<<< What is the difference between a 3 day travel card loaded on the Oyster >>>

You can't get a 3 day travelcard loaded on an Oystercard.

For such a short period and as you are travelling by yourself I'd just get a PAYG Oystercard with £20 on it.

Iowa_Redhead

Thank you all for the advice. As xyz123 said there was a bit of incorrect information on another thread about a 3 day travel card which is what started my confusion. With that bit cleared up, PAYG is definitely my best option.

Thank you all again for all of your help!

khunwilko

I've just got back form London. I'm going to write a little about this in my trip report later.

Basically 2 of us bought a 20 quid card each - we used it unlimited travel on buses and Tube and got the tube back to h/row after 4 days. The thing is Oyster will work out the daily max discount fares for you so you can't spend more than 4 pound something a day.
It's also fantastically easy to use as you only touch the yellow sensor with it.

khunwilko

PS - DON"T PAYG!
My trip report. THer London bit isn't there yet!


http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...m-thailand.cfm

Iowa_Redhead

khunwilko, PAYG is on the Oyster card. That sounds like what you did. That doesn't mean pay cash for each trip, but put money on the Oyster card and use that as credit for trips. It automatically puts a cap on your day's cost to that of a one day travelcard.

xyz123

...it automatically puts a cap on your day's cost to 50p less than that of a one day travelcard for the appropriate zones (or 50p less than the cost of a one day bus pass if only using the buses)...

kleeblatt

As for the 2 for 1 deals, you can usually find someone who will gladly also pay 1/2 the price.

Our experience at Madame Tussaud's:

We were 5 people and needed a 6th person. I asked a man travelling alone. Because he wanted a different deal (with London Eye), he wasn't interested. I also don't think he trusted us.

Another person said he's travelling with his family and wanted the family special. I also don't think he trusted us.

We finally convinced a Finnish woman to join our group. First she didn't trust us until I told her she had nothing to lose. Afterward getting the tickets, she was very grateful for the offer and even gave me a tip.

Finding a person was an adventure but we ended up having the most lovely conversation with the Finnish woman. If you are travelling alone and are a bit adventurous, finding a second person is a great way to meet people. Just make sure you have two train tickets (for example one coming from the airport and one going back to the airport.)

khunwilko

Yep - certainly I was thinking the OP was referring to paying by the trip.
I found the Oyster to be by far the most convenient and the various payment methods really useful.
I'm back in UK later this year and will keep my card for then.

alanRow

<<< The thing is Oyster will work out the daily max discount fares for you so you can't spend more than 4 pound something a day. >>>

Actually the most you could spend in one day is £14.30 if you use it in peak time to / from Heathrow Airport