Please help me with London transport!
 

hi, i know the topic of transport from Heathrow Airport to London has been discussed over and over in this site, but i have a more specific question. We will be staying at the Hoxton Hotel and the tube stop is Old Street. After looking at Transport for London website (www.tfl.gov.uk), the Journey Planner is telling me that we take the Heathrow Connect from Terminal 4 to Heathrow Central Rail, then hop on the Paddington National Rail, then the H&C train to Moorgate Station, get off, hop on bus 141, 76, 21, or 43 to Old Street Station. Here is the link of the route: http://tinyurl.com/5h4ea9

This sounds simple enough, but with luggage, might pose some problems. There's got to be a better route! since Old Street is a tube stop, couldnt we take a tube straight there without having to get off at Moorgate to take a bus? please help! and how much will this route come out to? But I looked at justairports.com and they are charging 37 pounds for car service. Are we better off taking car service? Also we are arriving Boxing day and we are new yorkers so used to taking the subways, just making sure and looking for a better route. thanks for listening! and maybe you could help??

Why not take the tube (Piccadilly line) from Heathrow to King's X/St Pancras, then change for Nothern line to Old Street?

BTW, the key to the TFL website's journey planner, is to click on Advance options, then click on

Routes with the fewest changes

hi yk, we can catch the piccadilly line from terminal 4? how much would this cost?

When we went last April and stayed at the Travelodge near the Old Street station, we took the tube (Piccadilly line) to Russell Square station (which doesn't have too many steps to schlep luggage up}, then a cab directly to the hotel.

Yes.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/tickets/fa...08/farefinder/

Oyster single fare
£3.50 Monday to Friday from 0700 and before 1900*
£2.00 At all other times including public holidays.

Cash single fare
£4.00 At any time.

OR

If you get a one-day travelcard for zone 1-6
£13.80 anytime
£7.00 off-peak

Are you saying the single fair of 3.50 applies from 0700 to 1900? That is all day practically. Please confirm.

I'd take the tube to either Russell Sq like ckiskie or to King's Cross and a cab from there. I'd personally use Russell Sq just because it isn't Kings X :)

is kings cross/st. pancras that bad? we were hoping to save money on the cab. but if its that bad and worth the expense... i really appreciate your advice.

Oh - not bad. Just hectic and crowded. I'd personally prefer to hail a cab at Russell Sq.

It is not a long cab ride from either place. I wouldn't want to schlepp luggage on buses, especially if it is during the morning or afternoon rush.

hi janis, how much would the cab ride be from russel sq to old street, you think? but if im taking a cab from russel sq, then might as well just take car service from heathrow for 37 pounds??

If you acquire an Oyster card and load it with a 2-zone Travelcard to cover all of your travel while in town, your ride from Heathrow will only cost £1 off-peak, or £1.80 between 7AM and 7PM weekdays, because you'll only be paying for Zone 6 to Zone 2.

Hi Rob, is the oyster card better for us than the Travel card? We will only be in London for 4 nights. And the Travel Card offers 2 for 1 correct?

Also, can we use one Oyster or Travel Card between the two of us? In NYC, you can use one Metro card for as much trips it can buy. For example, I can swipe myself and three others if I like so long as I have enough funds on it.

Each person needs to have his/her own Oystercard.

You won't be able to share the Oyster card on the tube if you are riding together. You swipe in to enter the tube and then swipe out to leave so it knows how far you went and so how much to charge you for the trip. But one of you could go out in the morning and come back and in the afternoon the other one of you could go out and back with the same card.

If you want to take advantage of the 2for1 offers, then you need to buy paper travelcards from a National Rail station, not the travelcards sold at Tube stations. See www.daysoutguide.co.uk. Print the vouchers yourself and take them with you.

The cheapest way to travel for your time period in London probably would be to buy one-day zone 1-2 National Rail travelcards for each day you want to use vouchers. For your other days buy Oyster cards. load them with about £20, and use them as pay-as-you-go cards. The Oyster computer will automatically give you the cheapest fare. At the end of your stay you can get back any unspent money you loaded on the Oyster cards plus your deposit.

All of which, of course, depends on which twofers you're going to use and how much you'll save by using them.

It's a problem MADE for a spreadsheet solution.

Boxing Day, the day after Christmas is a holiday.
I really don't know, but have heard that public transportation is possibly cut down on that day,
No one mentioned this , so perhaps things are "business as usual" on Boxing day.

Most tube lines on Boxing Day are usually on a Sunday service. TfL doesn't seem to have announced details yet, but some lines (probably not the Piccadilly) might close for engineering work. Check the advanced search on the journey planner, specifying just tube and bus and the date, nearer the day.

It's absurd to say that Kings Cross will be hectic on Boxing Day: few trains run, no-one comes into London, and your problem is likely to be that most taxis are having a second day off.

Personally, with a lot of luggage I'd get the Piccadilly Line to Kings Cross, then a taxi. It's about 300 yds from Old St tube exit to the Hoxton Hotel, and getting from the platform at Old St tube to the street is a longwinded, staircase-intensive and luggage-unfriendly experience, almost down to the standards of the New York subway system.

With uncumbersome luggage, OTOH, the change of tube lines at Kings Cross is painless, and the 500 yards from Old St platform to Gt Eastern St hotel is just the kind of mild exercise most of us need after an overnight flight.

But not if it's pouring. As in New York, trim your public transport plans to how things are on the day. People in real cities know better than to overplan.

Oh sheesh - I completely missed the Boxing Day bit! In that case I'd take the tube to King's X and taxi from there. On a normal weekday I'd still use Russell Sq but on Boxing Day King's Cross will be easy . . . .