travel cards - london
 

ok, I am not to travel savvy - what are travel cards used for in London? For the tube or buses? Thanks so much - again....

You can buy travel cards that are valid on buses. There are also travel cards that are good on both the tube and bus routes.

Bus passes generally cost 2.00 per day and 8.50 per 7 days (you may start any day of the week). This is for zones 1 through 4. If you pay per ride, it's 1.00 (or 0.70 if riding within the suburbs). This is a short summary, but the www.londontransport.co.uk/tfl has enough details for you to read an entire evening!<BR><BR>The bus is good if you are staying near the closed Central line (there was an accident at Chancery Lane in early February).<BR><BR>The website has shows weekend travelcards, daycards, LT cards (all of which are good for tube and bus). You can buy passes good for the entire system (probably not needed) or just the 2 central zones (1 and 2).<BR><BR>During my last trip, I bought a weekend travelcard then a 7 day bus pass.

The Central line was closed on a Saturday afternoon. It was announced that it would be open on Monday morning. Later, they said 2 weeks. Then they said limited service by late February and full service by April 1. Now the website says they don't know.

try www.thetube.com

betteboop, I am heading to London next week, and went to a site called www.ticket-on-line.com, where I purchased my 7-day Tube tickets. I believe that they can be used on certain buses also, but I'm mainly interested in the Tube. I am in the US, and the tickets were received by post about 1 week after I ordered them from the UK. Let me know if you need more info.

Just make sure you pay for what you need. It is highly unlikely you will need a Travelcard outside Zone 1. Why buy a card for all the zones when you won't need them? A Travelcard can be used for buses, trains, Tubes, trams, light rail within that zone. If you go beyond your zone, buy an upgrade before hand. Buy a 7 day one if you are here for anything over 4 days. The weekly ones are good for travel at any time. Daily cards are good after 0930, though you can buy ones that work before that for about &pound;2 more. Take a photo from home for your the card, which you must carry with the actual card itself for it to be valid. Daily cards need no photo ID. <BR>In short, a Travelcard is for all forms of transport. A Bus Pass is just for the bus. <BR>NB A Travelcard for just Zone 1 will allow you to use any bus at any time in any zone. (It's part of the Mayor's plan to get more people on the buses.)