LinMM Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I saw someone using a travel card only this morning at Victoria station!! And anyway I was asked if I needed one for travelling around London this morning at Brighton Station! But I try to use my bus pass for this so didn't buy one. Off peak usually means just not travelling in the rush hour so should be usable after 7pm again ...not just between 10 and 3pm. There is something called "super off peak" whether this is just the 10-3 period I'm not sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 You *can* still buy paper day Travelcards for Zones 1-6 only (he'll need that for Buck'rst'ill, but I think only from railway stations (that may not include Overground stations, as they are part of TfL). Note now that in an express attempt to fleece the tourists (well, he didn't *quite* put it that bluntly, but it was made clear) Boris has put the price up to £12.00 from somewhere around the £8 mark - but that happened at the beginning of January, so presumably applied when you were here, Melody. Nothing has changed since then. As far as I know, they are valid from 9.30 am onwards on weekdays, with no evening restrictions (and probably until 4.30 am the next morning). Boris has also got rid of the off-peak cap on Oystercards, which means you might just as well join the crowds commuting in the mornings, because you're paying for the privilege. Your husband can either give in and get an Oystercard (£5 returnable deposit), or if he has a card with Contactless technology he can use that instead, in exactly the same way (remembering to use the same card to touch in and out, and preferably all day). Whichever one he uses will be capped at the standard Oyster peak cap (I think £10.90 for Zone 5). If I haven't covered anything, do let me know. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Oh, and I meant to say: TfL have been persistently closing down booking offices, seemingly regardless of location (tip: avoid Victoria Underground booking hall like the plague - it is hell at peak times, whenever those may be!), so I'm surprised your husband was able to go to any type of window at all. As a result of the staff being shifted elsewhere, it's quite possible the person he spoke to wasn't really au fait with the current situation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 It did occur to me after I posted that perhaps you can only buy a travel card from a rail station.....as opposed to a tube station....so that if you are going up to London for the day you can still buy a "travel card" but it's part of your rail ticket as such whereas you did used to be able to buy one if you lived in London and wanted to travel around for the day and this was bought at the tube station. Perhaps they have done away with this type of travel card I'm not sure. I have a feeling the aim is to eventually get rid of Oyster cards for around London and people will have to do everything with a contact less bank card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melody Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) I bought my travelcard at Hatton Cross in March, which I think is just a tube station, not a regular rail station. But of course things can change in six months. If this contactless stuff has anything to do with regular credit cards, that isn't going to work. American credit cards don't even have chip and pin technology, we're still stuck with swiping and signing. I don't know if any cards over here offer a contactless feature but ours certainly doesn't. Edited October 7, 2015 by Melody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Well, technology over here is so backward that we don't even have chip-and-pin credit cards, never mind anything contactless. Our credit cards still need to be swiped and signed for. I'm not sure that *is* necessarily backwards. There are a lot of security loopholes in chip-and-PIN cards, I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate_N Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 The Oyster Card really is worth the purchase, even for a relatively short stay in London. You can move completely seamlessly between different forms of transport (Underground, bus, Docklands light rail) and you don't need to worry about finding the cheapest fare: the Oyster card will do that for you, and caps your daily expenditure, as others have said. I wish more UK cities had such an integrated method of payment. Birmingham, I'm looking at you, with your ridiculous "Cash & exact fare only" for the buses. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 I agree that the Oyster card is very good for London at the mo. I have one and as long as you remember to top it up it's much better than having to keep buying different tickets and everything moves along much faster as you don't have to wait for people to scrabble around trying to find the right change! You can buy an all day bus travel for around Brighton which is okay but still not as fast as an oyster type system would be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 I agree that the Oyster card is very good for London at the mo. I have one and as long as you remember to top it up it's much better than having to keep buying different tickets and everything moves along much faster as you don't have to wait for people to scrabble around trying to find the right change! You can buy an all day bus travel for around Brighton which is okay but still not as fast as an oyster type system would be! You can set it up so that it automatically tops up from your bank account when the credit balance drops below a certain amount. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 But only if you register it, which some people object to on privacy grounds. I don't have much choice, as I have to use it for work-related things, and need evidence of where I've been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 When I book a train ticket to London, I still get offered the option of paying extra to include a travel card. As I have an Oyster card I don't bother though, as I think I would have to make more journeys around London than I am likely to, for it to be cheaper with a travel card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon2 Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 When I book a train ticket to London, I still get offered the option of paying extra to include a travel card. As I have an Oyster card I don't bother though, as I think I would have to make more journeys around London than I am likely to, for it to be cheaper with a travel card. We have the same and have to think about which will be cheaper option especially if dc travelling with their young person railcard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 We ordered a 7 day travel card online for DC for a recent stay in London https://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/london-travelcard/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Just seen the info about the oyster top up by the bank BBB .....thanks! I will double check you cannot set this up with a pay over the counter Oyster. My friends who live in London all register theirs because it's an extra safeguard if you lose it etc but then are using theirs almost every day! I use mine roughly once a week. But it may be worth registering anyway......if you can give an outside London address that is. I don't mind that much if someone is spying on my journeys!! They will get very bored I'm sure!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon2 Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Just seen the info about the oyster top up by the bank BBB .....thanks! I will double check you cannot set this up with a pay over the counter Oyster. My friends who live in London all register theirs because it's an extra safeguard if you lose it etc but then are using theirs almost every day! I use mine roughly once a week. But it may be worth registering anyway......if you can give an outside London address that is. I don't mind that much if someone is spying on my journeys!! They will get very bored I'm sure!! We bought ours over the counter, live out of London but registered them. It allows us to see how much on each Oyster before we travel into London and I believe if lost our credit is protected. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Thank you Jane that's great news. I will definitely set this in motion then as just occasionally get caught out with only 50p left on but then just go and top it up .....a nightmare if happens at Victoria of course and you are in a hurry!! It would be worth it if there is protection against losing it as sooner or later I'm bound to!! Because I have a free bus pass I do try to use this but recently has been terrible travelling anywhere across the centre of London by bus!! So have resorted to Oyster card more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaffa Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 An advantage of registering your Oyster card (or using a contactless payment card) is that you can easily see if you were overcharged for not tapping out of any journeys and can request a refund if this was not your fault. moneysavingexpert.com just had a feature on what's involved:http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/oyster-card-refund 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 It seems to me the system is getting pretty good at doing all refunds on its own these days (I got one only a couple of days ago, I know not what for), but yes, it is always advisable to check. It's quite easy for me, because mine tends to be either single bus journeys, one-day bus passes, one-day "Travelcards" or two single tickets on the same route, so it's always a regular set of sums, and if there's a discrepancy I can usually pick it out quick easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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