Are London buses cashless?

London buses are all cashless, so you need an Oyster card, Travelcard or contactless payment card to ride. Bus fare is £1.75, and a day of bus-only travel will cost a maximum of £5.25. You can transfer to other buses or trams for free an unlimited number of times within one hour of touching in for your first journey.



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Always touch in on a yellow card reader at the start of your journey and touch out at the end to pay the right fare. (On a bus or tram you only need to touch in.)

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London's buses are no longer accepting cash. Transport for London (TfL) said dwindling numbers of passengers using money to pay for their journeys had prompted the change. Research shows that 99% of customers use Oyster, prepaid tickets, contactless payment cards or concessionary tickets.

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If you don't have a contactless credit/debit card and don't want to purchase an Oyster card, you can purchase a One Day Bus Pass. The is a paper ticket that gives you unlimited travel until 4:29 AM the following day.

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London buses are card only, so you cannot buy a ticket with cash. Use a Visitor Oyster card*, an Oyster card, a Travelcard or a contactless payment card to pay your fare.

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Is it cheaper to use Oyster or contactless? As both cards use the same Pay As You Go system and are compatible with the TfL Oyster & Contactless app, the costs are comparable. As a tourist in London, it can be worth getting an Oyster Card as part of the London Pass.

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London buses are all cashless, so you need an Oyster card, Travelcard or contactless payment card to ride. Bus fare is £1.75, and a day of bus-only travel will cost a maximum of £5.25.

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You must tap your card on the TAP target any time you ride. Onboard fare inspectors can read your card to confirm that you properly tapped. If you fail to tap the bus or rail validator before boarding, you may be cited for fare evasion. So don't forget to TAP!

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Missed Tap Off Cost If you don't have a default set on your card and you forget to tap off at the end of your trip, you'll be charged the fare to the last stop on the train line or bus route and with your fare type and any applicable loyalty discounts applied.

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London buses are all cashless, so you need an Oyster card, Travelcard or contactless payment card to ride. Bus fare is £1.75, and a day of bus-only travel will cost a maximum of £5.25. You can transfer to other buses or trams for free an unlimited number of times within one hour of touching in for your first journey.

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How much does an Oyster card cost? The Oyster card costs £7. You then add money to the card to pay for your travel. The £7 fee is not a deposit.

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Travelcard prices start at £15.20 for a central London 1 day Travelcard (zones 1-4). Child Travelcards prices start at £7.60 (zonnes 1-4).

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If you're visiting London for 3 days or less, the best option is to get the Oyster Card, as it's the most cost-effective system. For stays of over 4 days, we recommend getting the 7-day Travelcard, since it's cheaper than getting 7 x 24-hour travelcards.

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These can be used instead of buying tickets with cash or using an Oyster card. If you have an Apple Pay or Google pay enabled smartphone, you can also use this as a contactless payment option.

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