How do you pay for the bus in London?

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. Unlike the Tube zone fare system, a single London bus journey costs £1.75 no matter how far you go.



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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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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 buses are 'cashless'. You can't buy a bus ticket on the bus. To pay for travel by bus in London you need one of the following: a Pay as you go Oyster card.

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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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Pay as you go You don't have to work out the cost of your journey in advance. You can pay as you go using contactless (card or device), an Oyster card or a Visitor Oyster card. It also offers great value as pay as you go is cheaper than buying single tickets and you get daily and weekly capping.

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In summary, this change would see bus and tram single fares to increase by 10p to £1.75, and the daily bus and tram cap raised to £5.25. The Bus & Tram Pass season price is increased to £24.70 for a 7 Day ticket. The free Hopper transfer within one hour will remain unchanged.

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London buses have a single, universal flat fare for adults of £1.55 (about US$2.00 at 2021 prices). You pay this same fare regardless of distance travelled or where you get off the bus. So you only tap the yellow reader - once - as you board the bus.

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You do not need to tap out on London buses or trams, as it is a fixed fare. If you try, the system will either just ignore it (The correct response) or charge you another fare.

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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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If your bank card shows the contactless payment symbol, you can use it to pay as you go straight away. You'll pay an adult rate fare. Many contactless cards issued outside the UK can be used to pay as you go for travel (overseas transaction fees may apply):

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Pay your fare on cash-free London buses 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. Unlike the Tube zone fare system, a single London bus journey costs £1.75 no matter how far you go.

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You can't buy a bus ticket on the bus. To pay for travel by bus in London you need one of the following: a Pay as you go Oyster card. a contactless credit or debit card.

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Buses are also cheaper than trains, with a flat fare of £1.65 per single journey. You can take two bus journeys for the price of one if you touch in using the same card on the second journey within an hour, thanks to the “Hopper Fare”.

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There is no price difference between the Oyster card and contactless card. What is this? Every time you travel on London's public transport, your contactless payment card is charged the same fare as your Oyster, including cap prices (the maximum amount you'll pay daily and weekly to travel throughout London).

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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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Yes, each person travelling needs their own Oyster card, Travelcard or contactless payment card. If you are coming to London in a group of 10 or more people who plan to travel around the capital together, you can buy a Group Day Travelcard*.

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