You can add money to an Oyster card or use contactless (card or device) straight away. You only pay for the journeys you make and it's cheaper than buying a paper single or return ticket (train companies may offer special deals on some journeys).
People Also Ask
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.
It's more than 50% cheaper than buying a paper Travelcard or single tickets with cash. Oyster cards have a daily price cap – once you reach this limit, you won't pay for any additional journeys (excluding Thames Clippers River Bus where there is no capping).
Cons: A £7 cost applies when you get a standard or visitor card. You'll need to top it up in advance of travel. You can't use an Oyster card at any station between Reading and Iver.
The cheapest ways to get around London include walking, getting an Oyster card, avoiding travel at peak hours, cycling, taking the bus for long-distance, cruising the Thames Clipper, and taking the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).
So no matter how many times you travel on public transport using your Oyster card in London's zones 1 and 2, you will never be charged more than £8.10 a day. As of September 2021, Oyster cards also have a weekly cap.
If the time between touching in at the start and touching out at the end of your journey is more than the maximum journey time limit, you'll be charged two maximum pay as you go fares. A single maximum fare is: up to £9.40 in Zones 1-9. up to £26.00 beyond Zone 9, including on the Heathrow Express.
Touch your Oyster card in at the start of your journey and touch out at the end on yellow card readers to pay the right fare. Only touch in on buses and trams. Find out more about touching in and out. If you only have pay as you go credit on your Oyster card, you can lend it to someone else.
Book 12+ weeks ahead for the cheapest faresTo ensure a bargain, the key is to start looking for tickets about 12 weeks before you want to travel. Network Rail must – usually – have the timetable set 12 weeks in advance. So train operators commonly release cheap advance tickets shortly after.
Book in early – Advance tickets are the cheapest train tickets. The earlier you book the greater the saving, up to 80%. If you see a deal, then grab it now. Split your journey up – Instead of booking one ticket for your journey try splitting the journey into differant stages with a ticket for each stage.
The Oyster card was a trailblazer in leading contactless travel in central London and beyond. However, just like they made buying tickets with cash redundant, they themselves are being phased out as more travellers turn to other contactless payment methods.
You can't use Oyster on the following rail services on any journey starting or finishing outside the Pay as you go area: East Midlands Trains, Grand Central, Hull Trains, Virgin Trains, or London North Eastern Railway services.
Supports cash: If you want to pay for your transport in London using cash, you can buy and top up an Oyster card with cash. This is normally a lot more cost effective than paying for a cash ticket, with the rare exception of a one-off single journey as you have to consider the cost of the Oyster card.
Pay as you goYou 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.