What is the best way to use Oyster card?

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.



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Great value. Pay as you go fares are cheaper than buying a paper single ticket or Day Travelcard. Your Visitor Oyster card offers daily capping. This means you can travel as much as you like in a single day and the amount you pay for your travel is limited (or capped).

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Supports travelcards: One of the main advantages of the Oyster card is that it supports travelcards. These are fixed payment pre-paid options, where you pay a certain amount for unlimited travel inside specific London zones for a weekly, monthly or annual price.

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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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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.

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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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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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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).

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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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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.

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There are no discounts for bus or tram single fares. Also, while the railcard will only discount the purchase of zone 1-6 and 1-9 paper travelcards, on Oyster you also get reductions on the zone 1-2, 1-3, 1-4 and 1-5 caps as well. Plus the Oyster caps are cheaper than the related travelcards.

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Barking and Dagenham – Zones 4/5 Barking and Dagenham is the cheapest area to live in the Greater London area.

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Your Visitor Oyster card offers daily capping. This means you can travel as much as you like in a single day and the amount you pay for your travel is limited (or capped). Find prices for daily capping and Day Travelcards. Use your card and save money at restaurants, shops, galleries and entertainment venues.

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Choose a £20 Visitor Oyster card which will usually cover a full day of unlimited travel in zone 1-2. Travelling in central London for 3 days? Choose a £25 Visitor Oyster card for unlimited travel in zone 1-2.

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As flanner says, NO. You have to swipe the card to go through the turnstiles of the tube station, or when you get on a bus. You can't swipe it a second time for the second person without exiting the tube station first - and I can't actually think how it would work on a bus...

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