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What is the cheapest way to use the tube in London?

Oyster and contactless payment cards For most people travelling around London, the cheapest way to get around is by using an Oyster or contactless payment card. An Oyster card is a smart card you can use instead of paper tickets, available on buses, Tubes, trams, rail, DLR and some river services.



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There is no price difference between the Oyster card and contactless card. 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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There is no price difference between the Oyster card and contactless card. 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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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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Advantages of Contactless Doesn't need to be charged up: One of the main problems with Oyster is that it's a preload system, so you need to have credit on the card in order to use it. You can set it up to automatically reload itself, but if you're a visitor to London this extra hassle might not be worth it.

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Anyone with a contactless debit or credit card can use it to pay for travel in London. It's ideal if you don't have or want an Oyster card. Or if you run out of pay as you go credit on your Oyster card.

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60+ London Oyster photocard This allows you to travel for free on most public transport in London. You can apply from two weeks before your 60th birthday.

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How many times can you use a contactless card in a day? You can use your contactless credit card as often as you would any other debit or credit card. There isn't a limit on how many times you can use a card because it's contactless.

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If you're 60 or over and live in a London borough, you can get free travel on our transport services with an Oyster photocard.

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What are the perks of purchasing a Visitor Oyster card?
  • You can travel at any time of day, on any day of the week, around Central London.
  • It's the cheapest and most flexible travel around the city.
  • It saves the hassle of buying daily tickets: the Visitor Oyster card is your all-inclusive travel card.


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If you're travelling somewhere within the Transport for London zones, the cost will be the same whether you take the train or the tube.

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No. Each person must have a valid ticket for travel whether that's a cash single, Oyster payment or contactless payment. No you can't. I know passing back cards works on some flat-fare metro systems, but the Underground has zonal fares so each person must have their own card.

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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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You can get unlimited travel in one day with a Day Travelcard (paper ticket): Anytime Day Travelcards: use for the date on the ticket and for journeys starting before 04:30 the next day.

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