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.
People Also Ask
Oyster cardsYou can pay as you go to travel on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, most Elizabeth line, IFS Cloud Cable Car and Thames Clippers River Bus services. You can also travel on most National Rail services in London and some outside London.
Yes, you can sometimes use an Oyster card outside London, but not very far from London. You can't use it in Leeds, nor in other distant cities like Birmingham or Southampton or Glasgow. But some places near London, like Amersham, Watford, Hertford, Shenfield or Redhill do allow Oyster to be used on some services.
If you have a Pay As You Go Oyster card, you can use it to travel on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, the IFS Cable Car, London Overground and National Rail services in London. You can also use it to travel on Thames Clippers River Bus services but these journeys do not count towards daily caps.
Contactless and Oyster can be used to travel with Heathrow Express. Simply touch in at the start of your journey and out at your destination and you will be automatically charged for the journey you make.
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.
Oystercards & Travelcards are for travel within London. Neither Cambridge nor Epsom are within London, so you'll have pay for travel to/from London separately.
Never expires: You can stash your Oyster card for your next trip and, even if it is many years later, it will still work. All you need to do is top up when you're there and you're ready to go!
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.
Currently it is free of charge to travel on the Piccadilly Line around Heathrow Airport between T123/T4/T5 (including via Hatton Cross as long as you don't enter or exit the station there) but only if you have a Contactless Card or an Oyster Card to use.
Heathrow Airport is in Zone 6 of London's zoned transport system. To understand the zone system which is the basis for all fares on the London Underground, read our using the London Underground page. London's tube system is called the London Underground and not Metro London, as is common in some other Major cities.
The Elizabeth line is open through central London, connecting all the way across the capital from Heathrow Airport and Reading to Shenfield and Abbey Wood. Trains run seven days a week, from early morning to late evening. You can use your Oyster or contactless payment card for most journeys on the Elizabeth line.
You can use Oyster Pay As You Go in London on all suburban trains stopping in Zones 1 – 9 and journeys to: Broxbourne, Rye House, St. Margarets, Ware and Hertford East. Gatwick Airport.