Why is London travel so expensive?

The government generally don't subsidise the cost of travel in the UK and for this reason transport is expensive in the UK. Within London, a journey costs a flat rate of £1.50 per hour. However, the price of taking a train in the UK is 5 times more expensive than in Europe. (This is not true for a return journey!)



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Why is tube travel so expensive in London? Because it runs without a public subsidy. In Paris, fares cover about a third of the Metro's operating expenses. In Berlin, about 70% of the U-bahn running costs are covered from ticket sales.

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Here are some key things to remember, whether you're a visitor or a commuter looking for cheap London travel:
  1. Never buy a paper ticket.
  2. Add your rail card to your Oyster card (if you have one)
  3. Avoid travelling to zone 1 by tube.
  4. Switch the tube for the bus to make a saving.


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As a general rule a Travelcard is more expensive than an Oyster card or Contactless payment card. The exception is if you make 3 or more journeys for 6 days or more within a 7 day period. In this case a 7 day Travelcard works out cheaper than an Oyster or Contactless payment card.

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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).

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The 10p is a pre-authorisation charge that's taken at the start of the journey - it's basically a way of making sure that you're presenting a valid card at the start before the fare proper is taken. Once you tap out, that's when you should be charged the proper fare.

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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). In Zones 1-9, your fare is capped so you can travel as much as you like in one day or week (Monday to Sunday), without paying more.

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How much does an Oyster card cost? The Oyster card costs £7. You then add money to the card to pay for your travel. The £7 fee is not a deposit.

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When comparing fuel alone, driving is cheaper than peak train tickets 100% of the time and against off-peak train travel tickets 87.5% of the time. Much more than expected – an average difference of £71 per journey. Regular car users will be savvy enough to know that driving costs you far more than just fuel.

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While airlines pay no kerosene tax or VAT across Europe, train operators pay energy taxes, VAT and high rail tolls in most European countries. In the U.K., operators are relieved of VAT, but are notorious for imposing some of the highest ticket prices in Europe.

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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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If your card was issued in the UK on Visa, MasterCard, Maestro or American Express and displays the contactless payment symbol, you should be able to use it to travel on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground and most National Rail services in London.

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the centre of London is North of the Thames. there was already a dense network of surface railways around inner South London by the time underground railways started to be built, so there was less reason to build underground ones. the clay soil of South London was not suitable for early tunnelling methods.

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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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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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