London Underground for beginners.

mr tommo

mr tommo

mr tommo

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I haven't been London many times before and only used the underground once for a recent Coldplay gig. That day I ended up paying £5.60 for a one day pass to use as much as I liked.

It the gf's birthday so Im taking her to London tomorrow - coming back friday night.

We are staying at the De Vere, Devonport House in Greenwich. What's the deal with these oyster cards everyone tells me I should be getting. I was just going to buy two 1 day travelcards @ £7.20.

Im pretty sure I will only be travelling in zones 1 & 2. To do lots of shopping obviously :o

I don't want to mess around running out of credit on this oyster card, how do I know how much each trip will take off the card? Im guessing we will be doing the greenwich to the centre 4 times a day, which apparently includes us using a DLR :confused: to get to Canary Wharf.

Its all a bit confusing to me. Is the Oyster card worth the hassle for one trip to London, for 2 days? Will I use more than £10 on it doing the above journey?
 
For the sake of simplicity I'd probably just get a couple of travelcards, it might not be quite the cheapest way (although I don't know how much an Oyster card debits every journey) but it means that is all you need to buy.

DLR = Docklands Light Railway if you were confused.

//edit the TfL site is one that you would be advised to bookmark for this.
 
Once you have an oyster card you might as well keep it for the next time you come to London. For the underground and busses it is cheaper than a day travelcard. A zone 1-4 travelcard (which is usually all people need) is about £6.30 I think, though you can get zone 1-2 cards as well which are £5.60 (all the prices I'm giving you are off peak.)

You get an oyster card with some credit on it and just top it up as you go along. It won't let you onto the underground without enough credit. You can check your credit at the machines in the underground, just touch it on the reader and it'll tell you how much you have left. I use my change and shrapnel for topping up my oyster card, best way to get rid of loose change for me! :D

It's a little better than using a ticket as it doesn't bend, break etc.. and it works through your wallet so you don't have to keep getting it out.

For me though I tend to use a travelcard as I live in Zone 4 with no underground train so the cost of a return ticket + the use of the oyster card works out more expensive than just buying a travelcard.

However in your case, from greenwich seeing as there is a tube station near you, going the oyster route is fine as you don't have any overground trains to take. However, in the short term though it won't save you that much. If you lived in London then it would make sense... you'll save a couple of quid for the day really.




edit: That was a bit long winded.

For the sake of a few quid, no it's not worth it! :p
 
Oh, so it would cost me £13 anyway then so not really worth it.

cheers for that semi-pro, im guessing the DLR is just the same system as gettin on a tube? Didn't realise my hotel was 2.5 miles from the north greenwich station :(
 
Freefaller said:
edit: That was a bit long winded.

For the sake of a few quid, no it's not worth it! :p
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:D Cheers, I would only go London maybe once a year at most so its not like Im going to be getting a lot of use out of it.

Stupid question but are weekdays off peak? Or shall I just check that link Ive been given and stop being lazy :o
 
DLR is part of the London Transport network, so yes, tickets bought on DLR/Tube are valid on both. I use Oyster for commuting, but for a two day stint I'd just buy two days worth of Travel cards tbh.

Off peak is from 9.30am.
 
Freefaller said:
For me though I tend to use a travelcard as I live in Zone 4 with no underground train so the cost of a return ticket + the use of the oyster card works out more expensive than just buying a travelcard.
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You live in Zone 3. :p Herne Hill it moves to Zone 2.

A Zone 1-4 travelcard is £10 for an adult if you are buying an anytime card apparantly, £6.30 is only offpeak. Zones 1-3 would cost £8.60 anytime.
 
MickeyFinns said:
Youd have to put down £3 deposit on each oyster card so for two days its not really worth it.
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If he returns the card after he's finished with it though he will get the £3 back.

My advice would be to get an oyster card, stick £20 on it just in case. Then at the end of your last tube journey return the card to the ticket desk and get back whatever is left on the Card + the deposit. That way you won't have to worry about buying the right travel card each day and you will also save money :)
 
Glad this was raised, was going to ask this in a few week but might as well ask now.

Had my Oyster for about a year now, and never really took much notice of the fairs as I travel around but...

Working hours are going to be 10:00 to 16:00. Will be travelling from:

Hounslow to Hounslow East (Bus)
Hounslow East to Kings Cross (tube)
Kings Cross to Angel (tube)

Will be probably leaving home about 08:00 to get to work for about 09:30.

What's the better option, keep using Oyster or a day ticket?
 
~J~ said:
Glad this was raised, was going to ask this in a few week but might as well ask now.

Had my Oyster for about a year now, and never really took much notice of the fairs as I travel around but...

Working hours are going to be 10:00 to 16:00. Will be travelling from:

Hounslow to Hounslow East (Bus)
Hounslow East to Kings Cross (tube)
Kings Cross to Angel (tube)

Will be probably leaving home about 08:00 to get to work for about 09:30.

What's the better option, keep using Oyster or a day ticket?
Click to expand...

AFAIK you're never better off with a paper ticket, Oyster ft win
 
If you take a boat, watch out for freak tidal waves. They are quite common around the thames.
 
mr tommo said:
That is cool. Where would I get off to get the the centre of london? (where the shops are)
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Well you could get off at Turnham Green if you wanted to go shopping there, lol. You probably want to go to Regents St, Oxford St and Covent Garden like everybody else.

Quickest ways to annoy everyone else on the Tube:
- Standing on the left on the escalators
- Stopping at the bottom of the stairs to look at the map
- Walking out onto the platform and stopping dead right by the entrance (along with everyone else)
- Going through the barriers and stopping right after to wait for someone else
- Falling over on the train because you think you dont need to hold on (why do people do this constantly for 12 stations! :confused: )

That is all :p
 
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There are shops all over London - mostly the same as in any high street. Depends what you are after. Something alternative, Camden Market & Kensington High etc etc but that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Travel Card for the day, remember, they can be used on the buses also which can be quicker than doing a couple of tube stops.
 
Scam said:
Well you could get off at Turnham Green if you wanted to go shopping there, lol. You probably want to go to Regents St, Oxford St and Covent Garden like everybody else.

Quickest ways to annoy everyone else on the Tube:
- Standing on the left on the escalators
- Stopping at the bottom of the stairs to look at the map
- Walking out onto the platform and stopping dead right by the entrance (along with everyone else)
- Going through the barriers and stopping right after to wait for someone else
- Falling over on the train because you think you dont need to hold on (why do people do this constantly for 12 stations! :confused: )

That is all :p
Click to expand...

- Pressing the open button on the doors
- bringing a huge pushchair/suitcase on in the middle of rushhour
- getting the tube from Covent Garden to Leicester Square (~2 min walk) - i see this every day!
 
semi-pro waster said:
You live in Zone 3. :p Herne Hill it moves to Zone 2.

A Zone 1-4 travelcard is £10 for an adult if you are buying an anytime card apparantly, £6.30 is only offpeak. Zones 1-3 would cost £8.60 anytime.
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So I do! :o Well you can't get a zone 1-3 travelcard offpeak so my point still stands, I don't go by peak prices as I refuse to use public transport at those prices!
 
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