Hello, I am going to be a student at Kingston University in London from September 15-December 23 and am going to be in need of a oyster card to get around. I plan on traveling into the city often so it will be cheaper than buying a ticket every time. could someone send me a link to which pass I will need? I know the prices vary by zones? I'm not sure which zone Kingston is located in. Thank you in advance.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
An Oyster card is a card on which you load credit which you then use for tube, bus or rail fares in London. It is not a "pass". Roughly speaking, using an Oyster card is about 50% of the cost of buying individual tickets. For example, 1 zone on the tube costs £2.20 with on Oystercard, or £4.70 if you buy an individual ticket.
You can buy an Oyster card at any tube station, just ask for an Oyster card with £20 credit on it. That should get you started. You can refill it at any tube station, and at many newsagents. Once you get settled, you can decide if you want to get a season ticket on your Oyster card, or continue with pay-as-you.go, which is still 50% of the cost of buying individual paper tickets.
For full details see: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5326 posts
You need to be on a course for at least 14 weeks to qualify for the student Oyster photocard, which gives a 30% discount on adult travelcards (but not pay as you go). You appear to just meet this requirement but you can only apply after being enrolled, and no earlier than 4 weeks before the start of your course.
https://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/students-and-children/18-student
Kingston is in zone 6.
Posted by
211 posts
Dylan: Which campus will you be attending? I see at least two in London. http://www.kingston.ac.uk/aboutkingstonuniversity/location/howtofindus/#bytrain That page also has a link for Transport for London.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
I find a Kingston University that is served by Kingston rail station and South West Trains take a half hour between there and London Paddington station, which is in the central Tube Zone. If you won't be traveling into the city every day, you probably just want to load cash onto the Oyster Card, to be debited down as you go. Staff at Paddington station should be able to answer your questions. See also www.tfl.gov.uk.
Posted by
OP
North Carolina
32 posts
Lee B, I will be attending the Penrhyn Road Campus.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Laura, Kingston-upon-Thames is in South-west London. The trains run into Waterloo station (6 per hour), NOT Paddington.
But, Kingston is a large borough, there are other stations in the borough. See the various maps on http://www.tfl.gov.uk
Dylan, depending where you will live, you will probably be using a local bus to and from the campus, and the trains for your excursions into the "West End". In this case just using your Oyster card as "pay-as-you-go" is probably the best option.
Note: the "city of London" is the business district, "Westminster" is the government area (think New York and Washington), the area in between, where the theatres, cinemas, restaurants etc, etc. are located is called the "West End" (because it is west of the city).
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
Depending on how often you go into the city, it may still be worth getting monthly Travelcards, which will give you unlimited travel with no need to worry about recharging Oysters and no extra charge for travelling in the morning rush hour. A monthly Travelcard for all 6 zones to get you from Kingston to the centre is £219.70, or £153.60 if you get a student discount.