Traveling with my hubby and my 72 year old Mom. We will be in London for 10 nights and 21 other nights driving through England, Scotland and Wales. I think Oyster cards are the way to go for a London. Wondering if there are reduced fares for my mom?
Also, where else can she expect to find senior discounts?
Thanks for any and all input.
There is a Senior Oyster card but it is strictly limited to London residents.
If your mom has a Senior Railcard (£30 cost), she can use it to get 1/3 discount on off-peak Tube travel using a regular Oyster card:
https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/adult-discounts-and-concessions/railcards#on-this-page-3
But the limitation to off-peak travel reduces the value of this benefit. And since you are driving once you leave London, she will have little other use for that £30 Railcard.
Also, it does not discount bus fares, and I believe it is your intent to use mostly buses.
But apart from transport, she may well find Senior "concession" prices at many London museums and other attractions. We benefited from these last May. There was not a U.K. Residence requirement; we just asked for the Concession price. And much to my dismay, I was not asked for proof of age.
There may be others but the country we have found to give discounts to seniors without regard to residency is Spain. Everywhere else was limited to EU citizens or other locals.
Thank you for your replies. Very helpful. Yes we do plan on buses so I guess normal Oyster cards for us.
Most but not all paid-for attractions give a discount for people older than a specified age, typically 65 although 60 is still a possibility. This is often a fairly token amount these days; the days of it being half-price are long gone. It isn't tied to residency or nationality though.
My motto is "Always ask". Generally they weren't too common in our experience but we got senior discounts at one London theatre, but not another. We got discounted admission to some stately homes, the minority for sure, which even surprised the Senior Brits in line behind us who chucked when I enquired. Hit or miss, but worth the query. Surely there must be some advantage besides getting smarter and better looking. Good luck!
