Oyster confusion

Posted by Chani (Tel Aviv) on 01/11/20 08:50 AM

It's been nearly a decade since I was in London. I expect some things have changed. I plan to use a friend's Oyster card. I assume it's a pay-as-you-go. I'll be in London for 16 days. Last time, I was able to put a 7-day travel card on the Oyster and use the daily cap for the rest. I looked at the Oyster website to see if that is still the case and came away confused . . . it sounds like I need a paper ticket? I would want 2 7-day cards.

If the weather's good, I hope to make day trips to Cambridge and Oxford. Can I use Oyster for that?

Can I pay for other stuff besides travel with the Oyster?

Posted by Frank II

Freedonia

01/11/20 09:34 AM

16420 posts

Day trips to Cambridge and Oxford using Oyster----no. The Oyster Card is ony good for transport in greater London and includes services from Heathrow and Gatwick into London.

Oyster is only good for transport. It can't pay for anything else. However, if you have a contactless card it can be used in place of the Oyster card.

You can put a 7 day travelcard on an Oyster. For a less than 7 day travelcard you will need a paper ticket.

Posted by harleydonski

Hampshire, England.

01/11/20 09:37 AM

1075 posts

"it sounds like I need a paper ticket? "
No, you can still add a travelcard to a "normal" oyster card but you can't add one to a visitor oyster card. Paper travelcards are useful for the 2 for 1 offers though (if there are 2 or more of you visiting) as ones loaded on oysters are not.

"I hope to make day trips to Cambridge and Oxford. Can I use Oyster for that?"
No, oyster is for travel in the Transport for London zones BUT you may be able to get a discount on the train tickets to Cambridge and Oxford by buying the tickets from the boundaries of the TFL zones (hopefully someone with more knowledge will be able to answer that).

"Can I pay for other stuff besides travel with the Oyster?"
If you mean using it like a credit card then no, it's for transport only.

Posted by Dennis.Loline

United Kingdom

01/11/20 09:41 AM

119 posts

You can load a 7 day Travelcard per person for your chosen zones and use PAYG for journeys further out, say for Heathrow.

You need separate train tickets for Cambridge and Oxford, Windsor too, as these are not in London .
What has changed is that you can use a contactless debit or credit card instead of an oystercard, the capping concept is still used, and you don't need to put deposits down or get refunds.

Oyster can't be used for other purchases, that's where the widespread contactless bank card works well, for everyday purchases under £30, a coffee , sandwiches, convenience shopping,
I don't know if Israel has full chip and pin or contactless CC/debit cards? From feedback contactless is not widespread in the USA .