OYSTER CARD

The Oyster card is London Transport's effort to get a handle on the multiplicity of tickets and fares on the buses, underground, etc. You can purchase one at any transit ticket office and put as much cash on it as you wish (including various travel passes). You swipe the card going thru the turnstiles and it deducts the fare from the total. In an effort to boost Oyster card use, single cash fares have been boosted to astronomical levels, so travelling with an Oyster card is always cheaper...in fact, there's a daily cap on what you can be charged...based on the journeys you take, it'll always charge you less than the equivalent day pass. You pay 3 pounds for your first card, but you get that back, plus whatever the balance remaining, when you cash it in at the end of your trip. The cards can be held forever, but if they're not used for two years, you either have to reactivate the pass, or cash in its remaining value. See https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do for details.

The Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing used on Transport for London and National Rail services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom.

Travellers touch the card on a distinctive yellow circular reader (a Cubic Tri-Reader) on the automated barriers at London Underground stations to 'touch in' and 'touch out' at the start and end of a journey (contact is not necessary, but the range of the reader is only a couple of centimetres). Tram stops and buses also have readers, on the driver/conductor's ticket machine or, in the case of articulated buses, near the other entrance doors as well. Oyster cards can be used to store both period travelcards and bus passes (of one week or more), and a Pay as you go balance.

The system is asynchronous, with the current balance and ticket data held electronically on the card rather than in the central database. The main database is updated periodically with information received from the card by barriers and validators.

You can get one:

At the Oyster website

https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do

At most Tube station ticket offices
At over 2,200 Oyster Ticket Stops across London
At some National Rail ticket offices
At eight London Travel Information Centres
By phone on 0845 330 9876*

Thanks everyone! I've seen the name many times but didn't really look into it! Next time I will!

The next question is about another card...Is it "National Trust" or something? Or maybe I'm thinking of a bank? It sounds SOMETHING like that. I think it's a discount card that gets you into historical landmarks? Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Hope so, b/c I don't!

I used the Oyster Card last fall. If you load it with a certain number of days, wait until the day you will actually use it before loading it. I thought I would save time by loading the card with a 7-day pass the evening before actually using it. I found out later that I was charged for that day as "day one" on the card, even tho I waited til the next day to travel.

I added more money to the card for my trip to Heathrow. All this was done at the ticket window; sometimes there is a queue at the window. Once your Oyster is loaded you just pass it over the reader at the entry gates, the gate opens, and you are on your way. It seems to cut down on crowding at Tube gates.

The pass you're thinking of is probably this one: www.britishheritagepass.com.

I had the Oyster Cards shipped to me (see website previously mentioned), loaded with 15#. This way we were able to take the tube right from Heathrow.

You are charged a deposit on the Oyster Card. You can get a refund of the deposit and any balance on your last trip. We had 3 cards so it paid to take 5 minutes at a ticket booth and get a refund.

I don't understand how one poster said they were charged for an extra day. There is no start or expiration date. You are only charged for the trips you take (tube, bus, etc) with a maximum cap for the day. If you travel Off-Peak, you save even more.

AS to " National Trust" It is a British NP that owns many historic houses, important landscapes, etc. You can join the Trust via its American link: the Royal Oak society. Joining gives you free entry into their holdings. You can also buy a "British heritage Pass" which is for a specific time frame and lets you into both NT and English heritage sites. We belong to both.

And once more: Do not forget to "touch out." Otherwise the system will think you're sitll travelling and you could be dinged extra £££.

If you're staying in the UK for a couple of weeks, the National Heritage Pass is a great deal if you'll be visiting lots of sites. Many museums & sites are free & a lot are discounted. The pass also lets you jump the line at most places (definitely a bonus).
Go to http://www.britishheritagepass.com/?ref=cj to find out about it - we've always bought them at the airport though.
From their website: "What You Get with the Great British Heritage PassExclusive benefits of the Great British Heritage Pass include queue jumping at busy tourist attractions, a free map and guidebook, free entry at 580 heritage properties and almost £3,000 worth of value for as little as £2.25 per day – it doesn’t get much better value than that!"

Just got back from London and any cashier at the tube station can help you with the Oyster card. We actually got the 7 day Travel Card which is on the Oyster Card. It came to less than 4 pounds a day, unlimited use, and use on the bus and tube. We touched in/out and it was so handy!

A 7 day Travel card for zone 1 + 2 came to 20.23 pounds with no deposit fee.

As for the National Trust...If my family in the UK are supporters of this will that enable myself to access this on their membership? Does it allow "guest priviledges"? Just wondering. It's probably best to join myself for future use. But if anyone knows the answer, please post! Thanks again!