I still don't understand how the O C works...so here goes. Let's say I have purchased an oyster card and I am going to make a trip across 2 zones in London but have to change buses twice/or even more often.. to reach my destination. What do I do..tap the card each time I get on a new bus? Or do I get a paper transfer? If I return to start using the same route in reverse...but maybe use the tube for part of it...what happens then? Is there a senior O C version for non Brits?
Ms Confused
Mollie -
Bus travel - Tap your card when you get on each bus. Unlike the tube the bus won't know you are there unless you tap. Exmple - enter bus at Victoria TAP get off at Trafalgar to transfer to another line enter new bus TAP.
Tube travel - Put the card through the reader when you enter the first station. Transfer to new line. Put your card through when you exit the last station.
Make sure you either have enough money loaded on the card for each zone or you have one of the passes that covers multiple zones. I acutally prefer to use the bus only. It's cheaper, you don't have to climb lots of stairs and you get to see the city as you travel.
Have a great trip.
Thanks Marcella,
I did try on a couple of occasions to plow through the 9 gazillion pages on line regarding the Oyster Card and just could not get a straight forward answer!!
Mollie
Mollie,
I'm an American now living in London and use my Oyster daily. The fare rules are incredibly complex, but the beauty of the card is that you don't need to know the rules to use it. The Oyster will automatically charge you the lowest applicable fare, including charging you no additional amount if your travel in a day reaches the "1-day travel card" level. If you are going to be in London for more than a couple of days, I would purchase a regular (not the tourist, which cannot be topped-up) Oyster card and put about 15-20 pounds on it. Tap in and out at all tube stations, tap in at all buses, and let the card's programming figure out the sums for you. If your card is getting low, the card reader will beap a warning and you can ask for info/reload at a ticket window. I don't know whether the senior card is available to non-Brits, but suspect not. Enjoy London.
Michelle
My wife and I will be in London for 5 days next month. We plan to buy the 7 day Oyster card.
Can you purchase them with a credit card?
Different topic. Can you you use credit cards in pubs?
TIA
There is a Senior Travel Card available for the trains. Cost last year was 20 GBP and it gives you 1/3 off fares. Non Brits can buy this...I did! I was
staying outside of London with friends and the only limitation is that you can travel on peak morning trains. It may be 9:30 am that it kicks in.don't remember. But when I bought a day return to London I also got an all day travel card as well.
Reply to Jim -
Yes, you can buy an Oyster card with a credit card from an automated machine or from a ticket window. Be sure to call your credit card's customer service line before you leave and tell them you will be traveling abroad - they have a habit of cutting off credit cards when you first try to use them overseas.
Re: credit cards in pubs: it varies from pub to pub, but larger pubs in London will generally accept them with no problem. Most pubs, stores, sites, etc really frown on using a card for small purchases (a pint), but will generally give you no trouble for larger purchases (a meal). Enjoy your trip.
To Michelle
Thanks for the credit card reply. I used to work quite a bit in Mexico so I learned the hard way about credit card companies( VISA) assuming the card was stolen when I used it.
Regarding the pubs, I guess I will carry more cash than normal. I hope to eat most meals very casually like in pubs or "take out". If I wanted to waste my money on fancy restaurants, I could stay in the states!
Michelle, or Al....have they started putting those chips into British-issued credit cards yet, or is that still a continental thing? I know our North American cards have trouble working in automatic vending machines that now seem to require the chip-based cards.
Hi Norm, UK cards are chip and pin.
[Editor's comment: Some European countries are beginning to introduce credit and debit cards with embedded "smart chips." You may see signs or keypads referring to this new technology. You may encounter a few merchants in Europe (and especially the UK) who no longer have hardware that can read magnetic strip US debit cards. Some supermarkets and gas stations have card-reading machines that will accept a debit card that has a smart chip embedded in it; there is no way for the clerk to override this.
There are still plenty of merchants that have the older magnetic strip equipment, and your US debit/ATM/check card will work fine. Global card networks like Visa, Mastercard & American Express require that merchants accept all cards, chip-and-pin or not. (That doesn’t mean that every cashier is aware that options still exists or knows how to do it.)
To avoid the hassle we recommend you withdraw all of your spending money with a debit card via ATM machines; it’s much easier and you can sometimes get discounts if you use cash instead of credit. Carry cash and change for parking and train stations so you don’t have to use your cards there.]
Another question in addition to Mollie's:if I have leftover $$ on my card when I leave London, can I get it back, or does it get "eaten" by the company?
And I heard that the deposit on the Oyster card can only be returned if you purchased it originally using cash? is this correct?
Thanks!
We just got back on Monday from our trip. The Oyster was dead easy to use. Just tap it on the keypad to enter and tap to exit. If you are traveling with a young child or handicapped person all you do is go to the attendant and they will open the gate for them. Children ride free on the tubes! Great savings for us!
As far as cash and atms went. We were lucky that our airport is a minor hub so gets a lot of currency from alot of countries. We got good rates so went ahead and pre purchased almost all our cash here.
The charge/debit card was only used for a few transactions. We had no problems using it at Tescos, their version of a super walmart. Try to take out the money you will need for a couple of days instead of doing it everyday to save on what fees you might incure.
