london transport fares

All you need to know about london transport fares

LONDON UNDERGROUND:

London has the oldest and most comprehensive subway system in the world, and all of the city’s train stations can be reached by subway. So can three of our day trips: to
Greenwich, Hampstead, and Kew Gardens.
The subway is called the Underground or the London Tube.

All you need to know are the name of your stop, the london underground lines that go there,
and the direction you’re heading. After you figure out which line(s) to take, look on
the Underground map for the name of the last stop in the direction you need to go.
The name of that last stop on the line is marked on the front of the train and often
on electronic signboards that display the name of the arriving train. The signage within the Underground system is clear and helpful.

Most of the Underground system operates with automated entry and exit gates. You feed your ticket into the slot, the ticket disappears and pops up again, the gate bangs open, and you remove your ticket and pass through. At the other end you do the same
to get out, but the machine keeps the ticket (unless your ticket is good for more than one trip, in which case it is returned to you). If you are using a Travelcard, your ticket
will be a hard-plastic card, much like a credit card, that you swipe over a panel at the entry and exit gates.
Traveling to your destination by Underground may require transferring from one Underground line to another. All London Underground maps clearly show where various lines
converge. Signs in the stations direct you from one line to another. To get from one
line to another, you go through tunnels (which the Brits call “subways”), and you may
have to go up or down a level or two. If, for instance, you are trying to get to Victoria
Station from Russell Square, you’ll need to take the Piccadilly Line toward
Heathrow, then transfer at Green Park to the Victoria Line and travel in the direction of Brixton.
Underground service stops around midnight (a little earlier on less-used lines); keep that in mind if you plan on arriving back in London on a late train.
Security throughout the Underground system increased dramatically following the terrorist attacks in July 2005. Please note that bags and backpacks may be subject to inspection by uniformed personnel and that unattended packages or suitcases are quickly reported and confiscated.

BUYING UNDERGROUND TICKETS:

You can purchase Underground tickets at the ticket window in the station or from one
of the automated machines found in most stations. (Machines can change £5, £10,
and £20 notes, and some take credit and debit cards.) Fares to every station are posted.
For fare purposes, the city is divided into six zones. Zone 1 covers all of Central
London. Zone 6 extends as far as Heathrow to the west and Upminster to the east.
Make sure your ticket covers all the zones you’re traveling through, or you may have
to pay a £10 ($19) penalty fare.
At press time, a single-fare one-way ticket within one zone cost a whopping £3
($5.50). Tickets are valid for use on the day of issue only.

SAVING WITH TRAVELCARDS:

Paying a full-price one-way fare every time you use the Underground is costly. To save
money, consider buying a Travelcard, which allows unlimited travel by Underground
and bus. Not only will you save money, but you will enjoy the freedom of nipping around London without worrying about paying each time you step onto a bus or the
Underground. You can purchase these cards at any Underground station ticket window,
or from vending machines that take credit cards. At press time, the following
Travelcards were available:
• A 1-Day Peak Travelcard for Zones 1 and 2 (everything in Central London)
costs £6.20 ($11.50) for adults, £3.10 ($5.60) for children ages 5 to 15.
• The 3-Day Peak Travelcard for Zones 1 and 2, good for travel on any 3 consecutive
days, costs £15.40 ($28.50) for adults, £7.70 ($14.20) for children ages 5 to 15.
• The 1-Day Off-Peak Travelcard for Zones 1 and 2 costs £4.90 ($9) for both
adults and children; the card is valid after 9:30am weekdays and all day Saturday
and Sunday.
• The 3-Day Off-Peak Travelcard for Zones 1 and 2 costs £18.90 ($35) for
adults, and £6 ($11.10) for children ages 5 to 15; the card is valid after 9:30am
weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday.

VISITOR TRAVELCARDS:

Another way to save money on London transportation is the London Visitor Travelcard,
which you can buy only in the United States and Canada. (They are not available
in London.) There are two kinds of Visitor Travelcards: the All Zone (good for
travel after 9:30am), and the Central Zone (good for Zone 1 only and without time
restrictions). Both allow unlimited travel on the Tube and bus and are available in 3-
or 7-day increments. Prices for the Central Zone Travelcard are $30 for 3 days, and
$42 for 7 days. The All-Zone Travelcard, which you can use for many of our recommended
day trips (see below), costs $36 for 3 days, and $78 for 7 days. You can buy
London Visitor Travelcards by contacting a travel agent.

USING YOUR ALL-ZONE VISITOR TRAVELCARD FOR DAY TRIPS:

We’ve discovered that it’s often cheaper to buy an All-Zone Travelcard and pay supplemental
rail fares to day-trip destinations than it is to buy a BritRail pass. The All-
Zone card covers a very large area in and around London. You can use it to get to
Greenwich, Hampstead, and Kew Gardens at no additional cost. For longer day trips,
simply show your All-Zone Travelcard at the ticket window of a London train station
and tell the clerk you want to pay the supplemental fare to your destination. This way,
your fare does not begin until you reach the end of Zone 6. You can get to places such
as Windsor, St. Albans, Dover, Lewes, and Brighton for less than £7 ($12) return, and
the costs of longer-distance day trips will also be reduced. Remember, though, that the
All Zone card can only be used “off peak,” or after 9:30am.

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