Oyster Travel Card

We Londoners are insistent people. We want cheap travel to anywhere in one of the biggest cities in the world. We want it regularly, without delays and seven days a week…if possible. Not too much to ask then…oh and we want a convenient travel card rather than paying with cash for each individual journey. Of course.

Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the Oyster card then. For those who don’t live in London or perhaps have never even stepped foot in the capital, the following paragraphs may read like absolute gobbledegook, but trust me, I think I know what I’m talking about and I think it makes sense.

The Oyster card is basically a form of electronic ticketing used on public transport – buses, some National Rail trains, trams, underground and the Docklands Light Railway system within Greater London. The blue card, which costs just a £3 deposit, was first issued to the public in July 2003, in a limited format, but by March 2007 over 10 million Oyster cards had been issued…how this quite works out I’m not sure as I swear there’s no more than 8 million residents in London?? Clearly the tourists are doing their bit too!

Firstly, London is broken down into ‘Zones’. Naturally, the further out of the centre of the city you are, the higher your zone number. To use a tube map as a diagram, the entire Circle Line is based within Zone 1, which means places such as Victoria, Paddington, Kings Cross, Westminster, Liverpool Street, High Street Kensington, Notting Hill, Sloane Square, Baker Street etc. etc. are all based in this zone, as are the likes of Oxford Street, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace and St Paul’s Cathedral…basically what you’d call ‘central’ London. As you go further out of the centre the zone number increase up to number six. Of course, I live in Zone 6 which would appear extremely inconvenient, but I’ll discuss that further in a moment.

But what exactly do these Zones mean? Well, when it comes to travelling on the Underground, it determines fare prices. All stations are based in a zone, and the prices do differ slightly during peak-times. For example, travelling from zone 6 to zone 1, or visa versa, during the peak-times of 0630 and 0930 or 1600 and 1900 would cost £3.80 using a Pay-As-You-Go Oyster card, but would cost £2.20 at all other times. Is this a good price? Well, if you paid for a traditional paper ticket, which are still available, it would cost £4 at all times during the day. The pricing system does get more complicated than that and I’d be here until next April explaining it, so those who want to or need to know more are best advised to go to Transport for London’s website – tfl.gov.uk

Elsewhere, paying for bus or tram fare with cash is £2, while the single Oyster fare is £1, and then capped at £3.30 for any number of trips during that day of London buses. Bonus!

You can of course use a Travelcard – something which you can purchase without an Oyster card – which will allow you travel on any transport type for a set price. For example, a one week Travelcard between zones 1 and 4 cost £36.80. This allows you to go on any mode of public transport and not have to pay anything extra. This is obviously an excellent option for people regularly using these methods of transport.

The Oyster card works by swiping it onto a ‘reader’ at the barriers on tube stations, or when you board a bus. It will register using the micro-chip within the card and deduct whatever money is appropriate, or confirm there is a valid Travelcard stored on the card. You can request a history of recent journeys as well from all top-up points, which you can do at any tube station, or the hundred upon hundreds of off licences and convenient stores that provide Oyster facilities.

For those unfortunate to lose or even have their card stolen, you can block it and recover the money on it if you register it online. Something no one ever wants to suffer, but gives you piece of mind.

There are also alternatives to the standard Oyster card, such as student cards and ‘Freedom Passes’. Naturally, the student option gives people discounted fares and the freedom pass allows pensioners free travel.

Now, Wikipedia tells me – and therefore it should be gospel! – “as of March 2007, more than 80% of all tube and bus journeys use Oyster. Around 22% of all Tube journeys are Oyster Pay as you go, around 4% cash.” Proof then that the system has been a massive success. It’s clearly more convenient and easier to manage than constantly having to purchase paper tickets. The paper option is still available for people who hardly use public transport or are just visiting the capital, as you’d expect, but the future clearly comes in plastic card format!