London Transport

[shyvas]

How times have changed. I didn't realise that trying to find the cheapest way of using the public London transport system was so complicated.

I only want to purchase a London bus pass for one day so it's needless to purchase an Oyster card. A single bus fare costs 1.50 £ and I require 2 tickets for 2 trips. If I have understood an off peak bus pass valid for a day costs 12 £. It would seem that you cannot buy just one ticket anymore.

I hope that someone can clarify as I have spent over 2 hours on various sites. The public transport information and system is far easier in Los Angles compared to London.

 

[Moll Flanders]

£12 for one day, I didn't know it was that expensive. I have no idea about prices as I haven't paid for travel on London transport in years as I have a free staff pass.

 

[AeryFairy]

How times have changed. I didn't realise that trying to find the cheapest way of using the public London transport system was so complicated.

I only want to purchase a London bus pass for one day so it's needless to purchase an Oyster card. A single bus fare costs 1.50 £ and I require 2 tickets for 2 trips. If I have understood an off peak bus pass valid for a day costs 12 £. It would seem that you cannot buy just one ticket anymore.

I hope that someone can clarify as I have spent over 2 hours on various sites. The public transport information and system is far easier in Los Angles compared to London.

Unfortunately, you've found the hole in the London transport system - people visiting just for a day, wanting to do only a trip or two...

Single bus tickets: Oyster/contactless single bus fares
Single tickets are no longer available to buy on London buses. Anyone who wants to ride a bus in London now needs one of the following:

• a Pay as you go Oyster card
• a contactless credit or debit card
• One Day Bus & Tram Pass
• a paper One Day Travelcard
• a weekly Travelcard loaded onto an Oyster card
• a Weekly Bus Pass

If you don't have a contactless card that you can use, it looks like you'll have to get an Oyster or a Visitor Oyster card to make the two journeys (£3 for the card plus the £3 that the two single fares will cost). All the busses have gone cashless and they stopped selling paper single bus tickets altogether.

£12 for one day, I didn't know it was that expensive. I have no idea about prices as I haven't paid for travel on London transport in years as I have a free staff pass.

£12 is the cost of a one-day travelcard that covers unlimited travel on all transport types - not just the bus. Fairly expensive, but worth it if you can get the use out of it I guess.

 

[shyvas]

£12 for one day, I didn't know it was that expensive. I have no idea about prices as I haven't paid for travel on London transport in years as I have a free staff pass.

Yes, which makes it more expensive than 2 tickets that I need.
I don't travel by tube so would only be using the bus twice as I will be doing the Hop on Hop off bus on Thursday to get around London.

Unfortunately, you've found the hole in the London transport system - people visiting just for a day, wanting to do only a trip or two...

If you don't have a contactless card that you can use, it looks like you'll have to get an Oyster or a Visitor Oyster card to make the two journeys (£3 for the card plus the £3 that the two single fares will cost). All the busses have gone cashless and they stopped selling paper single bus tickets altogether.



£12 is the cost of a one-day travelcard that covers unlimited travel on all transport types - not just the bus. Fairly expensive, but worth it if you can get the use out of it I guess.

I didn't find the same price - 3 £ for a travel card. I don't want a contactless credit card neither; I think that I will call the Visitor's Travel Centre at Gatwick and make an enquiry.

I just pointed this out today to someone who used to travel in London. It used to be so much easier as you could pay cash and never had to book in advance for trains etc.

 

[Second Summer]

If you travel to London by rail, you can buy a ticket which additionally allows you unlimited travel within London zones for the day(s) you'll be traveling by rail. Or at least this is true for the tube. I haven't used this for travel by bus, but I think it might be valid there as well ...

 

[shyvas]

If you travel to London by rail, you can buy a ticket which additionally allows you unlimited travel within London zones for the day(s) you'll be traveling by rail. Or at least this is true for the tube. I haven't used this for travel by bus, but I think it might be valid there as well ...

I think that the offer is of the past as I'm going to buy 3 rail tickets and they don't offer a pass. I was just in need of 2 bus tickets for a day as I'll be doing the Big bus tour which will allow me to get around London all day long as it is a hop on hop off deal.

As I previously stated, it is proving very difficult to obtain 1 single bus ticket without having to buy numerous cards and passes.

 

[Second Summer]

I think that the offer is of the past as I'm going to buy 3 rail tickets and they don't offer a pass.

I'm offered this kind of ticket when I travel back and forth on the same day at least. Perhaps it's different if you travel on two separate days? From this page: Ticket Type T & Cs (First Great Western):

Off-Peak Day Travelcard
Ticket Description:
Off-Peak fares are cheaper tickets for travelling on trains that are less busy. You may need to travel at specific times of the day, days of the week and sometimes on specific routes or operators.

The times when you may use your Off-Peak ticket will depend on the journey you are making and you will be advised when buying your ticket. The National Rail Journey Planner will automatically work out which tickets are valid for your journey.

An Off-Peak Day Travelcard allow customers to travel to London and enjoy unlimited travel throughout London on National Rail, London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink and London Bus services within Fare Zones 1-6.

 

[shyvas]

I'm offered this kind of ticket when I travel back and forth on the same day at least. Perhaps it's different if you travel on two separate days? From this page: Ticket Type T & Cs (First Great Western):

I have already bought a Senior travel card but it seems like I won't get free bus fares. I don't use the tube when I'm in London.

 

[AeryFairy]

I think that the offer is of the past as I'm going to buy 3 rail tickets and they don't offer a pass. I was just in need of 2 bus tickets for a day as I'll be doing the Big bus tour which will allow me to get around London all day long as it is a hop on hop off deal.

As I previously stated, it is proving very difficult to obtain 1 single bus ticket without having to buy numerous cards and passes.

That type of ticket still exists - it's called a London Travelcard and includes unlimited travel around London as part of your train ticket: Buy a London Travelcard - MyTrainTicket

It still costs a lot more than the two singles though (£8.90).

Usually, when you book your train tickets in advance, the website you book through gives you the option of adding bus/tube/tram travel to your ticket - but again, it's more expensive.

And the option for a single bus ticket unfortunately doesn't exist any more.

 

[shyvas]

That type of ticket still exists - it's called a London Travelcard and includes unlimited travel around London as part of your train ticket: Buy a London Travelcard - MyTrainTicket

It still costs a lot more than the two singles though (£8.90).

Usually, when you book your train tickets in advance, the website you book through gives you the option of adding bus/tube/tram travel to your ticket - but again, it's more expensive.

And the option for a single bus ticket unfortunately doesn't exist any more.

The price of a travel card is too expensive as I won't be using it during my stay. In other countries (or towns) you can still buy a single ticket.

 

[AeryFairy]

The price of a travel card is too expensive as I won't be using it during my stay. In other countries (or towns) you can still buy a single ticket.

Yep, I know. Annoyingly it's just not an option in London any more.

Did you speak to visitor information yet?

 

[shyvas]

Yep, I know. Annoyingly it's just not an option in London any more.

Did you speak to visitor information yet?

No, I'm planning to call them later on.

I also think it's annoying because if you had some kind of emergency how do you get from point A to B ? Does it mean you have to go by taxi ?

 

[AeryFairy]

No, I'm planning to call them later on.

I also think it's annoying because if you had some kind of emergency how do you get from point A to B ? Does it mean you have to go by taxi ?

Pretty much everyone in the UK now has a contactless credit/debit card, which can be used on all London transport. So most brits would use that if they had to travel through London in an emergency, if they didn't have an Oyster card or another mode of transport. I'm pretty sure you can also still buy single tickets for tube travel - although at about double the rate of the Oyster fare.

I do agree that it's unfair to some people (mostly visitors) that you can no longer purchase paper single bus tickets - they've done it to make it much more efficient when loading the bus up, but I think that one-off tickets should have still been made available somehow, like from train ticket machines or information kiosks.

 

[shyvas]

Pretty much everyone in the UK now has a contactless credit/debit card, which can be used on all London transport. So most brits would use that if they had to travel through London in an emergency, if they didn't have an Oyster card or another mode of transport. I'm pretty sure you can also still buy single tickets for tube travel - although at about double the rate of the Oyster fare.

I do agree that it's unfair to some people (mostly visitors) that you can no longer purchase paper single bus tickets - they've done it to make it much more efficient when loading the bus up, but I think that one-off tickets should have still been made available somehow, like from train ticket machines or information kiosks.

Yes, I will look into it.

I don't want to have a contactless card as it is quite easy to duplicate the information.

 

[Second Summer]

Pretty much everyone in the UK now has a contactless credit/debit card

I believe you are mistaken! Well, I certainly don't have one of these.

 

[AeryFairy]

I believe you are mistaken! Well, I certainly don't have one of these.

Hence 'pretty much' - I know there are still people who don't have them, but there are now over 81 million contactless cards on issue in the UK. So, even accounting for people with several cards, and business accounts, I'd say it's still a sizeable majority

Yes, I will look into it.

I don't want to have a contactless card as it is quite easy to duplicate the information.

Not sure if I was being clear above; unless I'm mistaken, the single tickets for London bus journeys aren't available any more, from anywhere. I was just saying that in my opinion, it was a mistake to get rid of them altogether.

I'd definitely recommend contacting transport information to double check this, though (as you already said you would).

 

[shyvas]

Hence 'pretty much' - I know there are still people who don't have them, but there are now over 81 million contactless cards on issue in the UK. So, even accounting for people with several cards, and business accounts, I'd say it's still a sizeable majority



Not sure if I was being clear above; unless I'm mistaken, the single tickets for London bus journeys aren't available any more, from anywhere. I was just saying that in my opinion, it was a mistake to get rid of them altogether.

I'd definitely recommend contacting transport information to double check this, though (as you already said you would).

If more people complain, perhaps they will start selling them.

 

[AeryFairy]

If more people complain, perhaps they will start selling them.

Perhaps

 

[shyvas]

Perhaps

Consumers have lots of power.

 

[Pirate]

I believe you are mistaken! Well, I certainly don't have one of these.

Or me. HSBC sent me one a few years ago, and I sent it back because I don't trust them yet. When I'm due a new card in October I am going to give up though haha. Plus apparently not all contactless cards work with Oyster - my Dad learnt that the annoying way when it wouldn't let him through the train barriers oops.

Anyway yes London transport is **** and it does seem really unfair on tourists or infrequent visitors. I am thinking you may be best off just getting an Oyster card - they never expire so you could just continue to use it for years to come.