London Tube Oyster Card Question

[Biggskip]

I've a question for the Londoners out there. I'm coming to visit your fair city next week and I'll no doubt be using your world-class public tranportation system.

I am trying to decide whether or not I should get an oyster card and add 20 or so pounds, or just purchase a three-day anytime Zone 1-2 pass. I know that the cost of the three day pass is 18.40.

What I want to know is how much does it cost to ride the tube if I pay using the Oyster Card? How much do I save using the Oyster Card as opposed to just purchasing a single ride?

 

[Fuuma]

I think I got an oyster card lying around....

 

[The Snob]

Originally Posted by Biggskip

I've a question for the Londoners out there. I'm coming to visit your fair city next week and I'll no doubt be using your world-class public tranportation system. I am trying to decide whether or not I should get an oyster card and add 20 or so pounds, or just purchase a three-day anytime Zone 1-2 pass. I know that the cost of the three day pass is 18.40. What I want to know is how much does it cost to ride the tube if I pay using the Oyster Card? How much do I save using the Oyster Card as opposed to just purchasing a single ride?
I was in London a few times over the past few years. The first time I didn't get an Oyster card and well let's just forget about that experience. Sans Oyster card, you're looking at £4 (ugh, how painful. The exchange rate was terrible at the time too) for a one-way trip with tube. With Oyster, it's £1.50. Also, I think getting the card is "free". I mean you pay some deposit on it but it's refundable? Anyway, I'm a little hazy on the details... suffice it to say, I saved a lot of money with the Oyster card + 7-day unlimited rides last time I was there. Even without the unlimited rides though, the Oyster limits your max per day to like 4 quid or something.

 

[ysc]

The oyster card is pretty essential. Also regular users of the tube will thank you for not getting to the front of the cue for the barriers and then fumbling around for your ticket and trying to feed it into the machine. Just stick the oyster in the outside of your wallet, or the plastic thing it comes in and swipe it, much easier.

The snob is correct, it is £1.50 a ride with the oyster Vs £4 (usually in coins since there are horror length cues for the non cash ticket machines). It covers all the "zones" and it is good for buses and some overland trains too. You can either go through some hoopla online to get one registered to you, or just buy one in a station, a lot easier, deposit is maybe £5.

Whether it will save you money compared to a three day pass you will have to work out yourself, I will say I have never noticed a three day railcard on sale so I am not sure where you would look for one.

If you use one of our glorious buses in the evening, and it has two levels, stay on the bottom one.

 

[w.mj]

Originally Posted by youngscientist

If you use one of our glorious buses in the evening, and it has two levels, stay on the bottom one.

Quoted for truth. Around 2am coming out of the west end, I've seen some pretty scandalous **** go down on the top floors of london buses.

 

[ysc]

Originally Posted by w.mj

Quoted for truth. Around 2am coming out of the west end, I've seen some pretty scandalous **** go down on the top floors of london buses.

It varies on different buses - whether or not they do through bad areas, but at night the top floors can be scandalous as you say, or just ******* dangerous. I know a few people who have had a rough time.
Just don't bother chancing it and stay downstairs.

 

[Fuuma]

I've taken the top floor of London nightbuses numerous times, totally wasted, sometimes in good company and wearing my typical outfits and nothing really dangerous ever happened. However I've seen dudes in stripped suits and square toe shoes beat up each others or vomit everywhere pretty much every night I've ever spent in that weird city.

 

[ysc]

Originally Posted by Fuuma

I've taken the top floor of London nightbuses numerous times, totally wasted, sometimes in good company and wearing my typical outfits and nothing really dangerous ever happened.
Yeah, it can be fine. Nothing bad has ever happened to me either. Two friends of mine (girls) got violently set upon by a gang of girls and quite badly beaten up. The police came onto the bus by which time the gang of girls had left and one of my friends boyfriends (a black guy) had shown up to help them, the police arrested the boyfriend for no obvious reason (racism win). It all turned out ok in the end, once thing were straightened out the boyfriend was released and the girl gang were found and prosecuted. I know a couple of other people who have had less exciting trouble, probably nothing will happen, but why take unnecessary risks? Yeah, the behaviour of some of the pin striped lower end businessmen is exciting. Just before I came up to Uni this term I had the pleasure of standing next to a guy on the train who spewed maybe three bottles worth of red wine in a carrier bag, the bin, down his suit, on the floor. At 6 o'clock in the evening.

 

[Fuuma]

Originally Posted by youngscientist

Yeah, it can be fine. Nothing bad has ever happened to me either.
Two friends of mine (girls) got violently set upon by a gang of girls and quite badly beaten up. The police came onto the bus by which time the gang of girls had left and one of my friends boyfriends (a black guy) had shown up to help them, the police arrested the boyfriend for no obvious reason (racism win). It all turned out ok in the end, once thing were straightened out the boyfriend was released and the girl gang were found prosecuted.
I know a couple of other people who have had less exciting trouble, probably nothing will happen, but why take unnecessary risks?

I'm just sayin it isn't that bad, make no mistake I think Londoners are some of the worse drunkards in history, especially the women.

 

[JammieDodger]

Originally Posted by Biggskip

and I'll no doubt be using your world-class public tranportation system.

We've got a comedian here!

 

[VKK3450]

^ Man, London is civilized compared to small town northern England. You want to see drinking, puking and brawling in the street? oooooooooooooeeeeeeeeee

And it really depends on where you are drinking. Soho, Covent Garden, etc on a Saturday night is pure idiocy.

As to the OP, it really depends on how many trips you will take. I'd say if you are getting on the tube more than 3-4 time a day then the pass will be better than the oyster. Really though, its so specific to what you will be doing that its impossible to say.

K

 

[ysc]

Originally Posted by Fuuma

I'm just sayin it isn't that bad, make no mistake I think Londoners are some of the worse drunkards in history, especially the women.

Oh, I don't think it's too bad, I usually feel pretty safe in London, but we do have an annoying low level harassment thing which is just a pain and can be avoided by doing things like not going on the top deck of buses at night.

I have never been beaten up, violently robbed (someone grabbed some cash out of my hand once and ran of) or anything like that in London, but the level of nuisance harassment you can get in Britain is pretty damn bad, worse than in more dangerous places where I have worried about actual physical harm.

 

[FidelCashflow]

I had no idea the top floor of the buses were so dicey at night. I've only ever been on them during the day.

As far as the oyster card goes, I'm not sure if you can get one without a UK mailing address. It basically cuts all your fares in half, so it will save you a fortune compared to any pass. It's actually one of the most brilliant government surveillance initiatives I've ever seen.

 

[M. Bardamu]

I made the mistake of riding the bus through Bromley, Lewisham, and Deptford last November, sitting upstairs AND at night (well, about 7:30-ish). Aside from being surrounding by yowling, goofing young men and women, nothing untoward or unwanted happened.

 

[Flambeur]

looks like it's all been covered..

oyster good
2nd floor of the bus bad

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

.

As far as the oyster card goes, I'm not sure if you can get one without a UK mailing address. It basically cuts all your fares in half, so it will save you a fortune compared to any pass. It's actually one of the most brilliant government surveillance initiatives I've ever seen.

You don't need an address unless you want to register yours or set up automatic topoff and loss protection. It's three pounds to get an oyster, but I am not sure if that's refundable or not, since I still have my original one.

I remember once using an oyster for about a week straight of trips all over london by bus and tube, and I think it was still under twenty pounds total. A typical in-zone short ride is 90p. The difference for one way trip from lets say LHR to city center is like 2-3 pounds if I remember correctly - something like 4.25 vs. 6-7.