# London - best way to get about?



## harry (Jun 8, 2005)

We hope to stay at the Abbey Wood CC sitein September and use Public Transport to spend 2 full days in London doing the usual siteseeing etc.
What is the best way to get value for money on London Transport.
my wife is 61 but I have not quite reached 60.

Thanks in anticipation harry


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

local railway station will give you all the information you need.
They were very helpfull on our last visit

just google London travelcard.
www.londontravelpass.com/prices.asp

Dave p


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## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

It rather depends upon what you consider "value for money". 

After all, if you've only got 2 days, but you have lots to see, there is no point spending half of your time travelling when you could be sightseeing. 

Also, you don't mention how active you are - are you good at walking? 

Transport For London website has all the information you need.

Best general points for saving money - 

1. As you need to travel into Central London by train, travel off peak, so that you pay off peak rather than peak fares

2. All tickets in London are cheaper if paid for on an Oyster Card. You buy one at the station for £3, and the £3 is refundable when you have finished. You load up the card with money and it reduces the cost of tickets considerably, and also caps expenditure for the day at the amount of the appropriate travel card. 

3. Probably you are best off with a good map and then walking all around central London - traffic is so bad that you'll get there just as quickly as using the tube or buses and you'll see much more. As Abbey Wood goes into Cannon Street, you can get off there, walk to St Paul's, and so on.


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

I presume you both have your bus passes? It would make sense to pay to go into central London on the train from Abbey Wood station to Cannon St. It's a 10 minute walk to Trafalgar square. It depends how mobile you are, but if you are doing more than just walking the central area, then using the buses would be best for bus pass holders.


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## bigfoot (May 16, 2005)

Get an Oyster and you charge it with money for Tube and bus,and you can keep it for when you go again.
The camp site staff at AB are very knowledgeable regarding trains etc. With one person with a bus pass some of your costa are halved,not valid on tube though,but for 2 days....


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## chapter (May 1, 2005)

my outlaws used this  to see the sights
chapter


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## RedSonja (May 22, 2006)

The best way to do it if you are traveling on losts of different types of transport is a one day travelcard. Best value after 9.30 or at weekends. Oyster is OK if you are just doing a few single journeys.

Travelcard can be used all day and on the night buses as well. 

If you have a bus pass and are not using the tube then go for the Oyster card option. I'm sure the wardens at Abbey Wood will give you good advice.

Sonja


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## julie798 (Jun 13, 2007)

*tube*

Is the tube free with a bus pass ?


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

The Tube is only free for the holder of a London bus pass, called 'Freedom Pass' but only after 0900.

London Buses are free to anyone with a Bus Pass issued anywhere

I agree with the advice given in other posts, but just a couple of pointers

1 If you use an Oyster card make sure you touch it on the Yellow pad at entry AND exit (even if the barrier is open) or it will not just deduct fare for your exact journey but the max fare, as it assumes you went to end of line.

2 Travelcards are good if you are rushing around in any one day, week etc., but not so good if moseying around. Also check which Zones you need it for - prices vary.

3 Don't go underground for journeys of less than a mile - you will not save much time and will miss a lot, especially in the historic parts. 

4 Allow twice as long as you think because otherwise you will have to skip little side trips that you may come across.

LASTLY BUT NOT LEAST

For Abbey Wood make sure your MH is compliant with the London Emissions Zone, which requires that it is Euro III for particulates (See tfl website for details) If not compliant C&CC site at Chertsey, with train to Waterloo, is alternative, as it is outside the Zone.

Enjoy your stay.

Geoff


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

You're always going to be better off (I think) getting an Oyster card rather than travelcard. There's a price capping arrangement on PAYG Oysters so you don't pay more than the equivalent travelcard - see the TFL site.

Paul


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## JeanLuc (Jan 13, 2007)

nicholsong said:


> 1 If you use an Oyster card make sure you touch it on the Yellow pad at entry AND exit (even if the barrier is open) or it will not just deduct fare for your exact journey but the max fare, as it assumes you went to end of line.
> 
> Geoff


Just to clarify, this relates to using tube, DLR and train. For buses (flat fee) just touch-in at the start of the journey.

On tube etc. the system debits your card with the cost of the maximum distance that could be charged on touching-in, then credits the card with the "unused" part of the journey when you touch-out. (If you have an on-line Oyster account, the resulting statement looks a bit odd until you realise how the system works.)

Philip


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## Dinks123 (Apr 20, 2010)

To see the most of London...use the open top bus..you can hop on and off at any given time. And that way you see all the tourist spots.


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## joedenise (Jul 20, 2007)

*Getting Around London by Bus*

Even better and lots cheaper - get the number 11 bus either from Victoria Station or Charing Cross station depending which train you get from Abbey Wood, and it goes round all the sights of London and with an Oyster card it will cost you just £1.20 to do all the sights. If you want to hop on and off at different sights then you can do that and it will be capped at the travelcard rate (currently £3.90). Obviously it'll be free with a Bus Pass!


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## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

JeanLuc said:


> On tube etc. the system debits your card with the cost of the maximum distance that could be charged on touching-in, then credits the card with the "unused" part of the journey when you touch-out. (If you have an on-line Oyster account, the resulting statement looks a bit odd until you realise how the system works.)
> Philip


No it doesn't. It notes the stop you got on at, and then charges the journey at the end. This is why you can travel with only a few pound on your travelcard. If what you said was true, then you wouldn't be able to travel unless you had the maximum amount on your card.


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

Actually I think it does. As I understand it, it knocks the maximum fare (£6 unless National Rail is involved?) as you touch in, then credits the difference between that and the actual fare as you touch out. Therefore, for the period of the journey you're allowed to have a negative balance on the card.

The gate won't open if (a) on touch in if you have insufficient balance for the cheapest fare from that station or (b) on touch out, post max/actual reconcilliation, if you have a negative balance.

At least that's my understanding...

Paul


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## Dinks123 (Apr 20, 2010)

All is well...but if you are not familiar with London and its sights...the open bus trip is worth its money. You are given a running commentry of all the sights, a bit of history and humour throw in. When Clive and I have gone to any major cities, we have done the open bus trip to get a good overview of the city....then we know were we would like to go back to.


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## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

Dinks123 said:


> All is well...but if you are not familiar with London and its sights...the open bus trip is worth its money. You are given a running commentry of all the sights, a bit of history and humour throw in.


I disagree. I took my out of London family on the open bus trip - it costs a lot of money, like about £14 or something, and it goes down really slow routes like Regent Street, and they tell you very obvious things like "that's St Paul's Cathedral, this is the Houses of Parliament". Even someone who's never been to London can work that out.

Also, they don't go that frequently, so once you get off, you have to wait ages for the next one - whereas London buses come every few minutes. Whereas you can go on the no 11 bus for £1.20 on your oyster card.

They supposedly include the boat too, but we tried to get on the boat from the Tower of London and the queues were really long - wheras we could have used the Thames Clippers with our Oystercards, going every 15 minutes, and for much less money.

You can get free London bus route maps from Transport For London.


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## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

Rosbotham said:


> Actually I think it does. As I understand it, it knocks the maximum fare (£6 unless National Rail is involved?) as you touch in, then credits the difference between that and the actual fare as you touch out. Therefore, for the period of the journey you're allowed to have a negative balance on the card.
> 
> The gate won't open if (a) on touch in if you have insufficient balance for the cheapest fare from that station or (b) on touch out, post max/actual reconcilliation, if you have a negative balance.
> 
> ...


No, it doesn't work like that. The rules are here

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14836.aspx

If you have £1.80 on your card, you can travel on the tube. So how could it knock off £6 if you only have £1.80 on it?

If you ask for a receipt at the booth, it will show you all the transactions - it shows you touching in, and nothing is deducted, then it shows you touching out, and the fare. If you don't touch out that day, then it charges you the maximum only then.

If you take the tube, and then get on the train, it will charge you the tube fare of £1.80, then it will reduce it to zero when you touch in on the train, and instead calculate a combined train and tube journey for the zones you have been through.


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

I don't want to get into a long debate and drag this off-topic Heather, but I've taken a look at my online statement and am absolutely sure that JeanLuc's correct. I can only assume that the printout at ticket machines is a simplified one, hiding the complexity.

I'm not going to put a screen print here because it would display parts of my auto-topup credit card, but here's an extract.

Start balance = £7.60
10/5/2010 :
0913 Euston (London Underground); Enter; Fare -£6; Balance £1.60
0928 Embankment; Exit; Fare £4.20; Balance £5.80
15:55 Embankment; Entry; Fare -£4.30; Balance £1.50
16:08 Euston (London Underground); Exit; Fare £2.50; Balance £4

...what this is saying is that when I entered Euston in the morning it took the maximum peak fare of £6, then recredited the difference between that £6 and the actual £1.80 fare as I exited at Embankment. In the afternoon journey, it took the maximum off-peak fare of £4.30 as I entered at Embankment, and recredited the difference between that £4.30 and the actual £1.80 fare as I exited at Euston.

If I only had £1.80 on my card as I entered, it would have taken the £6 and allowed the balance to go negative to minus £4.20 while I was on the tube. If I'd exited at Zone 1, it would have recredited £4.20 when I exited, leaving the card with zero balance. If I went beyond Zone 1, then even after recrediting the difference between the max £6 and the actual fare, the card would still be negative balance at the exit barrier, so I assume it wouldn't open. E.g. if I went to Zone 2, that'd be a fare of £2.30 so only £3.70 credited, so balance would still be -£0.30 hence gate wouldn't open.

*To everyone else :* all this complexity is hidden unless you delve into the details...Oyster cards are really simple in practical operation.

Paul


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## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

Rosbotham said:


> I've taken a look at my online statement and am absolutely sure that JeanLuc's correct. I can only assume that the printout at ticket machines is a simplified one, hiding the complexity.
> wouldn't open.


How funny - the statements I get don't work like that at all.

A mystery!


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