If it’s your first time visiting London and you’ve never taken the Tube or a London bus before, it’s a LITTLE confusing to work out how you can pay for tickets to use public transport. A lot of tourists think that the best way is by using an Oyster, but it’s actually not. In this video I’m explaining to you your options for buying tickets for the tube and bus in London, plus what to do with your kids (there’s a way to get a discount btw) and how to avoid getting overcharged for your tube journeys.
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This channel is a London travel guide for anyone visiting the city that wants to experience it like you live here. Beyond talking about the usual London attractions, our founder Jessica Dante and our team show you some of the cooler things to do in London, that most travel guides don’t mention. Watch our videos and you’ll feel like you’ve got a Londoner friend telling you the best kept secrets in the city.
In this video, I’m going to tell you exactly how you pay for London’s transportation system, including why you shouldn’t get an Oyster card, what to do if you have kids with you, and something to be aware of to make sure you don’t get double charged or fined. So, how do you pay for public transport options like the bus, the tube, the train, the DLR, and others? Well, there are two simple options and two not so simple options. And the first one is by debit or credit card. If you have a debit or credit card, that’s MX, Mastercard, or Visa, and it has this symbol on it, that means it has the contactless payment feature, and that’s what you can use to pay for public transport in London. How to use it for the tube is that when you go up to the gates at a station, you tap your card on the card reader. This is called touching in. And then as you’re about to leave the last station on your journey, you’ll touch it on the card reader again, and that is called touching out. And the reason that you have to touch twice is that you are charged depending on how many zones that you travel through. For the bus, you just tap on at the card reader at the front of the bus one time and that’s it. The second option is mobile pay. If you have Google Pay or Apple Pay on your phone, you can use that to pay for public transport just like you would a debit or credit card. This is actually what I use all day every day when I’m traveling around London. It’s very easy. And in my opinion, these first two options I’ve just given are the easiest and simplest ways to pay for public transport. But there is one caveat you need to know, which I’m going to tell you a little bit later in the video. And before you say, “But Jess, I don’t want to get charged foreign transaction fees every time that I take the tube,” you actually don’t get charged each journey, you only get charged the next morning for all of the journeys that you took the previous day. And that’s because there’s something called the daily cap here in London. And depending on how many zones that you have traveled through in one day, you are only charged up to a certain amount. And then all of your rides after that are free for that day. Okay, there’s honestly no way that I can travel abroad these days without being connected. I need Google Maps. I need WhatsApp. And I want to stay safe while I’m solo traveling. But paying for roaming with your home carrier can really add up. And getting one of those finicky little local physical SIMs can be really annoying. But you can use SIM local e SIMs, which is the easy way to stay connected while you’re traveling. Just choose your destination country and how much data that you need. Then activate your digital SIM on your phone when you arrive in just a few easy steps. No physical SIM, no messing around. You’ll stay connected at local rates, which will save you a lot of money, and you won’t have to change your phone number. Sim Local is highly rated with almost five stars on Trip Adviser and Google, and they have a 60-day return policy, so you don’t have to worry. Sim Local partners with top networks like 3, Orange, and EE, so you always get the best local coverage and fast speeds, 4G, and 5G wherever you go. Get 10% off your SIM local purchase with our discount code, and use the link down in the description box, or you can scan this QR code to open it up on your phone. Plus, you’ll be supporting everything that we do on Love in London. Okay, let’s get back to the video. You might have heard of this thing. It’s called an Oyster and it’s basically a card that you add money to to be able to pay for public transport in London. This is an okay option, but keep in mind that you have to pay a seven pound non-refundable fee just to get this card. Then you have to figure out how much credit you should add. Make sure you always have time to add credit if you run out before you get on a tube. And if you add too much credit and you leave a lot left on the cart at the end of your trip, you can get a refund, but it’s kind of annoying and complicated. So again, in my opinion, the first two options are simpler and cheaper, but this is one, too. Option four is buying a weekly travel card. If you’re going to be in London for exactly 7 days, this could save you a bit of money because you pay for essentially 5 days of travel, but get seven. So, you get 2 days for free. However, keep in mind this only makes sense if you are indeed going to be using public transport every single day. And also the fact that you have to put the travel card onto an Oyster card means you do have to pay £7 to get that Oyster card. So that kind of eliminates some of the savings as well. When you buy a weekly travel card, you buy for the amount of zones that you plan to travel through. Most tourists are going to stay in zones 1 to two. And if you decide to travel further than zones 1 to two, then you can top up credit onto your Oyster card and travel with that. In my opinion, this is a little bit complicated to figure out if the savings are going to make sense for you. And the savings aren’t really that much if you’re staying in central London like most tourists do. So, I wouldn’t worry too much about this if you don’t end up going for it. You won’t save that much anyway. Okay. Everything I’ve talked about so far is for adults. So, how do you pay for your kids? Okay. So, here’s the deal. Kids up to 10 years old travel on public transport for free. All you have to do is just take them right onto the bus with you. or if you’re going on the tube, go through the wide gate so you can all go together. No one’s going to ask you how old the kids are or verify anything. Kids who are 11 to 15 years old do have to pay for public transport, but you can get them something called the young visitor discount. This gives them 50% off of travel for 2 weeks and it goes onto an Oyster card, which does mean you do have to buy the 7 lb Oyster card to get it. So really, you’re not going to get any savings for them for less than like 3 days of travel. So, if you’re on a shorter trip, it probably just makes sense for you to skip that and give them one of your debit or credit cards. And kids who are 16 or older are considered adults, so they’re going to pay just the same amount as you will. Remember how I said, don’t get double charged or fined. Here’s how that could happen. So, let’s say you have a debit card and you also have that same card connected to your mobile pay. Do not use those interchangeably. TFL actually counts that as two separate cards, so you could be charged a lot more for an incomplete journey. Instead, pick one method and stick to it for your entire trip. This also means that you’ll definitely be taking advantage of the daily cap, so you’ll be paying less than if you kind of bounce back and forth. Now, the good news is this is good if you have kids and you don’t have enough physical debit cards or credit cards to go around to them. So, you could give your kid the physical card and then you use the card on mobile pay and that counts as two separate cards and you’re good to go. But do remember But do remember everybody needs their own method of payment. Okay, time to get out of the rain. For more tips and tricks for taking London transport, make sure you get my London transport guide, which you can do via the link in the description box or by scanning this QR code. And I have, what do I have? I have something else. And I have a 101 video that breaks down how you take the tube in this city, which you can watch by clicking the box that’s popping up right here. Go ahead, watch that next.
38 Comments
we are 2 adults and 3 child ( 12 , 10 , 4 ) and we have to travel extensively within london for 1 day , suggest which option do we use which is economical for us ?
Oyster cards are great. I hate pulling out my phone with the amount of pickpockets around in London.
If you're a tourist £20 will take you everywhere, buses and tube, I'd be surprised if if you can use that all up in a day.
Always use a debit card with a small balance, never use your phone there to easy to snatch, likewise with your debit card just top it up for what you need. Warning, you will need your phone to cancel your stolen card 😊
I had three 11-16 years old from South Korea over in London for 2 weeks and the Young visitor Oyster was great.
As the Elizabeth line from Heathrow to Central London is a bit more expensive than normal tube lines the £7 cost to get the initial cards paid itself back pretty much immediately with the 50% fare children pay.
The problem with using card, is you might not remember which card you use, if you have multiple cards which many people will have. Phone, drains the battery and if your phone dies, you will have to pay again.
Thank you so much !! That's THE video I need to organize my travel !! 😊
U pay with cash
I got fined by a ticket inspector because their machine failed to work with Google Pay, even though I had paid. Tried to fight it, but their system failed to even register receipts for my card on the network and I couldn't get any assistance to rectify it until long after the fine had to be paid.
Basically, probably avoid using Google Pay.
Merci de Montréal for your usual very good video. We will be next week in London for 10 days and for me, Oyster card is a no brainer. I don't want to take my credit card out of my wallet each time, risking to lost it. I know I would save 7 pounds but it's a drop in ocean compare to cost of my appartment, unfortunaly. Keep up your good job!!
With an Oystercard, the card itself records where you’ve been so you can see this at any ticket machine – touch the card and select “Check journey history” on the screen, and you’ll see any trips over the cap charged at £0.00. A contactless debit/credit card doesn’t record this but it’s all OK. All you have to do is make sure you scan the Oystercard in and out and keep it with some balance. There is a daily cap of I believe £7.20 which it implements itself (the cap is due to the price of a day's travel card being equivalent). The same thing occurs if you use a contactless credit card however remember not to use more than one or you could exceed the cap.
Buses also have a Hopper fare. Get on another bus within an hour of getting on the first one and you get a free ride. Again this is automatic.
Recall that this daily Oyster card cap covers all forms of public transport including the Tube, trams, the DLR, the London Overground, buses and the suburban network of railways. The cap does not include travel on the Thames Clipper river boats, high speed trains between St Pancras and Stratford nor the Emirates cable car.
London uk dont have bus trains all diversion,,,no services,,,just stolen money so disgastin disgastin unsafe unsafe,,,hitting stolen soso hardball hardball,,,🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩
dommage que l'on ne puisse pas activer la traduction en français !
I prefer using my Watch
No free travel for us native pensioners soon but despite this im so glad i worked hard paid my taxes and can retire safely knowing my homeland is overrun with third world migrants who hate me and the courts and police are unwilling to protect me.
Glad i got my free covid jabs from the government and i also support ukraine and am a member of the lgbtq+ community
Ive just had a knee replacement but im going to get down on the floor and kneel for BLM and St George Floyd, then bang my pots and pans for the NHS and get my boosters
I identify as a woman today but sometimes i am a furry and my inner animal is either a sasquatch or a pangolin.
Do you have to tap out with your contactless debit/credit card on the busses too like the tube or is it just once when you board?
do i have to tab out after my journey with contactless card
If you're living in London to work, get a 1-year railcard and ask tube staff to link it to your Oyster card. That means discounted fares on everything you can use the Oyster for including buses, but you'll still save on advance tickets to places further out like any of the airports even if they take Oyster like Gatwick does.
Many London airports don't accept card travel in this way, Oyster or otherwise, and have enforcement teams who'll fine you on the spot. It's a hidden tourist trap tax. So remember it's tickets for everywhere outside the city.
Naw you save money with Oyster
Oyster is great for two reasons 1) Not needing to be getting a $1000 phone out of bag every time you need to check in or out 2) doesn't run out of battery after a long day. I appreciate that a debit card also does this but it can also detach that from your wallet/purse leaving that prone to theft.
Your Priety
As a Londoner, I say use an Oyster Card. Using your phone is a hassle and unsafe to boot. What’s more, the amount of times I had to wait behind someone using their phone to pay and their Face or Fingerprint ID not working, the hassle of pressing the two buttons (this happens to me when I use my mobile phone to pay for goods on the counter) With an Oyster card, you can top it up on your phone with the TFL app and see how much you spend. Plus if it gets lost and you have registered your card (you’d be a moron not to) just get yourself a new one and transfer the credit to your new one.
Very accurate! Transport costs can be shocking
This was GREAT ADVICE – Never would've used all of it. Thank you!! Jack – Houston, Texas.
Oyster cards or debit cards are a great way to pay for London transport, especially the tube…that when the f***ers are not on strike!
I use the oyster. With the bank card I can't recall the numerous times the touch in or out is not recorded and you end up with either 9.90 or 10.90 or 19.80 or 42.80 deducted from your card. At tfl discretion. When alerted tfl refunds you but within 14 days.
I was going to get the Oyster card, but now it's 10 GBP to get one, which is almost $20 in my dollars. Not worth it. I might just do the paper daily travelcard during my trip.
In other words, same as the US, especially New York 😛
If use your Phone or Debit Card the bank knows where you are no Privacy
Hi, many thanks for the video, very usefull. In my roadmap I have to travel from Heathrow Terminal 5 to Liverpool St Plts via Elizabeth line (I've searched in Google Map). The cost of the travel is 13,90 £. Can I pay with Google Pay ? If so, I have to tap mu smartphone both the enter and exit gate ? Thanks in adavance!
I travel to London last week for my coursin wedding and I like to use it just like the electrical contectless card in my Home, HK's Octopus does, although it is less use-able all aound in London except TFL travel fee, also I can have it to as a souvenir of myself or for my Dad's next visit for conference in London due his job.
I afraid of lost & secuity of my Credit card/NFC of my phone.
Hi, Ｉ am Japanese.
Today, Ｉ watch this video, also then Ｉ study English too.
Ｉf Ｉ go in London for a tour, a work, Ｉ want to use public transport .
because Ｉ like public transport in London now.
Yes, use your Apple Pay on your mobile so the thief standing behind you or on the side can see where you keep it and know where to pick your pocket. If he/she gets your oyster card, no big loss and easily replaceable. If he gets your mobile…. And be sure to keep you mobile in your hand while walking around everywhere as in the video. It’s sure to make you popular with the thieves on foot and on e-bikes. Just ignore the 80,000 reported mobile thefts on London Streets last year, especially where tourists are likely to be.
I used Apple Pay in London and it worked wonderfully
Lots of commenters below rave about the Oyster card being safe. But if I can't use it for all kinds of purchases, it's not that useful as I'd still need to carry my bank cards
I had an oyster card from 2014 from last travel to London. Used It this year 2025 and It was awsome until i had to leave back home to Spain. On the last station Tottenham hale to get get the train to stansted. No machines would Give any refunds. Called help vía machines and they said that of all the machines non would give a refund. I would have to go back to the station Seven sisters. That means loose time plus loose another trip with the luggage so we decided to keep the balance which was annoying.
Love you Jess!!! Been with you since the beginning!!!!