How to Use Your Oyster Card

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You use the Oyster Card to pay for your fare on the London Underground, as well as the Docklands Light Railway, London Overground, buses, trams and riverboats. Your Oyster Card is smart enough to calculate the cheapest fare.

Travelling in London is not cheap. If you are paying by cash, a single ride on the London Underground train will cost you £4.00. However, with the Oyster Card, you only pay £2.30 during peak hours (6:30 am to 9:30 am and 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm Mondays to Fridays) and £1.80 off-peak periods (any other times), if you are travelling within Travelcard Zones 1 to 2, which are the zones at the heart of London. (Most sights in London are located within these two Travelcard zones).

If you're exploring outside the heart of London, the single Tube journey far for Travelcard zones 1 to 6 is £4.20 (peak) and £2.40 (off peak), not much different from the cash fare, £4.50.

Luckily even if you are going to make many trips on the London Underground in a day, rest assured that the fare is capped at £7.20 peak period, zones 1-2, £5.60 off-peak period, zones 1-2, and at varying grades if you travel outside these two zones.

How to use your Oyster Card

Swipe (or touch lightly) your Oyster Card on the yellow card reader on the ticket barriers as you pass through the gates of the London Underground. Do it again at your destination when you leave the station.