Travelcard and Oyster Card
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Travelcard issued by the London Underground
Photo: Matt Whitby, public domain
The Oyster Card
Photo: Oxyman, GNU Free Documentation License
The Oyster Card Reader
Photo: Oxyman, GNU Free Documentation License
The ticket for riding the London Underground comes in two forms, a paper, printed version called Travelcard, and a plastic smartcard with an embedded chip, called Oyster Card. These are issued by the local governing body, Transport for London.
The Travelcard is a card with a magnetic strip and are available with stored value for single-fare, one-day and three-day uses. The Travelcard you purchase must be valid for all the zones you intend to travel through, and vary in price according to the zones. To store value for seven days or more, get the Oyster Card.
The Oyster Card is a contactless smartcard. To use it, just tap or hover it over the reader. The Oyster Card has a proximity range of about 8cm (3 inches) from the reader. The government is encouraging the use of the Oyster Card by allowing users to enjoy significant discounts over the Travelcard. For example, traveling within Zone 1 costs £4 on a single-fare Travelcard ticket, but only £1.50 using Oyster. You can store up to £90 on the Oyster Card and top up on the value. The Oyster Card can also be registered to secure it from theft.
Both the Travelcard and Oyster Card are inter-modal tickets allowing you to use the services of buses, trains and trams of the following providers:
London Underground
London Overground
Docklands Light Railway
National Rail
London Buses
Tramlink
For the latest update on Travelcard and Oyster Card, check the Transport for London website, www.tfl.gov.uk.
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