The only way to travel London (Oyster Card)

Member Name: djwhite1982

Product:	Oyster Card
Date:	11/08/09 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cost effective and easy

Disadvantages: Small charge for the card, but nothing else really

The oyster card is the most efficient and hassle free way to travel round London. Whether you live in the city, visit on the odd occasion, or are an overseas tourist only here for a week, chances are that an oyster card will be the cheapest way for you to travel.

Your oyster card can be used as a pay as you go card, or can store season tickets to save you having to carry anything else around. However, since mine is used solely for pay as you go, and anyone with a season tickets will not need to read a review of oyster cards (as presumably they know all about them), I'll be reviewing the pay as you go option.

An oyster card can be purchased from literally thousands of places all over the city. Almost every station with sell the oyster card over a manned counter, however there are also vending machines and they can be purchased form local stores such as newsagents. When you buy the card, it will cost you £3 for the actual card, and anything else you add on is credit for your journeys. If you make the purchase at a vending machine you will be asked for £5 (£3 for card and £2 credit), anywhere else you can specify how much credit to put on.

The oyster card is used by touching it against the yellow circle pads at the gates of tubes, buses etc. It is worth remembering that you always need to "touch out" your oyster card on tube journeys as otherwise you will find the journey is costing you more you are not being sneaky and saving on the fair!!!!! This is because as you enter £4 is charged to your card, and then money is refunded when you tap out, depending on how many zones you have travelled.

For me there are 3 major positives of the oyster card which are as follows

1) Its so much easier to just tap in and out of stations and not have the hassle of waiting in line for a ticket. What a pain!

2) You don't have to work out the cheapest way to travel as the oyster card will do it for you. This also means if you're plans change and you need to do a lot more travelling in the day, you haven't wasted money like you might have done if just purchasing single tickets.

3) All single journeys are half the price on the oyster card as opposed to purchasing a ticket. This means after two tube rides, or three bus rides you've already saved money form the £3 cost of the card. Now it must be said that this doesn't always apply as if you are using the card to do numerous journeys it will be capped at the cost of a normal travelcard, in which case you haven't saved anything.

Although the card can be used on some over ground trains, this is not standard and you should check with station staff before using it, or you may be in line for a fine.

You can also register your oyster card online which means you can access a host of other service through the TFL (transport for London) website, which includes checking your balance, viewing your journey history, topping up online and setting up an auto top up facility so your account is automatically debited every time the oyster balance falls below £5.

Summary: A must have for travelling around London