Navigate London like a local with our London Public Transport Guide – clear Tube tips, Oyster card advice, and route hacks to make your journey smooth and affordable.
You are planning to visit London and you will need to get around using public transport. But you wonder… How much to prepare for transport? Is there a tube station near your accommodation? Which line? How many lines are there? Is it confusing to use? This is your complete London public transport guide, containing all the Tube travel tips you need to know.
GET IN THE ZONE
London has 9 travel zones.
Imagine Zone 1 as the circle that includes all Central London train and underground stations. We are talking London Bridge, Oxford Circus and Westminster. Zone 2 goes in a circle around Zone 1. Zone 3 goes around Zone 2, with each zone going further and further from Central London. The main zones are Zone 1 to Zone 6.
All train and tube stations within each zone will charge the same fare. If you are travelling from Zone 1 in Central London, the further away you are getting across the zones, the more expensive your trip will be. If you want to know how to save money and use the London Underground to its full potential for less, click here.
GET ON THE RIGHT LINE
The Underground Lines
The London Underground has 11 lines. Each one of them has a colour, which makes it easy to trace across the network:
Bonus tip: If you go to a Londoner and ask for “the red line”, they will know you mean Central line. If you forget the name of the line, just say what colour you are looking for.
Like Tube, but not Tube
Here are some lines that operate in a similar way as the Underground, but are not counted as Tube lines (with their colours, so you can find them easily):
There is no underground in South London
There are very few stops south of the Thames compared to the north side. However, many railway companies are operating in London, connecting it with the rest of the country. Many of them also act as public transport for London.
There are four main railway lines you need to know:
Southeastern – goes Southeast and can take you into Kent.
Southern – goes South and can take you to Brighton on the seaside.
South Western – goes Southwest and can take you all the way to Exeter.
Thameslink – goes north and south and can take you to Cambridge and also Gatwick Airport.
Important note: Ensure you buy a ticket in advance for any trip you do beyond the London Zones.
Also, we have the Tram that offers routes in South London for as little as £1,75.
Interesting fact: You can get a train from London to Edinburgh in Scotland and arrive in less than 4 and a half hours!
Fancy transport
London Cable Car – you can go over the Thames and see London from above for only £7 for a single ticket.
River Bus – cruise the Thames to get from A to B.
HOW IT WORKS
Tap in and Tap Out
The easiest and cheapest way to travel across London is by tapping your bankcard on the yellow card readers at each station. You will find them at the gates, sometimes they are positioned close to the entrance of the station. It’s important to tap as this is how the price of your journey will be calculated. Also, there are ticket inspectors and fare evasion may give you a criminal record, so make sure you tap in! If you don’t tap out, however, Transport for London will charge you the maximum amount for your trip (I woke up to one of these once and I was not amused!).
Hack: Visitors Travelcard – it will cost you £7 to buy (+postage) and you can put between £10 and £50 credit on it. Your journeys will be subject to the same daily caps and you may even get discounts in restaurants, shops, galleries and other places. Also, you can order it in advance from tfl.gov.uk.
There are many ways to pay
As I already mentioned, the easiest and cheapest way is to tap in or out with your bank card. You could buy an Oyster Card or a Visitor’s card (both cost £7) and you can put money in it and use it to pay for your trips as you go. Paying by bank card or Oyster will mean that your trips will be subject to a daily cap on how much you will spend. For example, you can travel as much as you want on the underground between Zone 1 and 2 all day and the maximum you will pay will be £8.90.
You could buy a single paper ticket that will cost you £7 for the journey, regardless of the distance as long as it’s within the underground network.
You could also buy a daily paper travelcard. It currently costs £16.60 and covers Zones 1 to 4 or 1 to 6, depending on when you plan to travel.
If you are moving to London or planning a longer stay, it might be worth looking into an electronic travelcard. You can buy it for the zones you need to travel through (Note: If Zone 1 is included, it will be significantly more expensive – how to help this, see here). Weekly, monthly and annual cards are available. You can load them directly on your Oyster Card.
Peak and off-peak
Journeys on the railway usually cost more if you travel in peak hours on weekdays. These are the times from 06:30 to 09:30 and from 16:00 to 19:00.
No early trains on Sundays
Most railway companies start operating later on Sundays, so make sure you cke when your first train is.
Going under a Zone means you are going to be charged for it
Let’s say you have a travelcard for Zone 2 and Zone 3. If you get on an underground train at Zone 2 and get out on the other side of London, again in Zone 2, but while you were on the train, you passed through Zone 1, you will be charged additionally as Zone 1 is not included in your travelcard.
Pink card readers
At some stations you will see pink card readers on the platforms. Tap your card on them if you are transferring between trains. This will ensure you are charged the right amount for your journey.
Flag the Buses down
They do not accept cash and you can pay by tapping your bank card/Oyster card on the yellow reader next to the drier cabin. It will cost you £1,75. This is why you can only board from the front of the bus. Unless you are on one of the old-school-looking double-decker buses with staircases at the front and at the back – they usually have more than one card reader. You do not need to tap out and once you tap out. You can change as many buses as you want within an hour and a half and you are not going to be charged more. The daily cap is only £5.25.
Yes, if you want the bus to stop and pick you up, you need to flag them down by raising your arm. Also, if you want to get off the bus, you need to signal the driver by pressing one of the red “stop” buttons.
Bus stops may have the same name
Multiple bus stops might have the same name. These stops would have a letter on top. This is why Google Maps may tell you that you have to go to Bus Stop “C” or “E”. To make sure you are waiting at the correct, stop, check the information board under the bus stop’s name for the next stops of the bus you are waiting for. Also, often under the name of the bus stop, direction will be mentioned to avoid confusion.
Travel on a bus for free
If you buy an electronic travel card, it allows unlimited bus travel across all zones in London.
You are not going to be charged immediately
Your bank card will most probably be charged the next working day, in the early hours of the morning.
Register your Oyster card
This will help you trace your trips, see how much you are charged, declare the card stolen and request for refunds.
For the latest prices and detailed maps of the Underground – tfl.gov.uk.
I hope this article was helpful and you found what you needed to know for the London Underground. Do you have any further questions? Is there anything that surprises you? Let me know in the comments. Save travels!
KEY HUBS
