Tickets in London: Oyster, Contactless and Travelcards

Pay as you go with contactless or Oyster, and Travelcards are all great options for easy and flexible travel within and around London.

When you pay as you go with contactless or Oyster there is no need to buy tickets online or at the station before you travel. As long as you touch in and out with your contactless card or device or Oyster card you will be charged the correct fare for your journey.

A Travelcard is bought ahead of your journey and gives you unlimited travel in the zones for which it is valid.

Pay as you go with contactless

You can use a contactless card or device to pay as you go on National Rail, London Underground, DLR, London Buses and London tram services within London and at an increasing number of stations across the South East.

Just turn up, touch in and go. There is no need to queue for a ticket, buy a ticket or top up before you travel.

When you pay as you go with contactless, you will be charged the cheapest adult fare for your journey on the day and time of your travel. For most people, this fare is the same as a ticket bought on the day. Daily and Monday to Sunday capping is also available for journeys into and within London. When your contactless journeys add up to a certain amount in a day or week (Monday to Sunday), you won't be charged anymore.

Railcard and other discounts (like a Child discount) are not currently available when you pay as you as you go with contactless.

Find out more about pay as you go with contactless(external link, opens in a new tab) and check out the pay as you go with contactless map.

Pay as you go with Oyster

Oyster is the Transport for London (TfL) card which allows you to store up to £90 of pay as you go credit.

You can use Oyster for pay as you go travel on London Buses, London Underground, London Tram, DLR, London Overground, most Elizabeth Line, IFS Cloud Cable Car and Thames Clippers River Bus services. You can also travel on most National Rail services in London Zones 1 to 9 and some services beyond Zone 9(external link, opens in a new tab).

Check out the London Rail and Tube Map for more information on where you can pay as you go with Oyster.

As with pay as you go on contactless, capping exists on pay as you go with Oyster to limit how much you pay for all your journeys in one day or week. If you make several rail journeys, or a mixture of rail, bus and tram journeys in one day, daily capping is better value than buying a Day Travelcard(external link, opens in a new tab) in Zones 1-9.

Railcard discounts can be applied to your Oyster card to get up to 1/3 off pay as you go travel. There are also many ways to get child rate fares with Oyster. Under 5s travel free with a fare-paying adult, and for children aged between 5 and 18 there are different Oyster photocards available, offering free or discounted travel.

As well as paying as you go with Oyster, you can store up to 3 Travelcard or London Bus & Tram Pass Season tickets on your Oyster Card.

Find out more about pay as you go with Oyster(external link, opens in a new tab), including how to get an Oyster card, add your discount(external link, opens in a new tab), and information on capping(external link, opens in a new tab).

Please note there are special conditions when travelling on National Rail with your Oyster card(external link, opens in a new tab).

Travelcards

A Travelcard gives you unlimited travel in the zones for which it is valid on National Rail services, London Underground and DLR. You can use it on all London Buses and, if valid in Zones 3, 4, 5 or 6, on all London Trams.

Travelcards can start on any day. They can be bought for 1 day, 7 days, 1 month and any period between 1 month and 1 year. The One Day Travelcard is printed on a paper ticket. You may also want to consider using pay as you go on Oyster or contactless instead, as the daily cap can work out cheaper. Travelcards for 7 days or longer can only be added to your Oyster or train company Smartcard.

If you want to travel beyond the zones permitted by your Travelcard or Pass then you can purchase a Boundary Zone ticket to or from stations outside of London. For more information see the section on Boundary tickets in our Travelling in London page.

If you are travelling to London from the home counties, the South, South East, or further afield on some routes, you may be able to buy a return ticket which also includes a One Day Travelcard. Check the Journey Planner to see if this option is available.

Find out more about Travelcards(external link, opens in a new tab), including types of Travelcards and where you can use them.