If you do not have an Oyster card in London, the best alternatives are using a contactless bank card/device (phone/watch) for pay-as-you-go, buying paper tickets, or purchasing a Visitor Oyster card. Contactless is usually the easiest and cheapest method, as it offers daily capping, just like an Oyster card.
If you don't have an Oyster card or contactless, you can still buy single and return paper tickets. However, pay as you go is usually cheaper. Find the price for a single journey using our single fare finder.
If your bank card shows the contactless payment symbol, you can use it to pay as you go. Always use the same device or contactless card to touch in and out to pay the right fare. For example, don't touch in with your iPhone and touch out with your Apple Watch or contactless card.
No, an Oyster card is generally not cheaper than tapping with contactless (bank card or phone), as they both use the same "pay as you go" (PAYG) system and have identical fare caps and discounts, making them the same price for most journeys. Contactless is often more convenient as it avoids the £5 Oyster card cost and the hassle of topping up, but Oyster can prevent foreign transaction fees if using a foreign bank card.
How to pay for public transport in London (2025 UPDATE)
Can I use a London bus without an Oyster card?
London buses are all cashless, so you need an Oyster card, Travelcard or contactless payment card to ride. The bus fare in London is £1.75, and a day of bus-only travel will cost a maximum of £5.25.
London's "1 hour rule" refers to the Hopper Fare, which allows unlimited bus and tram journeys for a single £1.75 fare within one hour of your first tap-in, using the same contactless or Oyster card. It means you can switch between buses and trams as much as you like, even linking with the Tube or DLR (though the main benefit is bus/tram hopping), without paying again, provided your subsequent taps are within 60 minutes of the initial touch.
An Oyster card itself costs £7 for residents or a £10 non-refundable fee for a Visitor Oyster card (plus postage) for tourists, with the card then topped up with pay-as-you-go credit or Travelcards for journeys, which vary by zone and time, but fare capping limits daily charges, making it cheaper than cash fares.
You don't have to work out the cost of your journey in advance. You can pay as you go using contactless (card or device), an Oyster card or a Visitor Oyster card. It also offers great value as pay as you go is cheaper than buying single tickets and you get daily and weekly capping.
If your credit or debit card is 'contactless-enabled', you will see this logo on the front of your card. This means your credit or debit card is enabled for fare payment on transit. Just tap your contactless credit or debit card at the MRT fare gate or card reader on buses.
You can't buy a Visitor Oyster card in London. Go to the Visitor Shop website to buy your card before you leave home and it will be delivered to your home address.
To apply for a free travel pass (concessionary bus/travel card), you typically apply through your local council or a national transport body (like Transport for Wales/Scotland) by proving your age (e.g., 60+) or disability, residency, and identity with documents (passport, council tax bill, photo) online or in person, but specific requirements vary by region (UK, Ireland, etc.). Check your local authority's website or a national portal like GOV.UK for eligibility and application links.
A Visitor Oyster Card costs £5. You can then pre-load the card with pay-as-you-go credit, in quantities of £10, £15, £25, £40 or £50. The Visitor Oyster card is the cheapest way of getting around London as the maximum daily charges mean you travel free after you reach the 'daily cap'.
No, the £2 single bus fare cap in England ended on December 31, 2024, and was replaced by a £3 single fare cap from January 1, 2025, through the end of 2025, with some regions like Greater Manchester keeping their own lower fares.
On a bus or tram, you only need to touch in. If you touch out at the end of your bus or tram journey, you may end up paying more than you need to. For all other journeys, you always need to touch out, even if the gates are open. If there are no gates, use a free-standing yellow card reader.
You can use a contactless-enabled bank card to pay for travel on the Tube, bus, tram, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth Line, and most National Rail services within London: Similar to the Visitor Oyster card, it automatically caps your daily spending depending on the zones you travel in and how frequently you travel.
Yes, each person travelling needs their own Oyster card, Travelcard or contactless payment card. If you are coming to London in a group of 10 or more people who plan to travel around the capital together, you can buy a Group Day Travelcard.
