London travel advice (with Disabled Railcards)

[dave87016]

Evening all

On Friday I have tickets from Blackburn to Kenton and returning Monday

On arrival at Euston we are going to go straight to Kenton check in and drop the luggage off at hotel then go back to Euston for a few drinks and a meal then back to hotel

on Saturday and sunday will be travelling in and around London no further than zone 6 we hold a disabled persons railcard I don’t want to use oyster with all the tap in and tap out lark , what is the best ticket (s) to get please

Many thanks in advance for any help much appreciated

Many thanks in advance for any

 

[bcarmicle]

If you don't want to use Oyster/Contactless, you'll want to buy a Zones 1-6 Day Travelcard for each day you'll be travelling around London.

With a Disabled Railcard, this is £10.40 per person per day for an Off-Peak Travelcard. (Fridays are off-peak until the end of May.)

 

[dave87016]

If you don't want to use Oyster/Contactless, you'll want to buy a Zones 1-6 Day Travelcard for each day you'll be travelling around London.

With a Disabled Railcard, this is £10.40 per person per day for an Off-Peak Travelcard. (Fridays are off-peak until the end of May.)

Many thanks for your reply I did wonder if there was a cheaper alternative but alas as I suspected from your reply there isn’t

 

[bcarmicle]

Unfortunately in London paper single/returns are much more expensive than the Oyster/contactless equivalents, so only the Travelcard would be a sensible option.

If Oyster/contactless were an option, it would work out cheaper both because the daily cap is less than the Travelcard, and there are caps for smaller zones.

 

[Hadders]

How many of you are travelling?

Oyster/contactless is the most straightforward way to pay for travel in London - virtually no-one uses paper tickets these days.

You can use your Disabled Persons Railcard to get a discount on a Zones 1-6 Travelcard for you and a companion.

For completeness, you can also get your Railcard discount added to an Oyster card which gives you discounted travel at all times where Oyster is accepted.

 

[Haywain]

For the Friday, if you are only making a return trip from Kenton to Euston, you will be better buying a paper return ticket at £8.80 with railcard discount. Alternatively, use contactless without a discount at £3.20 each way.

 

[dave87016]

Many thanks for all your help people I appreciate it and also @ haywain if I used contactless ( bank card ) do I have to tap in and out with it and would that be £3:20 each way ?m

And if I used contactless ( my bank card ) what is the most il pay each day on day a days travel between zone 1-6 ?

 

[Haywain]

@ haywain if I used contactless ( bank card ) do I have to tap in and out with it and would that be £3:20 each way ?m

Exactly that. The figures assume Kenton to Euston train (LondonOverground), and back the same way. The fares can vary a little if you use the Metropolitan line instead.

 

[Hadders]

With contactless you tap in at the start of your journey and tap out at the end. If you're not certain what to do just stand near the barriers for a few minutes and watch what the locals do. It's the simplest way to pay these days and almost everyone pays this way.

A few months ago I was on a busy Overground train between Shephers Bush and Willesden Junction and there was a ticket inspection. I was the only person in the carriage who presented a traditional paper ticket (which I was using as it was a Travelcard and the cheapest way for me to travel that day).

You can find out how much you'll pay by using @MikeWh Fares Finder https://oysterfares.com/fare-finder/

Kenton to Euston costs £3.20 single at Off Peak times. The maximum you'll pay depends on which Zones you travel in. Zones 1-4 adult daily cap (Kenton is in Z4) is £12.30, the daily cap in Zones 1-6 is £15.60

 

[dave87016]

Again many thanks for your help forgive me for asking my final question which probably sounds stupid but if I pay ( tap in /out with contactless ( with my bank card and not oyster ) and a ticket inspection occurs on board how do they know I tapped in ? I guess oyster has a record or something but what about contactless bank cards ?

 

[JonathanH]

With a Disabled Railcard, this is £10.40 per person per day for an Off-Peak Travelcard. (Fridays are off-peak until the end of May.)

While I suspect it doesn't matter in this instance, Fridays are off-peak until the end of May for pay as you go, but not for paper tickets such as travelcards.

Off-peak Friday fares

TfL pay as you go single fares are now off-peak all day on Fridays, on a trial basis

tfl.gov.uk

Off-peak Friday fares
Pay as you go single fares are now off-peak all day every Friday on Tube, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line, and some National Rail services across London and the southeast.
The trial will run every Friday, from 8 March until 31 May 2024 inclusive.

See our map showing where pay as you go with contactless (card, watch or phone) or Oyster is valid.

Exclusions, restrictions and more details
The trial only applies to pay as you go single fares and daily caps when using contactless or an Oyster card

Again many thanks for your help forgive me for asking my final question which probably sounds stupid but if I pay ( tap in /out with contactless ( with my bank card and not oyster ) and a ticket inspection occurs on board how do they know I tapped in ? I guess oyster has a record or something but what about contactless bank cards ?

They don't. They just see that your card isn't blocked. The inspection is cross checked against the touch in and touch out at the end of the day. So long as there is a record of the touch in, the inspection doesn't trigger any issues.

 

[dave87016]

thanks very much jonathon, you have all been a big help and I thank each of you for your time, replies and help/advice

 

[Wolfie]

Not an answer to your question, @dave87016, but a question of my own (feel free to tell me to get lost if you wish): why are you going back to Euston to eat/drink? Unless you have some particular places that you wish to go l must say that there are many better areas in London to do that....

 

[dave87016]

Not an answer to your question, @dave87016, but a question of my own (feel free to tell me to get lost if you wish): why are you going back to Euston to eat/drink? Unless you have some particular places that you wish to go l must say that there are many better areas in London to do that....

Because I’m familiar with the area and close by to get train back to hotel in Kenton , Saturday and Sunday we will be going further round London zones 1-6 sampling various pubs

I would appreciate any suggestions aswell wolfie ( anyone else feel free to throw some suggestions in
If you wish to do so ) admins if you deem that to hijack the thread then please say so

 

[Belperpete]

For the Friday, if you are only making a return trip from Kenton to Euston, you will be better buying a paper return ticket at £8.80 with railcard discount. Alternatively, use contactless without a discount at £3.20 each way.

With an Oyster card with disabled persons railcard it would only be £2.10 each way.

I don't really understand your aversion to tap-in tap-out with Oyster. It is what you would be doing if paying by contactless, and is little different to having to put your paper ticket/travelcard through the barriers at the start and end of your journey. As a railcard holder myself, the Oystercard makes travelling around London so much simpler and cheaper than the alternatives.

The big advantage of the Oyster card is that I automatically get the discount whenever I travel without having to think about it, unlike when buying say a travelcard or other paper ticket when you have to remember to ask for the discount every time you buy a ticket. Using travelcards will involve you having to buy tickets for each day, and as very few underground or overground stations have a ticket office these days, so you will likely be having to buy your tickets from machines, whereas with Oyster or contactless you just breeze straight through the barriers without this faff. And you don't get the faff of having to find someone to let you through the barriers when it refuses to accept your paper ticket/travelcard.

 

[Haywain]

With an Oyster card with disabled persons railcard it would only be £2.10 each way.

I don't really understand your aversion to tap-in tap-out with Oyster. It is what you would be doing if paying by contactless, and is little different to having to put your paper ticket/travelcard through the barriers at the start and end of your journey. As a railcard holder myself, the Oystercard makes travelling around London so much simpler and cheaper than the alternatives.

The big advantage of the Oyster card is that I automatically get the discount whenever I travel without having to think about it, unlike when buying say a travelcard or other paper ticket when you have to remember to ask for the discount every time you buy a ticket. Using travelcards will involve you having to buy tickets for each day, and as very few underground or overground stations have a ticket office these days, so you will likely be having to buy your tickets from machines, whereas with Oyster or contactless you just breeze straight through the barriers without this faff. And you don't get the faff of having to find someone to let you through the barriers when it refuses to accept your paper ticket/travelcard.

Even with Oyster, only one card can have the railcard discount applied. And if the OP does not already have an Oyster card that adds both expense and a hassle factor.

 

[Belperpete]

And if the OP does not already have an Oyster card that adds both expense and a hassle factor.

Agreed that there is the hassle of initially getting the Oystercard(s). But that can be done fairly easily at somewhere like Euston underground station, where in my experience there always seems to be plenty of LT staff in attendance. Whereas my experience at outer London underground and overground stations is that you can often have difficulty finding anyone to help you, either using the ticket machines or getting through the barriers, particularly at weekends/evenings.

 

[Hadders]

Remember an Oyster card costs a non-refundable £7 these days so if it's only going to be used for this one-off trip it might not be worth it.

 

[dave87016]

Indeed I don’t have a Oyster card yet ,I am set in my ways, on any train journeys I prefer the credit card style paper tickets but I know times change and I have to move with them , I’m just unfamiliar with Oyster card contactless fares and daily fares cap the touch in touch out side of it aswell until people on here mentioned above in this thread

 

[Belperpete]

I agree with you about the paper tickets, I have seen so many people having issues with electronic tickets that generally I won't use them. However, I was easily converted to the Oyster cards, as they are so simple and easy to use. You don't have to worry about the fare cap, as the system automatically makes sure that you are never charged more than you should, unlike a travelcard where if you buy a zones 1-6 card you will pay for all the zones even if for some reason you don't happen to stray beyond zone 4 for example.

As Hadders says, there is a small upfront cost of £7, so if you are only ever going to London once, it may not be worth it cost wise. However, the card doesn't expire (I have had mine for what feels like decades now), so could be worth it if you are likely to visit again. Personally, I think it is worth the cost for the convenience, as whether you are travelling by train, tube, bus, tram, ferry, or cable car, your can simply use the Oyster card. Admittedly you get pretty much the same freedom with a travelcard, but it costs more, and with a travelcard, you have to make sure that you buy one for all the zones you may travel in that day, which as pointed out above would be a waste of money if for some reason you don't happen to travel that far out.

 

[Haywain]

with a travelcard, you have to make sure that you buy one for all the zones you may travel in that day, which as pointed out above would be a waste of money if for some reason you don't happen to travel that far out.

With day Travelcards you don't have a choice as the minimum coverage is zones 1-6, and the only other option is additional outer zones.

 

[Hadders]

I agree with you about the paper tickets, I have seen so many people having issues with electronic tickets that generally I won't use them. However, I was easily converted to the Oyster cards, as they are so simple and easy to use. You don't have to worry about the fare cap, as the system automatically makes sure that you are never charged more than you should, unlike a travelcard where if you buy a zones 1-6 card you will pay for all the zones even if for some reason you don't happen to stray beyond zone 4 for example.

As Hadders says, there is a small upfront cost of £7, so if you are only ever going to London once, it may not be worth it cost wise. However, the card doesn't expire (I have had mine for what feels like decades now), so could be worth it if you are likely to visit again. Personally, I think it is worth the cost for the convenience, as whether you are travelling by train, tube, bus, tram, ferry, or cable car, your can simply use the Oyster card. Admittedly you get pretty much the same freedom with a travelcard, but it costs more, and with a travelcard, you have to make sure that you buy one for all the zones you may travel in that day, which as pointed out above would be a waste of money if for some reason you don't happen to travel that

With day Travelcards you don't have a choice as the minimum coverage is zones 1-6, and the only other option is

Contactless is much better than Oyster as there’s no card to purchase and you haven’t got to load credit on it. Also say you load it with £20 you’ll be left with money on the card at the end of the weekend, that while it doesn’t disappear and you can get it refunded, it basically becomes a cost unless you’re going to use the card frequently.

The only time Oyster is better is if you’re adding a railcard discount, which to be fair the OP can do but they have to balance up the cost of the card, the faff of getting it added and the potential ‘cost’ of credit left on the card against the end of the weekend against the saving made.

For a one off weekend contactless is probably the simplest way to go.

 

[Wolfie]

Contactless is much better than Oyster as there’s no card to purchase and you haven’t got to load credit on it. Also say you load it with £20 you’ll be left with money on the card at the end of the weekend, that while it doesn’t disappear and you can get it refunded, it basically becomes a cost unless you’re going to use the card frequently.

The only time Oyster is better is if you’re adding a railcard discount, which to be fair the OP can do but they have to balance up the cost of the card, the faff of getting it added and the potential ‘cost’ of credit left on the card against the end of the weekend against the saving made.

For a one off weekend contactless is probably the simplest way to go.

Except of course you can't add a Railcard to contactless...

 

[Haywain]

Except of course you can't add a Railcard to contactless...

As @Hadders spelled out in his second paragraph.

 

[Wolfie]

As @Hadders spelled out in his second paragraph.

To be honest l completely missed that, sorry.

 

[Haywain]

To be honest l completely missed that, sorry.

Skim reading, eh? . We've all been there!

 

[dave87016]

Well thanks to all of you for your immense help , I visited a few pubs and I have to say the London overground trains ( Watford - Euston ) and the ones that do the Elizabeth line ones are a absolute pleasure to travel on I really like them

And I took your advice and paid contactless throughout

 

[Hadders]

Pleased to hear you had a good time and it all went well.

Using contactless for the first time to pay for travel in London does feel a bit weird. A few years ago I was travelling on the Underground with a good friend of mine, he wanted to buy a paper ticket but I insisted he used contactless as it was much cheaper. He was convinced he was going to get given a Penalty Fare because he hadn't got a physical ticket, no amount of reassurance on my part would change his mind