London travelcard prices, and where to buy one
Adult travelcard prices 2018
 Buy Travelcards from official website
|
 Buy Group Travelcards from official website
|
| Buses only | 1-Day | Weekly | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All zones | £5 | £21.20 | £81.50 | £848 |
| Trains & Buses | 1-Day | Weekly | Monthly | Annual | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anytime | Off-peak | ||||
| Zone 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 1-2 | n/a | n/a | £34.10 | £131 | £1364 |
| Zone 1-3 | n/a | n/a | £40 | £153.60 | £1600 |
| Zone 1-4 | £12.70 | n/a | £49 | £188.20 | £1960 |
| Zone 1-5 | n/a | n/a | £58.20 | £223.50 | £2328 |
| Zone 1-6 | £18.10 | £12.70 | £62.30 | £239.30 | £2492 |
| Zone 1-7 | n/a | n/a | £67.70 | £260 | £2708 |
| Zone 1-8 | n/a | n/a | £80 | £307.20 | £3200 |
| Zone 1-9 | £22.80 | £13.50 | £88.70 | £340.70 | £3548 |
| Zone 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 2-3 | n/a | n/a | £25.50 | £98 | £1020 |
| Zone 2-4 | n/a | n/a | £28.20 | £108.30 | £1128 |
| Zone 2-5 | n/a | n/a | £33.90 | £130.20 | £1356 |
| Zone 2-6 | n/a | n/a | £42.60 | £163.60 | £1704 |
| Zone 2-7 | n/a | n/a | £44.20 | £169.80 | £1768 |
| Zone 2-8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 2-9 | n/a | n/a | £60.10 | £230.80 | £2404 |
| Zone 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 3-4 | n/a | n/a | £25.50 | £98 | £1020 |
| Zone 3-5 | n/a | n/a | £28.20 | £108.30 | £1128 |
| Zone 3-6 | n/a | n/a | £33.90 | £130.20 | £1356 |
| Zone 3-7 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 3-8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 3-9 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 4-5 | n/a | n/a | £25.50 | £98 | £1020 |
| Zone 4-6 | n/a | n/a | £28.20 | £108.30 | £1128 |
| Zone 4-7 | n/a | n/a | £32 | £122.90 | £1280 |
| Zone 4-8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 4-9 | n/a | n/a | £53.80 | £206.60 | £2152 |
| Zone 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 5-6 | n/a | n/a | £25.50 | £98 | £1020 |
| Zone 5-7 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 5-8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 5-9 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Other zones | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
|
Anytime and off-peak? Anytime means exactly what it says: you can travel at any time. Off-peak is after 9.30 AM (Mon-Fri) and all day Sat-Sun. Prices are based on what time your journey starts (it doesn’t matter what time the journey finishes) | |||||
Child travelcard prices 2018
| Buses only | 1-Day | Weekly | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aged under-16 | ||||
| All zones | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Aged 16-17 with a 16+ Zip Oyster photocard | ||||
| All zones | n/a | £10.60 | £40.80 | £424 |
| Trains & Buses | 1-Day | Weekly | Monthly | Annual | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anytime | Off-peak | ||||
| Aged 11-15 with an 11-15 Zip Oyster photocard | |||||
| Zone 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 1-2 | n/a | n/a | £17.10 | £65.70 | £684 |
| Zone 1-3 | n/a | n/a | £20 | £76.80 | £800 |
| Zone 1-4 | £6.30 | n/a | £24.50 | £94.10 | £980 |
| Zone 1-5 | n/a | n/a | £29.10 | £111.80 | £1164 |
| Zone 1-6 | £9 | £6.30 | £31.20 | £119.90 | £1248 |
| Zone 1-7 | n/a | n/a | £33.90 | £130.20 | £1356 |
| Zone 1-8 | n/a | n/a | £40 | £153.60 | £1600 |
| Zone 1-9 | £11.40 | £6.70 | £44.40 | £170.50 | £1776 |
| Zone 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 2-3 | n/a | n/a | £12.80 | £49.20 | £512 |
| Zone 2-4 | n/a | n/a | £14.10 | £54.20 | £564 |
| Zone 2-5 | n/a | n/a | £17 | £65.30 | £680 |
| Zone 2-6 | n/a | n/a | £21.30 | £81.80 | £852 |
| Zone 2-7 | n/a | n/a | £22.10 | £84.90 | £884 |
| Zone 2-8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 2-9 | n/a | n/a | £30.10 | £115.60 | £1204 |
| Zone 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 3-4 | n/a | n/a | £12.80 | £49.20 | £512 |
| Zone 3-5 | n/a | n/a | £14.10 | £52.20 | £564 |
| Zone 3-6 | n/a | n/a | £17 | £65.30 | £680 |
| Zone 3-7 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 3-8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 3-9 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 4-5 | n/a | n/a | £12.80 | £49.20 | £512 |
| Zone 4-6 | n/a | n/a | £14.10 | £54.20 | £564 |
| Zone 4-7 | n/a | n/a | £16 | £61.50 | £640 |
| Zone 4-8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 4-9 | n/a | n/a | £26.90 | £103.30 | £1076 |
| Zone 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 5-6 | n/a | n/a | £12.80 | £49.20 | £512 |
| Zone 5-7 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 5-8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Zone 5-9 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Other zones | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Aged 16-17 with a 16+ Zip Oyster photocard | |||||
| Zone 1-4 | £12.70 | n/a | Same as the 11-15 fare | ||
| Zone 1-6 | £18.10 | £12.70 | |||
| Zone 1-9 | £22.80 | £13.50 | |||
| Other zones | n/a | n/a | |||
Photocards? Zip Oyster photocards are different from normal Oyster cards and must be ordered online in advance from tfl.gov.uk. See our child trains fares page for details | |||||
What are travelcards?
London travelcards come in two different versions. The first type just covers the buses and trams, whilst the second type includes the trains as well.
Travelcards are valid for one day, one week, one month or one year, and you can travel as many times as you like during that period.
You always have to choose a date when you buy it. It is not possible to buy a dateless travelcard. It will then be valid on that date only if it’s a 1-day card, or run consecutively from that date if it’s a weekly, monthly or annual travelcard.
You will then have to decide how many zones you want it to cover. If you want to buy a 1-day travelcard then you’ll only have a choice of three: a zone 1-4 card, zone 1-6 card, or a zone 1-9 card (which also comes in peak and off-peak versions). If you want to buy a weekly or monthly travelcard then you can choose combination of zones from 1 up to 9. You can’t buy zone 1 on its own, though – the lowest they go is zones 1-2.
95% of tourists will just require a card that covers zones 1-2 (which encompasses the touristy bit), but some tourists might prefer to buy a zone 1-6 travelcard if they’re flying into Heathrow airport. The more zones you want it to cover, the higher the price. [Note: Buses don’t have zones, only the trains. So if you’re buying a bus pass then don’t worry about the zones.]
Depending on which duration you choose and where you buy it from, a travelcard will either come as a paper ticket or be put onto a plastic blue Oyster card.
Can travelcards be loaded onto an Oyster card?
Yes, they can. A weekly travelcard and monthly pass can be loaded straight onto an existing pay-as-you-go Oyster card.
This can come in quite handy if you are spending most of your time in zones 1&2 but need to make a one-off journey into zone 6 for Heathrow airport. Buying a zone 1-6 travelcard for the entire duration would be a waste of money – it’s cheaper to buy a zone 1-2 travelcard and then load a bit of extra credit on to cover the extra journey. The computer will take into account that your travelcard already cover zones 1-2 and will only charge you for zones 2-6.
Note: It’s not possible to load a travelcard onto a Visitor Oyster card or a contactless payment card.
Buy a travelcard
There are three ways to buy a travelcard…
One day travelcards: One day travelcards for the trains+buses can be ordered from the TFL website. These ones will be issued as a paper ticket.
It’s not possible to buy a 1-day travelcard for just the buses in advance. You can only purchase it on the day of travel from a train station, a London Visitor Centre, or an Oyster Ticket Stop. These ones will always be put onto a blue Oyster card. (Note: The usual £5 deposit will apply if you require a new Oyster card – which comes on top of the travelcard cost.)
There are seven Visitor Centres in London: at Euston station, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington, Piccadilly Circus, Victoria and Heathrow airport.
Oyster Ticket Stops are just normal shops (usually newsagents) which have a blue Oyster sticker in their window.
1-day travelcards do not require a photocard.
Weekly travelcards: If you buy a weekly pass from the TFL website then it will come as a paper ticket. If you buy one from a train station, a London Travel Information Centre, or an Oyster Ticket Stop, then it will be put onto a blue Oyster card.
You do not need a photocard to buy a weekly travelcard – unless you buy it from a National Rail station. If you need to buy it from a train station then try and find an underground tube station instead, because you don’t need a photocard for those.
Monthly and annual travelcards: Monthly and yearly travelcards can only be bought from a train station, a London Travel Information Centre, or an Oyster Ticket Stop. They cannot be ordered from the TFL website because you need to provide them with a passport-style photograph as well. They will always be issued on a blue Oyster card.
Group travelcards: Groups of ten or more people can get cheaper fares by buying a Group Day Travelcard from the TFL website.
Anytime or off-peak?
Anytime Travelcards: These are the standard travelcards. They are valid on the date (or dates) printed on the ticket, and up to 4.30 AM the following morning as well. (So if it expires on the 10th, you can actually travel up to 4.30 AM on the 11th.)
Off-Peak Travelcard: If you want to save a bit of money then you can limit yourself to an Off-Peak Travelcard. You still have to choose a date, but you are also restricted to travelling after 9:30 AM on a weekday (Monday to Friday). You can travel at any time during the weekend.
Family travelcards
Unfortunately there is no such thing as a Family travelcard anymore. There used to be something called a ‘London Family Travelcard’ in the distant past, but everybody requires their own individual travelcard now.
Group Day Travelcards
If you are travelling in a group of ten or more then you might benefit from buying a Group Day Travelcard.
Can two people share a travelcard?
No. Each traveller needs their own travelcard.
Are Travelcards the cheapest way to travel in London?
Most tourists assume that travelcards are the cheapest way to travel on the London Underground, but that is not always the case.
1-day passes are always more expensive than the daily cap on Oyster and contactless cards.
Weekly travel passes usually work out cheaper – but it all depends on how many journeys you make. If you are planning on making two or more bus or train journeys on each of the seven days, or three or more journeys on five or six days, then a weekly travelcard is probably cheaper. Unfortunately there is no easy way to work it out. You just need to sit down and work out how many journeys you’ll be making, and then get your calculator out (sorry!).
Oyster Card + London Pass
Before you fork out a load of money on a travelcard you might want to think about getting a London Pass.
This is a discount card that gives you free or cheap entry into lots of attractions. But the handy thing for you is that you can also buy it with an Oyster card included, which you can then use on the buses and trains.
Using travelcards on a bus
Using your London travelcard on the bus couldn’t be simpler. If you have a paper travelcard then just show it to the driver or the conductor.
If you have an Oyster travelcard then touch it against the big round yellow reader by the bus door. There is no need to touch the travel pass down again when you leave the bus – you only have to do that for trains.
Are train travelcards valid on the bus?
Yes – but it’s a bit more confusing.
Train+bus travelcards are slightly differently to the bus ones because you also have to choose which zones you want for the train. Buses don’t have zones, so whichever one you buy it will still be valid.
So if you buy a train+bus travelcard for zones 1-2, for example, it will only let you ride the trains in zones 1-2, but the buses all the way out to zone 6.
Using travelcards on a train
Using your travelcard on the London Underground is easy. If you have a paper travelcard then just insert it face-up into the slot at the front of the barrier. The same ticket will then pop out of a slot at the top. The gate won’t open until you remove your travelcard from this slot.
Important: Do not throw the paper travelcard away after you’ve passed through the barrier – even if it’s your final journey! Because you’ll need it to open the gate at the other end of your tube journey.
If you have an Oyster travelcard, then just touch it against the big round yellow reader at the front of the gate. The gate will then open automatically to let you through.