London public transport

[Idontmeanto]

Morning Mumsnet!
It’s been a while since i’ve been in the capital. I’ve been reading that you now use debit cards at the tube barrier as it’s cheaper than buying tickets. Can someone please explain to me how that works if I’m a parent travelling with two teenagers and paying for all the tickets, please? Likely to be passing through late when few visible staff around!

It's one contactless card per fare. Can the teens use their debit cards? You cannot pay for them all on one card.

Alternatively you can get them Oyster cards, which you can add a 16-25 railcard too for 1/3 off off peak fares - this is the cheapest way to travel as a teen.

Paper tickets are very expensive - I vaguely remember something about a £2.40 journey being £4 on a paper ticket.

Thanks, can I be really stupid? How and when do you tell the machine you need it to charge a child fare not an adult one?

It's v. handy but you can only pay for one person at a time on a contactless card, and it will be the adult rate. Teenagers living in London get discounted fares using an Oyster photocard. If your dc have their own contactless cards (or you have enough cards for a card each) they can use them - the convenience may well be worth it. Otherwise I think you'll have to buy young visitor Oysters or travelcards.

Cross-posted. You can't get child fare on contactless

you can buy oyster cards online visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/london-visitor-oyster-card/. If your children are aged 11-15, you can get a Young Visitor discount automatically added to their cards at a tube station ticket office, may need some ID to prove their ages. They will then only pay 1/2 the adult rate for a fortnight.

You should get them oyster cards of they are 16+ or zip cards if 11-15 (cheaper tube fares, free bus). You top up the cards and use them to tap on/out of tube stations and just when you get on the bus.

They are capped at the price of a one day travel card (about £12 I think) so toy can't spend more than that in one day.

You can get oysters at stations and top them up at the ticket machines, online or in some shops.

The teens will be automatically charged an adult fare unless they have a railcard loaded onto an Oyster.

They can also apply for a half price Oyster card but the fee is £20 so unlikely to be worth it.

Is it really £20 for a zip? Bloody hell!

You need to prove their age on the bus for free bus travel. Otherwise it's an £80 fine.

there's a £5 activation key, so a £20 card comes with £15 credit.

There's a cap on cards as well I think it's something like £10.90-
So you won't spend more than than PP in one day

A couple of tube journeys would do it!

Also If you so buy the oyster if you take it back they give you £5

Really? I never knew that!

Thanks all! One has a contactless debit card, one doesn’t. One I can bing some cash to use her own. The other I’ll have to buy an oyster. Really appreciate your help.

The Young Viditor Oyster costs £5, the same as any Oyster. Then you take it to the ticket office and get the young visitor discount added.

Or you can buy child travelcards online.

Look st the “young visitor Oyster cards” page in the TfL website. Just google young visitor discount.

Is this just for one journey, or a stay?

If just one journey, just buy a ticket at the machine or get them to use their own contactless.

When are you going?

We used our contactless cards for a day in London in the summer. We went all over the place on the tubes and spent £6.80 each. Bargain.

Do you have any contactless credit cards. You can give one of them to your other child to use. Just remember to tap out with the same card.