Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

London and the underground

19 replies

Inkythemouse · 23/02/2019 21:44

I'm taking the dc tomorrow and am trying to figure out how much the underground will cost and the best way to buy tickets.
Is there a day pass? Or a family ticket?
Dc are5,11 and 15.
Is there an idiots guide to the underground somewhere?
Thanks

OP posts:
andantecantabile · 23/02/2019 21:45

The 5 year old is definitely free, the 11 I'm not sure about. The cheapest way is travelling via contactless payment card.

Crunchymum · 23/02/2019 21:46

Do you have contactless? Kids are free. The 15yo may need to pay tho (you won't have time to get photo ID to prove child fare so you'll probably pay full price)

Rowgtfc72 · 23/02/2019 21:47

We did it recently. There is a travelcard for the 11 yr old but it was a faff and had to be applied for so we just used contactless cards. Surprised how easy it was.

Tavannach · 23/02/2019 21:49

Contactless.

Original poster
Inkythemouse · 23/02/2019 21:49

Excellent thank you

OP posts:
gt84 · 23/02/2019 21:51

You can use a contactless card for yourself and buy paper tickets (a “one day travelcard”) for your 11 and 15 year olds.

Unless you will be coming to London frequently in which case it might be wise to get Oyster cards for you all as they work out cheaper

gt84 · 23/02/2019 21:54

@crunchymum kids aged 11 and over age not free on the tube

user1494050295 · 23/02/2019 21:57

All three will need to pay as a zip card takes acouple of weeks to get. They will pay child rate though

Svalberg · 23/02/2019 22:20

Don't forget, you will need a contactless card for each person - no double dipping.

SquirmOfEels · 23/02/2019 22:27

The easiest thing to do it get a child travel card for the 11yo and 15 yo.

If my googling can be relied on, they cost £6.50.

Oyster day cap is lower, but you do nit have time to apply for a Zip Oyster. You couid get Young Visitor discount on a regular Oyster, but then you have the faff of arranging it all, loading the minimum, and then cashing back anything unspent and getting card deposit back. Worth it for a longer visit, but only you can decide the hassle/cost balance for this trip.

evilkitten · 23/02/2019 22:29

We did this last week with kids of similar ages. Your 11 and 15 year olds need to pay. There is apparently a visitor oyster card available for a fiver that you ask for a child discount to be applied to, or the paper day travelcard tickets, which is the option we went for. There didn't seem to be an option for applying a child discount to contactless, so I'm not sure why PP are suggesting it.

The pain in the backside was having a bus as the first link in the chain each day - so no means of paying for it as we hadn't got to a ticket machine. I don't think they're geared up to children paying, as local children don't.

If this sounds a bit whingy, it shouldn't be. I love london transport. It's incredibly cheap and there's loads of it.

bluetit101 · 23/02/2019 22:30

We went yesterday with DS 15 and DD 11. DD was free and DS was £6 something for a travelcard zones 1-6. Me and DH used our contactless cards and it came to approx £7 each and we made a few trips, couple of them were long trips

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 23/02/2019 22:34

You can pay on London buses with a contactless card. Same price as if you had an Oyster. You only touch once, on the way in - it's not like Tube or trains where you touch on exit too.

bluetit101 · 23/02/2019 22:36

Although I'm reading that children age 11 aren't free.. but we were told when buying our tickets that she was free and wasn't questioned at any station.. Hmm

Autumnalleaves · 23/02/2019 22:40

This page explains it.

You don’t need to pay /get any kind of ticket for the 5 year old at all.

You do need to lay for the 11 and 15 year old. If you have enough contactless cards, you can use them (but it’s got to be one card each and you’d end up paying adult fare for them). Or buy a one day travelcard, or a child single ticket, depending on whether you will be doing enough journeys to make the travel card worth it.

Autumnalleaves · 23/02/2019 22:46

@bluetit101 - 15 and under are free on buses and trams. So that might have been the advice about travel being free? It’s definitely not free for 11+ on the tube though.

@evilkitten - if your DC were 15 and under you only need to tap in using contactless for you on the initial bus, and not pay at all for them until you got on the tube.

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 23/02/2019 22:50

By far the easiest thing to do is to get a one day travelcard for the ones that need to pay. Don't use your contactless card to pay for the kids (as some are suggesting) because you'll be paying adult fares for them.

bluetit101 · 23/02/2019 22:54

@Autumnalleaves

We asked when buying our train tickets about the underground and were told by the man working at the ticket booth to use our contactless cards for me and DH and to get DS a travel card and that DD was free..

Then at every tube station she was let through the gate when we said she was 11...

Strange.. at least we know for next time now

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.