How do London buses work?

[plipplops]

I am not from London and have never got a bus when I'm there. We live rurally in the South West so getting a bus here is 'ask the driver for a return to the closest city, pay with a card, show your paper ticket for a return trip'.

On Friday night we need to get a bus from Canary Wharf about a mile up the road and back again later. I'm taking my two autistic daughters (15 and 17) and one of them absolutely needs to know how everything works before we do it.

How do I pay for the three of us? What do I ask for (if I ask for a random small stop a mile up the road will they know what I'm talking about or is it zones?)

How do return tickets work?

I know I sound like a clueless idiot but I need to have the answers for DD and look like I know what I'm doing.

Thanks!

You will need 3 separate contact less cards... either oyster cards or debit/credit cards.
You just tap on when you get on the bus.
Its a flat fare.

Everything you need to know is here: tfl.gov.uk/modes/buses/using-buses-in-london

If you follow the links in the page you can get more information on things like fares.

Essentially you can just use contactless payment to tap on the bus and off.

You each need a contactless card or oyster card. You beep when you get on and that's it.

No asking for a certain stop. No return ticket. No fuss. Couldn't be more simple.

You don’t need to ask for anything, any single journey is a flat fare. Tap your contactless bank card or Oyster card on the yellow reader until it goes green. You can only tap once though, so you’d need separate cards to pay for three people. I think travel for under 18s is free if they have a child card. Check the tfl website for info about tickets, it’s very useful. https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/buses/using-buses-in-london?intcmp=53125

Just tap on when you get on every bus. No need to tap out- when you get to your stop you just get off. You will need a contactless card per person.

You just pay a flat rate per journey on buses regardless of the zone/distance - think it’s £1.75 at the moment. If you take more than one bus in an hour it’s covered but otherwise you will pay two bus fares (it does cap out at a certain amount - I’m not sure of the amount tho)

Cash isn’t accepted now on London buses. You can use an Oyster card (can apply for one with TfL see their website) or you can also use a bank card to tap in and pay. You will all need to tap in with different bank cards/ Oyster cards

also buses are free for under 16s in London but you need to apply for an oyster zip card which costs around £10. Apply on TfL website.

enjoy your trip!

You don't ask for anything! London buses have a flat fare for each trip (with a cap that counts all TfL trips per day) and you just each tap in with a contactless card/phone/oyster card when you get on - you each need your own method of payment. There will be a display saying what stop is next and when your destination is displayed you can press the bell so the driver knows to stop. You don't tap when you get off.

Also you can get an oyster card from a station and get them to apply a young visitor discount for the kids but if it’s literally just 1 bus journey I wouldn’t bother. If you’re there for the weekend and will be doing tubes/trains too then definitely worth doing though.

Tap on, no need to say where you are going as it's a flat fare. You will all need separate contactless or oyster cards, you cannot use the same one for all of you.

Pretty much all buses have a screen and annoucement telling you what stop you are approaching. Ring the bell when it says your stop.

Citymapper app is very good for live bus times and showing you where stops are

All bus stops have a letter or two in a red disc at the top of the sign - this is helpful for knowing you are at the right stop when there's multiple stops close to eachother

Depending on which bus you are getting from CW and which direction, the traffic can be absolutely diabolical at peak times so leave plenty of time if you need it

If it's only a mile have you considered walking? In London it is often faster than a bus.

Citymapper will tell you whether it's quicker to walk or take a bus. As will Google Maps.

It's a brilliantly simple system. Just hop on, tap, wait for your stop to be announced, hop off (no tap).

No need to speak to the driver other than a jolly hello or thank you!

Download Citymapper or bus times app and put in your journey daughters can follow along with the bus stops if that would help!!

TFL also has a journey planner to tell you which bus to catch, where the bus stop is.

Most bus stops also have posters showing day bus routes, night bus routes, timetables, bus stop maps etc and an electronic sign showing when the next buses are due. Most buses also have an electronic sign inside displaying the name of the next stop (if your DD gets anxious about missing the stop because you don’t know the city).

Use google maps when you are on the bus. It will show you how many stops are left; and your DD's might find this interesting/reassuring

Bus times is a good app, you can see live data when you are waiting for the bus and when you are on it so you can watch for your stop.

You'll need a contactless card each, if you want to get the child rate you'll need oyster to get the discount applied.

It literally couldn't be a simpler, more stranger-friendly system. As PP say, every individual over the age of 11 taps a card, Oyster or bank card, when boarding. All stops have names and are both verbally announced and shown on the internal screens. When your stop is announced, you press the "stop" button and then hop off. You always board at the front door (unless boarding a wheelchair or buggy) and you get off the rear door.

This is all so brilliant, thank you!

Will download Citymapper app.

I suggested walking but DD1 gets v anxious about cities at night (she gets the bus to college in Bristol and is fine there in the day but hates it in the dark). She feels safer on the bus and as the trip is taking us very much out of our comfort zone I want to do whatever she feels most comfortable with.

We'll just use our own phones so that's fine for everyone paying for themselves (it's just the journey out and back, DD2 is in burnout so doesn't have the stamina for sightseeing which is a real shame but not much we can do about that).

I've just looked on the tfl website and looks like we could also use the DLR - I'm assuming that's broadly the same as the tube (which I do understand!!)?

The other posters have provided all the major details. One bit of bus etiquette that isn't immediately obvious is that you board the bus at the front by the driver, but exit the bus via the doors in the middle of the bus.
You also need to press the bell before you get to your stop to ensure the bus stops there - the on board displays and announcements will show the next stop so it is easy to know when to do this!

DLR is tap in and tap out .. dobt forget the out tap, otherwise you pay max fare for tour journey.

The DLR is part of the tube system but the lines are mostly overground and driverless!

The bus sign that displays the next stop will say stopping if it is stopping. You only need to ring the bell if it doesn’t say stopping already.

Some buses do actually have an Oyster/card reader by the middle doors so you can board at the middle door too. Don’t fall into the trap of “tapping out” (like you do leaving the tube) if you see one by the middle doors when you get off!

The really important thing about the DLR is that, if the very front seat is free, you must sit there and pretend to drive it. It's the law. Innit.

No the DLR is more like the tube but above ground and the trains are driverless. Tap in and out. Not all of the stations have physical barriers but will have a card reader on the wall by the exit- don’t miss it or forget because you’ll be fined.

You have to tap out as well on DLR. I'd chose dlr over bus.

You all need a contactless card and tap it on the reader as you get on. London buses won't accept cash.

I recommend downloading an app called Citymapper, it's great. Tells you all the different routes you could take, times of the next bus, how long it would take to walk, walking route, rain safe ways etc - the girls might really like it so they can see exactly what their journey would be. It's a saviour!

Have fun in London.