London

[RomanyRoots]

To ask for help understanding public transport and Zones.

Ok, firstly, please be gentle I am anxious about travelling round London due to a mix of the crowds, pace and learning difficulties. Really bad with maps and direction.

I need to know what the zones are and how to get to certain areas. What form of transport to use and how to pay for it.

Basically an idiots guide to getting round London.

Have been a few times but usually been driven, never made my own way.

Agree with a PP, if you're having difficulties navigating, please ask. TFL has staff at every station, bus drivers often know details of different routes, people in the street will help if you ask.

Back in ye olden days it was sometimes necessary to understand zones, so they you could buy the right ticket/travelcard. I think the zones are irrelevant nowadays. They do still affect what a journey costs, but as long as you use the same contactless card for all journeys you will be charged the minimum price, so the journeys cost what they cost and it's not worth worrying about zones. (Assuming you are not on such a tight budget that you would change your travel plans based on price.)

It's important to use the same card for all journeys so that you get discounts on multiple uses.

It's worth registering the card you use on TFL web site, then if anything goes wrong you can sort it out. (For example if you forget to tap out, you can get a refund for being charged for a journey longer than the one you actually took.)

My tip for any train/tube system - plan your journey (say Marylebone to Greenwich) but don’t just look at which line your stop is on, look at the name of the stop at the end of the line. That way you avoid the confusion of remembering if you’re heading north/south, if you’re on the right tube line (circle, metropolitan and Hammersmith all use the same platform sometimes)
When you are pulling into the station before you step off the train, look through the window for the “way out” sign, or the sign for the next line you have to get. Then as you step off you will walk the right way instead of panicking, stopping still adding bumped into by angry commuters! If in doubt just stand by a wall til it empties out.

Another vote for citymapper.

As others have said, you can download the tube map from TFL. Just use your contactless card to tap in and out - your journey gets capped if you're doing lots of travelling and it'll figure it out. The bus is really cheap too and if you're having to change buses etc, again it'll just count 1 journey if you get on another bus shortly after.

London transport is very easy. Relax, stand to the right on escalators or walking up stairs (people rushing through will do so on the left hand side. Expect busy travel during rush hour so if you're nervous maybe plan on another activity between 7-9 and 5-7 (central line especially).

London transport is pretty straightforward.
Avoid rush hour if you can.
Remember the tube map has no bearing on geography and go from there.
Locals are pretty helpful and if you get stuck ask a member of London Transport Staff.

A bit of research before you come will help you no end.