Talk to me like I’m 5 years old - how do we tap in / out / travel on the tube when there’s 4 of us?

[Pepperedpickles]

I lived in London for 27 years but haven’t been back for a very long time. We’re going to the theatre on Saturday- there’s 4 of us, me, dh, dd aged 22 and ds aged 13. We are coming into London Liverpool Street and then need to get to Victoria Station, the theatre is very close to here (Apollo). So what’s the best way to do this? The last time I used the tube some years ago I just got everyone travel cards but I’ve read how you now tap in and out with your debit card? How do we do this when there’s 4 of us? Is there a better way to do this? I’m worried we’re going to hold the line up or be charged incorrectly somehow.

Help. 😬🙈

You each need a separate card

You literally tap, just as when you tap a card reader to pay for something, tap when you enter the tube, tap again to exit, or just once on a bus. Use the same card each time (one each) as it’ll eventually reach a capped fare if you make several trips and stop charging.

When we went in a group, all the adults used their own bank card, one child used his mums second bank account card and the other child used her father’s bank card (he wasn’t with us).

You each need to tap in/out with your own card/applepay.

travel cards are still available I believe.

Ok, thank you. We do all have our own bank cards (well Ds has a GoHenry one so I think this will do!) so I think maybe we will just do this and I’ll refund them the money afterwards (as it’s my treat for everyone).

You can also still buy physical tickets for travel.

I do this for work for ease of receipts. Much easier with a family.

Just use same card - pass it back

No use the same card as fares in one day are c as capped. Otherwise you’ll pay more than you need.

To take advantage of chh gg old rate fares you need to have either an Oyster card (top up plastic card from London Underground) or a zip card (specific to your child, apply in advance online). Otherwise if you just use a bank card it will charge adult fares.

No you can't. You can't tap in again with a card you have just used. You need to tap out before you tap in again. If four people are travelling at the same time, they each need their own card.

If they manage to use the same card (which it won’t let them do) the total taken from the card would be the daily cap for one person, but four people would have traveled - fraud in other words.

Absolutely don't use the same card for all four people - it won't work (because it thinks the person has already gone through the gates), and as someone else just said, even if you pause in the hope it will work after a bit, it will cap the maximum fare as if it's only one person travelling, so that'll be fraud.

Either use four separate debit or credit cards (you can use your card on your phone or a physical card), ie one per person, or if you don't want to pay adult fare for the child, just buy the child a paper tube ticket, selecting that you want a child fare. Even if the child uses their GoHenry, the tube won't know they are a child and they will get charged adult price.

As a child fare is 50% cheaper than adult it's well worth getting a child paper ticket.

Where are you coming in from and are you going anywhere else? Maybe cheaper just to get a zone 1 return if you are just going to Victoria and back. With four if you travelling you should be able to get a group saver rate.

No that doesn't work.
If you get checked by a ticket inspector (it does happen) 3 of you could get fined as you "didn't" pay.

I wouldn't worry too much about your 13 year old being charged adult price.
The adult ticket cost is actually cheaper than what would you would have to pay to purchase a teen Oyster or Zip card because you also have to top up the card with money.
It's usually cheaper to just pay the adult fair if it's a one off day in London.

We are just in London. First time for me in a while. The ticket machine said about this yesterday and I asked a staff member close by. Tap your card on the pad on entering and leaving the tube. Each person needs their own card. A single adult ticket was going to cost me £7 at the machine and it charched me £2.80 (I think it was when I checked my bank this morning) to do a trip within zone 1 (Paddington to Gloucester street). Much cheaper for doing it this way.

As someone has mentioned the total will be capped to a day rate if you are making multiple journeys.

Enjoy your trip.

We usually tap and pass the phone back. I didn't realise this doesn't count as it usually shows on the account, but I guess you need internet for that. This is why I would rather have a ticket as everyone is in a huge rush at the gates and kids get flustered.

Do you have to get these at the underground machines? Do they not do travel cards that work as train tickets and on the tube any more?

Your physical plastic card AND the version on Apple/Google pay can both be used - they are registered and recorded differently.

TfL explained this to me when I used plastic to tap in, but Apple version to tap out and was confused why it didn't show correctly on my account.

You can add physical and virtual cards to your TfL account and will get the payment histories for each listed separately

Last time DD and I went to London the lady in the ticket office said it was cheaper for her to get a travel card but for me to tap. So it might be worth asking the question at your home station especially as you can probably get a travelling together discount.

4 of you are travelling, therefore four of you should pay.

You each tap your own debit card, then you can give them a few quid to cover later if you want to.

You just tap your card against the sensor and it opens the gate. Then closes behind you and next person does the same.

Thanks, that is what I thought - DD only has a small amount on her card and I know a lot of kids don't get debit cards until they are 10, so it makes sense to have a paper ticket. They can't expect all families to get debit cards for a 6 year old!

A 6 year old travels free anyway, they just go through the barrier with an adult who's tapped through.

Thank you everyone. I’m reading all the replies and learning lots!