| Bus fares | Single fare | Daily cap | Weekly cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| All zones | £1.75 | £5.25 | £24.70 |
| Train fares | Single fare | Daily cap | Weekly cap | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak | Off-peak | Peak | Off-peak | ||
| Zone 1 fare | £2.80 | £2.70 | £8.50 | £8.50 | £42.70 |
| Zone 1-2 fare | £3.40 | £2.80 | £8.50 | £8.50 | £42.70 |
| Zone 1-3 fare | £3.70 | £3 | £10 | £10 | £50.20 |
| Zone 1-4 fare | £4.40 | £3.20 | £12.30 | £12.30 | £61.40 |
| Zone 1-5 fare | £5.10 | £3.50 | £14.60 | £14.60 | £73 |
| Zone 1-6 fare | £5.60* | £3.60* | £15.60 | £15.60 | £78 |
| Zone 1-7 fare | £6.40 | £4.70 | £17 | £15.60 | £85 |
| Zone 1-8 fare | £7.80 | £4.70 | £20.10 | £15.60 | £100.30 |
| Zone 1-9 fare | £7.90 | £4.80 | £22.30 | £15.60 | £111.30 |
| Zone 2 fare | £1.90 | £1.80 | £8.50 | £8.50 | £32 |
| Zone 2-3 fare | £2.10 | £1.90 | £10 | £10 | £32 |
| Zone 2-4 fare | £2.80 | £1.90 | £12.30 | £12.30 | £35.50 |
| Zone 2-5 fare | £3 | £2 | £14.60 | £14.60 | £42.50 |
| Zone 2-6 fare | £3.40 | £2.10 | £15.60 | £15.60 | £53.40 |
| Zone 2-7 fare | £4.70 | £3.30 | £17 | £15.60 | £55.40 |
| Zone 2-8 fare | £5.40 | £3.40 | £20.10 | £15.60 | £75.40 |
| Zone 2-9 fare | £5.40 | £3.40 | £22.30 | £15.60 | £75.40 |
| Zone 3 fare | £1.90 | £1.80 | £10 | £10 | £32 |
| Zone 3-4 fare | £2.10 | £1.90 | £12.30 | £12.30 | £32 |
| Zone 3-5 fare | £2.80 | £1.90 | £14.60 | £14.60 | £35.50 |
| Zone 3-6 fare | £3 | £2 | £15.60 | £15.60 | £42.50 |
| Zone 3-7 fare | £3.80 | £2.20 | £17 | £15.60 | £55.40 |
| Zone 3-8 fare | £4.60 | £2.20 | £20.10 | £15.60 | £75.40 |
| Zone 3-9 fare | £4.80 | £2.20 | £22.30 | £15.60 | £75.40 |
| Zone 4 fare | £1.90 | £1.80 | £12.30 | £12.30 | £32 |
| Zone 4-5 fare | £2.10 | £1.90 | £14.60 | £14.60 | £32 |
| Zone 4-6 fare | £2.80 | £1.90 | £15.60 | £15.60 | £35.50 |
| Zone 4-7 fare | £3.10 | £2.20 | £17 | £15.60 | £40.10 |
| Zone 4-8 fare | £3.80 | £2.20 | £20.10 | £15.60 | £67.60 |
| Zone 4-9 fare | £3.80 | £2.20 | £22.30 | £15.60 | £67.60 |
| Zone 5 fare | £1.90 | £1.80 | £14.60 | £14.60 | £32 |
| Zone 5-6 fare | £2.10 | £1.90 | £15.60 | £15.60 | £32 |
| Zone 5-7 fare | £2.80 | £2.20 | £17 | £15.60 | £40.10 |
| Zone 5-8 fare | £3.10 | £2.20 | £20.10 | £15.60 | £67.60 |
| Zone 5-9 fare | £3.30 | £2.20 | £22.30 | £15.60 | £67.60 |
| Zone 6 fare | £1.90 | £1.80 | £15.60 | £15.60 | £32 |
| Zone 6-7 fare | £2.10 | £1.90 | £17 | £15.60 | £40.10 |
| Zone 6-8 fare | £2.80 | £2.10 | £20.10 | £15.60 | £67.60 |
| Zone 6-9 fare | £2.90 | £2.20 | £22.30 | £15.60 | £67.60 |
| Zone 7 fare | £1.90 | £1.80 | £17 | £15.60 | £40.10 |
| Zone 7-8 fare | £2.10 | £1.90 | £20.10 | £15.60 | £67.60 |
| Zone 7-9 fare | £2.20 | £2 | £22.30 | £15.60 | £67.60 |
| Zone 8 fare | £1.90 | £1.80 | £20.10 | £15.60 | £67.60 |
| Zone 8-9 fare | £2.10 | £1.90 | £22.30 | £15.60 | £67.60 |
| * Tube journeys between zone 1 and Heathrow are always charged at the peak rate. Elizabeth line journeys between zone 1 and Heathrow are £10.20 during off-peak hours and £12.80 during peak hours Note: Contactless card prices are correct as of | |||||
What is a contactless card?
A contactless card is just a bank card – your normal everyday debit card or credit card. As long as it has the fan symbol on it then you should be able to use it straight away:
Contactless cards work in exactly the same way as Oyster cards. There’s no need for a PIN, a signature, or to insert it into any reader. All you have to do is wave it in front of the yellow Oyster readers and the computer will use wireless near-field communication (NFC) technology to deduct the correct bus fare or tube fare from your bank account.
Contactless cards also work when attached to mobile payment systems like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Garmin, Fitbit, Samsung, Barclaycard Mobile and bPay.
What are the benefits of a contactless card?
- It’s just your normal everyday bank card, so you probably already have one
- Contactless payments are accepted all over the TFL network on the buses, London underground, DLR, TFL Rail, National Rail, Thames Clipper, and even the IFS Cloud Cable Car
- Contactless bus fares and tube fares for single journeys are always the cheapest fares available (alongside Oyster), but unlike Oyster, there’s no need to pay a £7 deposit to get one
- The contactless daily cap is always cheaper than buying a 1-day travelcard
- The contactless weekly cap is the same price as a weekly travelcard
- Unlike Oyster cards there’s no need to keep topping them up with extra credit, or worrying that your credit is about to run out on the journey home
- The technology is safe – there’s no need to insert your bank card into any slot, or enter your PIN where somebody might see it. You shouldn’t even need to take your card out of your wallet if you don’t want to, as the machine is sensitive enough to read it through the material
What are the downsides of a contactless card?
- Unlike Oyster cards, it’s not possible to load a travelcard onto a contactless card
- If you’re travelling with more than one person then you’ll each need your own bank card
- There are no contactless fares for children
- Foreign cards might not be accepted, and overseas banks might add on a transaction fee every time you purchase something abroad, which will bump up the cost of each bus ticket and tube ticket
Using contactless on a mobile phone
Contactless cards attached to mobile payment systems like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Garmin, Fitbit, Samsung, Barclaycard Mobile or bPay can be used to pay fares on the London Underground and TFL buses.
Just wave your mobile phone or iWatch near the big yellow Oyster readers – exactly as you would with a normal bank card.
But you must remember to use the same device each time, otherwise you won’t benefit from the contactless travel cap. If you tap down with your actual bank card at the start of your journey, but switch to your mobile phone at the end, then the computer won’t recognise it as being the same card (even if it’s the same card number). That’s because mobile pay systems don’t pass over bank card number. They actually pass over a totally unique number derived from your bank card and device, so TFL’s system has no way of linking the two journeys.
Can foreign bank cards be used on the London Underground?
Only a few foreign bank cards are accepted on the London Underground… chiefly American Express and most MasterCard, Maestro and Visa cards. You can check whether yours will work at the TFL website.
But be careful! If you’re using a foreign bank card then you should be extremely careful about the travel charges, because your bank might add on an extra foreign exchange fee every time you use it overseas – which will likely include each individual bus and tube ticket.
UK-issued bank cards should work fine as long as they carry the contactless payment logo
What is the daily and weekly cap?
Daily price cap – Contactless cards have something called a ‘daily cap’. This is the maximum amount of money that the computer will take from your bank card each day – and it’s always lower than the cost of a one day travelcard.
Every time you use a London bus or tube train the computer will total up the cost of each individual journey, and if the accumulated amount exceeds the daily cap it will stop charging you. Every journey you make after that will be free.
Buses and trains have their own travel caps. If you stick with the buses all day then the cap will be cheaper. If you use the trains all day (or a combination of buses plus trains) then the cap will be higher. You can see what the caps are in the contactless fares table above.
Note: the computer doesn’t actually charge your bank account for each individual bus or tube journey, because it needs to see if you reached the cap. It waits until the early hours of the next day and then deducts a lump sum for all of the journeys combined.
Weekly price cap – The contactless weekly cap is the maximum amount that you will be charged over seven consecutive days – and it’s always the same price as a weekly travelcard.
Unfortunately there’s a catch… because the computer can only keep track of journeys from Monday and Sunday. If you’re travelling over any other stretch of seven days, like Thursday to Wednesday for example, then you’ll end up paying seven daily caps instead – so in that scenario you’re probably better off buying a weekly travelcard because that can start on any day you like.
When are Peak and Off-Peak train times?
Peak: Peak time is 6:30 AM to 9.30 AM, and 4.30 PM to 7 PM (Monday to Friday). Any journey that starts during those times will have to pay a peak fare. It doesn’t matter what time your journey finishes.
Off-Peak: Outside peak time is off-peak. Weekends and public holidays are always off-peak. Note: Between the 8th March and 31st May 2024 TFL are running a trial called ‘Off-Peak Friday Fares’, where Fridays will be classed as off-peak all day.
Do you need to register contactless cards?
There’s no need to register your contactless card on the London Underground. As long as it carries the wireless payment symbol then it should work fine:
TFL website – If you do want to register your card then you can set up an account on TFL’s website. Most of the benefits only apply to Oyster card users, but contactless users can look up their last twelve month’s worth of journeys.
TFL app – You can also register your card through TFL’s Oyster & Contactless app.
Can you get a receipt for a contactless tube journey?
It’s not possible to get a paper receipt at the point of travel. The Oyster readers at London Underground stations don’t have the facility to print out receipts.
If you really need a record of your bus or tube journey then you can register your contactless card on the TFL website beforehand, where they log twelve month’s-worth of journeys. If you don’t want to register your card then you can get a record of the previous seven days here.
Can you pay two train fares with one card?
Tourists often tap one card down twice, making the perfectly reasonable assumption that it will subtract two fares, but the system doesn’t work like that. The first time you tap down the computer will think you’re starting your tube journey, and the second time you tap down it will think that you’re ending it. Only one tube fare will be charged in total, so if you get stopped by a TFL inspector you’ll be in a bit of trouble.
If you really do only have one card between you then buy the other person a paper ticket at the self-service machine first (which will be charged as a cash fare), and then you can tap it down on the gate for yourself (which will be charged as a contactless fare).
Is contactless the cheapest way to travel?
Contactless cards are the cheapest way to travel on the bus and London Underground, alongside Oyster. But contactless usually works out cheaper if it’s your very first visit to London because you also have to pay a £7 deposit the first time you buy a Oyster card.
The contactless daily cap is always cheaper than buying a one day travelcard, and the weekly cap is always the same price as a weekly travelcard. But the contactless weekly cap only runs from Monday to Sunday, so a weekly travelcard will work out cheaper if you’re travelling over any other stretch of seven days, and you’re planning on making three or more journeys on six days, or two or more journeys on seven days.
Where can you use contactless cards?
Buses – Contactless bus fares are available all over London.
London Underground, London Overground, DLR, TFL Rail, National Rail – Contactless tube fares are available within Oyster zones 1-9, plus some stations outside the zones including Watford Junction and Gatwick Airport. Note: If you use your contactless card on the Gatwick Express and Heathrow Express then the cost won’t count towards the TFL contactless cap – it will just deduct a one-off fare straight from your account.
You can use TFL’s map to see which stations are within the Oyster zones: http://content.tfl.gov.uk/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf.
Taxis – Unlike Oyster cards and travelcards, contactless cards can also be used to pay for black taxi cab rides (assuming the fare is less than the current contactless limit of £100).
Thames Clipper and Cable Car – You can also pay for a ticket on the Thames Clipper riverbus service and IFS Cloud Cable Car. They have exactly the same kind of readers that you find on the buses and trains.
How do you use contactless on the bus?
Using contactless cards on a London bus is very easy. All you have to do is touch your bank card against the big Oyster reader by the door (it’s bright yellow – you can’t miss it). If it registers okay then you will hear a beep and see a little green light on the machine. If you hear two beeps and see a red light then you should try again. Try taking your card out of your wallet or purse and holding it flush against the reader.
Some buses also have a second reader by the middle doors, and a third one by the back door, but if you’re an inexperienced traveller then we recommend sticking with the front door. That’s because the front door will always have a reader, and if you try and board a bus through a door where there isn’t one then it will look like you’re trying to dodge your fare. You will soon get to know which buses have extra readers as you make more journeys.
Note: There’s no need to touch down again when you leave the bus – you only have to do that when travelling on the train.
How do you use contactless on the train?
Using contactless cards on the London Underground is very easy. When you enter a the station and approach the ticket barriers you will see a big yellow Oyster reader at the front of the gate. Just wave your contactless card next to it and the gate will open automatically.
If the gate beeps and refuses to open then take your card out of your wallet and touch it flush against the reader. If it still doesn’t work then you’re probably out of money (which means your bank account is empty!).
When you leave the station at the end of your tube journey you’ll need to touch it down again. That’s because the computer needs to work out what your route was. If you only touch down at the start then the system won’t know which zones you passed through and will hit you with a penalty fare instead (ouch!).
Note: During rush hour the TFL staff will sometimes open the barriers to speed the flow of people through the station, but you STILL need to tap down – even if the gate is already open.
Why won’t your contactless card work?
Card clash – There are loads of different reasons why your card might not work, but the usual one is ‘card clash’. If you keep your Oyster card and bank card in the same wallet (or two different bank cards) then the computer might register the presence of both and get confused about which one to charge. It will then end up rejecting both. If this happens to you then don’t worry… just separate your cards and try again.
New bank card – If you have a brand-new bank card then your bank won’t allow you to make a contactless payment until you’ve made at least one chip-and-pin transaction. This is a security measure put in place by your card issuer. So all you have to do is go into a shop and buy something that requires you to enter your actual PIN number, or withdraw some money from an ATM cash machine, and it should start working okay after that.
Foreign bank card – If your card has been issued by an overseas bank then you should check whether it’s accepted on the TFL website.
Not enough money – The final reason is that maybe you just don’t have any money in your account.