Oyster Card

Got one delivered to Seattle for a trip to London and have been using it ever since. The only downside is that this «visitor Oyster card» doesn’t let you top it up online — you have to do it in person, which is an annoyance. I want to arrive in London without having to figure out how much I have/​need on my card.
Pretty much every machine I’ve ever tried to top up my card at has had a huge queue waiting at it, too — bunch of tourists who don’t know what they’re doing? Typical? Not sure! I would go for a normal Oyster card instead of the visitor one, though.

Yes!
I opted for the travel card of my oyster card and it worked beautifully.
Seamless and easy.
This is how it’s done.

If your from or have been to NYC think Metrocard.
If your from Hong Kong think Octopus card.
Similar/​basically all the same thing.
Its your card to ride the tube or trains or buses I’m pretty sure. If you live here you have to have one and put auto top up on it, if your only in town for a few days… maybe not worth it. But if your here for more than 3 days, get one. Its the cheapest way and most convenient way to ride the tube. You get a few pounds back (your deposit) once you return it on your last day of traveling the tube (but you have to wait in that rediculously long line so heads up– make time for it). Oh, and i think they have student and kids discounts.
Overall a must if your visiting london for more than a few days or plan to live here in london.

Question pratique, rien né vaut mieux qu’une Oyster Card pour profiter comme il faut de son séjour londonien.
Cette carte à puce électronique nécessite uniquement d’être validé d’une simple application sur les bornes jaunes aux portillons de métro où dans les autres types de transports de la ville.
Elle peut être rechargé de la somme souhaité dans toutes les stations et les différents points de ventes qui la distribue. La déduction du trajet est d’office mis à niveau sur un tarif d’heure pleine ou creuse. Au tarif adulte pour une durée d’une semaine, un chargement de 25 livres, m’en avait déduit 23,20.

Das ist mal eine richtig gute Idee! Hauptsächlich wird die Karte von Einheimischen genutzt aber auch für Touristen die viel unterwegs sind und ein paar Tage in der Stadt verbringen lohnt sie sich. Erhältlich an allen bekannten Vorverkaufsstellen (wie in der U-​Bahn) am Schalter wird die Karte mit einem Betrag eurer Wahl aufgeladen. Zum Einsatz kommt sie an allen Drehkreuzen der U-​Bahn und und am Einstieg im Bus indem man die Karte (oder auch einfach das Portemonnaie — klappt auch gut) auf eine Art Scanner legt. Dort wird dann der Betrag für die Fahrt abgebucht — bis zu einem bestimmten Fixbetrag am Tag, der dann praktisch einer Tageskarte entspricht. Super easy zu handhaben das ganze. Sollte am Ende der Reise noch Geld drauf sein kann die Karte mit nach Hause genommen und beim nächsten Besuch wieder eingesetzt werden.

Admittedly I can’t live without my Oyster card (especially considering the higher fares without one) and there is always a mild panic when I think I may have lost it. Convenient for sure. The only thing I wild like to see is perhaps an iphone/​android app which allows you to top up and check your balance without having to pop into the local tube station or top up shop!

Oyster Cards sind praktisch. Direkt am Flughafen für jede Person eine Karte kaufen und dann los mit den Tubes. Leider sind die Fahrten zum Flughafen teurer als die innerstädtischen, so dass man sich überlegen sollte, die Wege zum Flughafen extra zu bezahlen, damit man die günstigen Tagestickets bekommt.
Auch die Rückgabe der Karte nach Benutzung ist nicht gerade einfach, bzw. gut beschildert. Deshalb nur 4 Sterne.

Nun war ich Fast eine ganze Woche in London und habe die Oystercard mit 25 £ bestückt. JEDEN Tag habe ich die Tube benutzt und deshalb hat sich auch der
Kauf dieser Karte gelohnt!!! Nur rate ich von den Highpeaks (Rush Hour) ab, die meistens ab 7:30 bis 8:30 und 17:00 bis 17:30 andauern (es wird dann teurer).

Voici la fameuse carte que je vous parlais sur l’avis de la gare de st pancras, carte pratique que l’on recharge a un distributeur ideale pour des sejours de plus de 2 jours.

Die Oyster-​Card ist ein Muss für jeden Touristen. In beinahe jeder Station von Öffis erhältlich. Einfach aufladen und losfahren ohne sich Gedanken machen zu müssen ob man jetzt die richtigen Tickets hat oder nicht. So machen Öffis Spaß.

I love the Oyster card, makes my life easy and with auto top ups I never have to worry about a thing.
I also like that when the train I take is disurputed and I have to take other trains, the tube, and end up going via zone 1 and paying triple the fare it some how knows this and I get a refund! Brilliant.
Also now that they have added all trains in Zones 1 – 6 it is a lot less confusing wondering which overland trains your oyster will work on.
I didn’t give it the 5 stars due to the fact that the stamping out of any creativity to be had with an oyster card by the TFL:
In 2008 a fashion caught on for removing the RFID chip from Oyster cards and attaching it to wrist watches and bracelets. This allowed commuters to pass through the gates by «swiping» their hand without the need to take out a proper card. Although the RFID chips were charged in the normal way and no fare evasion was involved, TfL disapproved of the practice and threatened to fine anyone not carrying a full, undamaged card

Wer sich in London mit Hilfe öffentlicher Verkehrsmittel bewegen möchte, kann sich jeweils Einzelfahrscheine in den einzelnen U-​Bahnstationen, in Bussen, Tram oder der Eisenbahn kaufen. Doch das ist umständlich und teuer. Wesentlich unkomplizierter und deutlich preiswerter geht es mit der Oyster Card.
Oyster ist eine Kreditkarte, die für alle öffentlichen Verkehrsmittel gilt, die dem Verbund Transport for London angeschlossen sind. Wie das funktioniert, habe ich H I E R (
) ausführlich beschrieben.

Ich hatte die Travel Card auf die Oyster Card geladen, war für uns glaube ich das günstigste. Dieses System ist wirklich idiotensicher: Immer nur das Mäppchen mit der Karte auf das Lesegerät halten und schwupp durch die Tür gehen.
Schneller geht’s nicht. Man sollte nur tunlichst nicht erst dann anfangen, nach der Karte zu kramen, wenn man vor dem Lesegerät steht, das mögen, die die hinter einem sind gar nicht.

Beim letzten Besuch hatte ich noch eine Tageskarte. Diesmal hatte ich mich vorher informiert und bin auch ein Oyster :) Engländer können auch Dauer-​Abos kaufen, aber für einen Tourist ist dies am sinnvollsten:
Karte
a) an einem der Ticketschalter kaufen oder
b) von Deutschland aus via Internet bestellen oder
c) in einem Laden kaufen welches das Oyster Logo hat
Die Karte kostet 3 Pfund Pfand und muß mit mindestens 5 Pfund aufgeladen werden. Jeder Erwachsene braucht einen eigene Karte.
Bus: Beim einsteigen die Karte an das gelbe Pad halten
Tube: Jeder Bahnhof hat Zugangs-​Schranken durch die man rein und raus muß. Jedesmal die Karte vorhalten.
Das Entgeld wird automatisch errechnet (nach 9.30 Uhr ist billiger) und ist immer die günstigst mögliche Variante. Wer wenig fährt, zahlt wenig. Wer viel fährt, zahlt nur den Preis einer Tageskarte.
Das Guthaben kann man sich
a) im Internet anzeigen lassen oder
b) einfach mal vor den Oyster-​Ticket-​Automat halten
Neues Geld kann man auch ganz einfach über den Oyster-​Ticket-​Automaten einzahlen. Der lässt sich auch auf viele Touristensprachen (z. B. deutsch) einstellen. So versteht man wenigstens was man macht :)
Am Ende der Reise
a) Karte am Ticketschalter zurückgeben und Restguthaben sowie Pfand auszahlen lassen
b) die Karte jemand anderem geben (ist nicht personengebunden)
c) für den nächsten Londontrip aufheben (Guthaben verfällt nicht)
Nach 2 Jahren deaktiviert sich die Karte automatisch, einfach am Ticketschalter wieder freischalten lassen.

As a visitor to London on a fairly regular basis I have found the Oyster Card a real godsend for convienience, time and money saving. Right from go this is a slick easy to use service, just get on line at the Transport For London website and order your card (s) before you travel. Full instructions on how to use, check balance and top up is there on the site and I found it very easy to use.
The practicallity of using the card while travelling is very benificial for the visitor, no queuing for tickets, chepaer fares and easier faster to get about whether it be bus or tube you opt to use.
I found the staff on the ground very helpful too, anyone that I ever approach when I had a query were efficient in sorting the problem (they have these handheld devices that read your card and can quickly sort ant queries). My advice is don’t go to London without one of these you will waste money and time!

Such a fan-​bloomin-​tastic idea!
I don’t live in London, so it’s a serious pain the the be-​hind to sort out underground tickets from Reading station.
Love it — saves me time & money. My 2 most favourite things! ;)

So what’s a ManchesterPerson doing with an Oyster Card? I only visit London two or three times a year
We first got an Oyster Card when we were planning a couple of days in a London hotel (courtesy of Tesco Clubcard!) with our two kids (aged 3 and 5). We wanted an easy way of getting round all the tourist attractions in the city centre. After several ‘phone-​calls we were told it was best to get Visitors’ Oyster Cards (for the two adults — the kids travel free, which was a pleasant surprise), and we duly got them.
The system worked quite well: we used it mainly on the Underground. It’s cheaper than standard tube fares (which are horrendously expensive) and the swipe-​in/​swipe-​out system was quick when it worked (although (a) trying to get kids through as well was a hassle and (b) one of the cards was rather temperamental. There was one time when it didn’t register and we had to ring the help-​line for a refund when we got home).
However once we were in London we found that the Visitor’s Oyster Card was a bit of a con. It costs a non-​refundable £2; if we’d gone for a normal card we’d have paid a fully-​refundable £3. There were other disadvantages too I think, although I can’t remember the details. We ended up getting normal cards as well and we wrote to complain we’d been ‘missold’ Visitors’ Cards — our complaint was rejected.
We’ve kept the cards for our occasional trips to London and despite the hassles, we’d say that travel around London is better (and certainly cheaper) with one than without.

Es muy liosa esta tarjeta, yo estuve 3 dias en Londres y el primer dia 5 libras me dieron para muchísimos viajes e incluso me sobró para la mañana del dia siguiente, pero los demás dias tenía que estar constantemente recargandola y estando recién recargada no se me abrían las puertas porque ponía que no tenía dinero suficiente y se suponía que al devolverla me tendrían que devolver 3 libras que dejé de fianza pero me devolvieron todo el dinero que tenía y que no pude utilizar. Por cierto como no me funcionaba la mayoría de los dias me tuve que colar.

If you are a regular user of London’s underground or bus system the Oyster card is certainly worth the three pound investment to get one. The three pounds is a sort of deposit so if you ever wish to hand it back you get the three pounds back.
One important tip is to make sure when leaving the underground system that you swipe the card over a machine. If you don’t do this the central computer will assume that you have made the longest journey possible from your starting point and charge you correspondingly.
Otherwise the savings over the normal journey price are considerable.

Because your fares are cheaper using an Oyster Card it’s an obvious acquisition upon arrival in London. The savings can mount up rather quickly, even over a stay of a few days, so the earlier you pick one up the better. In this regard it’s a very good system.
BUT
The Oyster Card system should really be so much better and is yet another example of how large public projects have been botched in Britain.
The thing I hate the most about it is that the ticket machines are frequently out of order (although this is less of a problem on buses as it just means they fail to charge you) and it can be difficult to convince the system that you have completed a journey.
If I could suggest improvements to the system the first would be that in the event that you can’t touch out at the end of your journey it assumes you only traveled within that zone and charges you for a single journey within that zone. Having to contact them to explain incomplete journeys is a huge frustration and merely relieves the company administering the system of the burden of doing it efficiently and fairly. The customer should not be responsible for ensuring they are charged the correct fare.
The second improvement I would suggest is that the card covers all public trans port within the M25. It’s incredible that it doesn’t and inspectors will quite happily hit you with a fine if you stray onto a service that isn’t covered.
The third improvement would be for the card to have multiple uses like the Octopus card that it’s based on.

I’m not keen on the Big Brother tracking aspect of the card but, that aside, would recommend it to anyone spending some time in London, unless of course you have money to waste
So, what are the advantages? Well, after the initial outlay of £3 for the card, it saves you money on the cost of tube and bus travel, as other reviewers have explained; also, as long as your card is topped-​up, it potentially speeds things up a little (especially getting onto buses) as it prevents users from having to hunt for coins or notes and then having to wait for change (or riling an already stressed-​out driver); the daily ‘cap’ of 50p below travelcards or bus passes adds up!
Disadvantages: you do have to remember to keep it topped-​up; you also have to be aware of the vagaries of where to touch-​in and touch-​out (Wimbledon station can be a little confusing and costly, if you get it wrong); many Greater London train companies are not yet included or set-​up (including South West Trains) so in spite of being in possession of an Oyster card (even if you’re just 20 minutes outside central London) you’ll still have to buy a standard ticket, travelcard or pass.

I love Oyster — I live in Manchester and have had a card for a couple of years for my fairly regular trips to London. There’s no way I’m going to pay £4 for a single tube ticket when the same on Oyster will only cost £1.50. On the buses, a single cash fare is a whopping £2 (even if you’re only going a couple of stops) but with Oyster it’s only 90p.
I also love the fact that they have ‘daily price capping’. This allows you to travel as much as you like each day and you won’t ever pay more than the cost of a travelcard. A daily travelcard on Oyster is cheaper than the equivalent paper travelcard, so you save money and don’t have to plan your trips in advance to work out whether a travelcard would save money.
If you are a regular visitor to London then the £3 deposit for an Oyster card is definitely worth it, as you will save loads when using the tubes, DLR, trams, buses and certain trains. I ordered mine online and had it delivered, or you can buy one from vending machines when you get to London. There are also loads of Oyster offers available too — these are published in leaflets at stations. A brilliant idea that is very well executed.

The Oyster systm is very easy to use. I have used it since it was first introduced. As long as you touch in and touch out your fine with pay as you go.
Its made traveling around London’s network a whole lot easier as you dont have to worry about having change for the bus or Tube.

I have never lived in London.
I do own an Oyster card.
If you’re travelling to London and intend to use the public transport system for more than one day, then you really have to get yourself an Oyster card — you’ll save money and gain convenience.
London transport prices are still too expensive, but at least the Oyster card mitigates it a little.

No doubt a very good addition to the London travel system — and one that despite a few hiccups along the way when building it, has come in and largely worked without any problems. Just load up a card either with pay-​as-​you-​go to pay per trip or get a weekly or monthly update and travel wherever you like as often as you like.
Easy to use, more efficient system which has got London onto and off public transport a bit quicker. And anything that does that has got to be a good thingnow just need to entire tube network modernised and we’ll all be laughing.
Oh and if you’re a tourist — get one, there is no doubt it’s a lot lot cheaper than buying paper tickets as you go.

I have to say that Oyster is one of the best things about London Transport: if the rest of the Underground was this up to date and efficient, we’d be laughing.
There’s not much to add to what’s gone before, except to comment on its use outside the London Transport system of tubes and buses, and this is where it gets a little tricky.
The ‘London Overground’ — the former Silverlink train services now under the control of London Transport, accepts all forms of Oyster card (ie travelcard season tickets and pay-​as-​you-​go), and covers these routes:
— Stratford to Richmond
— Watford Junction to Euston
— Willesden Junction to Clapham Junction
— Gospel Oak to Barking
All the stations have card readers and you must touch in and touch out just as on the Underground.
Oyster pay-​as-​you-​go is valid on a limited number of other National Rail routes as well, as follows (again, touch in and touch out):
— Amersham — Marylebone
— Finsbury Park — King’s Cross/​Moorgate
— Stratford — Liverpool Street
— Tottenham Hale/​Seven Sisters — Stratford
— Upminster/​Rainham (Essex) — Fenchurch Street/​Liverpool Street via Barking (but not at Forest Gate/​Maryland)
— Walthamstow Central/​Tottenham Hale/​Seven Sisters — Liverpool Street
— West Hampstead (Thameslink) — Moorgate/​Elephant & Castle/​London Bridge
— West Ruislip — Marylebone
Greenford/​Ealing Broadway — London Paddington (but not at intermediate stations)
If you have your travelcard on Oyster, it will be valid on all National Rail routes within the appropriate boundaries, but not pay-​as-​you-​go.
In practice, what this means is that, if you are a visitor and want to make journeys on a day travelcard that will take you on National Rail services — going to Hampton Court, for example, or Croydon, or Greenwich (from Charing Cross), Wimbledon (from Waterloo), etc. you will need to buy a paper version of your ticket.
If in doubt, ask!

thanks for all your information — might think about buying one when I’m on holidays there in July! Will I also be able to use and reload it again when I come back months later for a visit or will it be unvalid after a long break?
Ok got one :-) And heard that visiting the Madame Tussauds if one has an Oyster card another person can get in free!!! That is a good value!!!

Oyster cards are convenient, especially on days you are heading out early on the bus and there’s no cash points nearby! (Assuming you have it charged of course). They do have their pitfalls though
One problem is that you must touch your card both in and out at tube stations. At some of the outlying stations where they don’t have barriers it’s very easy to miss the touch point, and sometimes involves running up and down stairs if it turns out to be back on the platform! If you don’t touch out you will be charged a penalty fare.
One time I made a journey which involved going above ground when changing lines, and I had to touch in and out of both lines, and one of the touches didn’t register. The fare for the whole journey should have been (if I remember the figures correctly) £2, but they charged me £2 for the first leg, then £4 penalty fare for the second!
I had to phone up to get a refund (see website) which was a pain, but they did send me a cheque without bother.
You only need to touch in on busses. Don’t get confused!
Coverage can be tricky: I think I’m right in saying if you buy a travel card on your Oyster (which gives extra discounts over a periods of a week or month) then it will cover some rail as well as tube lines. But a plain ordinary oyster won’t cover the same places very confusing! If you are going somewhere off the tube network, best to ask! I think they do have plans to sort this out
You can re-​charge your card at many newsagents shops etc. or at tube stations, at the service window or on one of the self-​service ticket machines. If you use the machine you can also check the balance and see recent transactions. I make a habit of checking my transactions occasionally, as mistakes can occur!

Ich dachte vor zehn Jahren wäre die Visitor-​Travel-​Card das non-​plus-​ultra der Londoner U-​Bahn — ABER weit gefehlt.
Die neue Zauberkarte heißt «Oyster Card».
Es ist wirklich schnell und praktisch sich mit dieser Karte in London zu bewegen — einfach die Brieftasche oder das Kartenmäpchen von der Leser halten — Fertig. Die Türen der U-​Bahn öffnen sich automatisch…
Das sollte in Deutschland auch mal langsam kommen!
Die Karten bekommt man an ALLEN Ticket– und Verkaufstellen des London-​Transport!

I agree Oyster cards are quite a good thing.
However, the fact they are cheaper is entirely contrived by TfL in order to get everyone using Oyster cards and to exploit tourists who have to pay extortionate cash fares.
Oyster cards do make travel much more efficient — to the point where I get furious with people who have paper tickets at rush hour.
A recent addition is that anyone with a young person’s railcard can get ¹⁄₃ off pre pay daily travlecards on their Oyster which is really worthwhile.

Ich kann mich meinem Vorschreiber nur vollinhaltlich anschließen. Die Oyster Card ist wirklich ein superpraktischer Weg um sich in London fortzubewegen.
Egal ob Bus oder U-​Bahn — die Karte funktioniert überall!
Die Karte ist auch sehr praktisch zu benutzen weil man sie einfach nur irgendwo in den Geldbeutel oder in sein Visitenkartenmäppchen stecken muß. Wenn man dann die U-​Bahn betreten will hält man einfach den ganzen Geldbeutel gegen das Lesegerät — die Karte funktioniert auch problemlos durch ein paar Zentimeter dicke Hüllen oder sonstiges hindurch.
Vor allem beim Einsteigen in den Bus im Innenstadtbereich ist es praktisch da hier immer großes Gedränge herrscht und es ist nicht besonders angenehm wenn man dann beim Fahrer noch schnell seine Fahrt bezahlen muß und erstmal Kleingeld suchen muß usw.
Die Karte am besten gleich am Flughafen kaufen — das spart viel Geld, dass man in London besser in andere Dinge investieren kann als in «öffentliche Verkehrsmittel».
Generell ist das bequemste öffentliche Verkehrsmittel in London zweifelsfrei das Taxi — aber das kostet im Vergleich zu Fahrten mit der Oyster Card richtig Geld.

As a German, it feels strange to me to be he first one to tell the English-​speaking Qype crowd about one of the most convenient (and inexpensive) ways to use a great British institution: the London Underground. But since nobody else has bothered, so be it. ;-)
Oyster is a ‘smartcard’ you can use to pay for your rides on the Tube, trams, buses, DLR, London Overground and some national rail services in London. The fares generally are much cheaper e. g., a single Tube fare of £4 just costs £1.50 with Oyster. At the end of the day, you never pay more than the equivalent of a day pass (Travelcard). It also is transferable anybody can use it.
You can store up to £90 on your Oyster. When you buy it, you also have to leave a deposit of £3. But you get reimbursed should you decide to return your Oyster. You also get back the unused portion of the prepaid fare.
The card can be purchased at most Tube stations and at 2.200 Oyster Ticket Stops. You can register Oyster online if you have a British address — this way, the tickets and the cash stored on the card are protected against theft or loss.
If you want to get your Oyster before your trip to London, you can order it at
.