Using the Oyster Card for London, getting around the city becomes incredibly easy and trouble free for everyone. It is a contactless smart card embedded with an RFID chip and is shaped like a standard credit card, but it is a stored value card which you can charge and recharge with cash value.
The card was introduced in 2003 as a way of reducing the amount of cash transactions and paper tickets being sold, and as of 2007 over 10 million cards have been sold and more than 80% of all trips in London are paid for with this card.
To encourage the use of the Oyster Travelcards, the fare charged to card holders is substantially less than the regular rate charged to those purchasing tickets on their own. The price charged for Oyster travel is sometimes as much as half off the regular rates, which makes getting a card a worthwhile investment.
You can purchase your Oyster Travelcard at Tube stations, Oyster Ticket Stops located across London, or at Oyster Online.
You can store up to £90 of credit on the card, and then “recharge” the card as needed. There is even a service called “Auto Top-up” that will automatically transfer a set amount money from your designated funding source to your card when it has £5 of credit left, ensuring that you never run out.
Oyster Travelcards can be used to pay as you go for transportation on the London Underground, London Bus System, trams, DLR, London Overground and some National Rail services within London. You can also use the card to pay for Travelcards and Bus or Tram passes.
To use your Oyster Travelcard, you simply look for the bright yellow card reader and touch your card to it at the beginning and end of your journey, and the funds will be deducted from the card’s balance. Oyster also issues photocards for students and children who are eligible to travel on London public transportation for free or at a discounted rate once they have registered.
With the Oyster card for London, the city truly is your oyster.
Photo courtesy: Annie Mole
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