London transport
Discussion
We (family of two adults and two children (6 & 9)) are visiting London for a long weekend in a couple weeks and I'm currently sorting out a bit of an itinerary. As part of that I'm trying to figure out the best way of getting around and I have to say that understanding fares and working out the best family option on the TFL site is mindboggling tricky. There are numerous different types of fares and it really isn't clear to me what the best option is. It doesn’t help that it appears to be one of those crappy websites where what you think is the best link only sends you back to a start page or somewhere irrelevant.
Can anyone help me?
We are land at Heathrow in the early evening of Friday 4th September. The only London travel on that day will be to our hotel close to Earls Court Station, that appears to be relatively straightforward using the Piccadilly Line, but what ticket? After that, as far as I can tell, all our travel before leaving on Monday 7th September evening with the Gatwick Express to fly home from Gatwick will be within Zone 1. What is the best option for Saturday, Sunday and Monday in Zone 1?
Is there no such thing as a simple family ticket? I can see anything obvious, loads of other big cities we’ve visited manage this so why can’t London?
How Family Travel Works on TfL
Under 11s: Up to four children under 11 go free per paying adult using contactless, Oyster, or a valid ticket.
You and your wife tap in / tap out with a contactless payment and the kids go free.
Don't bother with the Gatwick Express. Just get a regular Southern service from Victoria that stops at the airport and save some money. The Express is only 5 minutes or so quicker.
Under 11s: Up to four children under 11 go free per paying adult using contactless, Oyster, or a valid ticket.
You and your wife tap in / tap out with a contactless payment and the kids go free.
Don't bother with the Gatwick Express. Just get a regular Southern service from Victoria that stops at the airport and save some money. The Express is only 5 minutes or so quicker.
I've never bothered with family tickets. I have always been told that children under 11 travel free with a fare paying adult, just pay with contactless (no need for oyster anymore) and go to the wider gates as you go in and out of the station. So this is what we do and we visit central London regularly.
Having said that, I am now struggling to find the details of it on the TFL website!
Fares are capped daily so make sure you use the same card for all your journeys. If your phone has an express travel card option set that up and then you don't even need to unlock it to pay.
Edit: https://support.visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/hc/en-gb/ar...
Having said that, I am now struggling to find the details of it on the TFL website!
Fares are capped daily so make sure you use the same card for all your journeys. If your phone has an express travel card option set that up and then you don't even need to unlock it to pay.
Edit: https://support.visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/hc/en-gb/ar...
Mr_J said:
How Family Travel Works on TfL
Under 11s: Up to four children under 11 go free per paying adult using contactless, Oyster, or a valid ticket.
You and your wife tap in / tap out with a contactless payment and the kids go free.
Don't bother with the Gatwick Express. Just get a regular Southern service from Victoria that stops at the airport and save some money. The Express is only 5 minutes or so quicker.
This is the right answer. It doesn't matter if you use oyster, contactless or an old school ticket. Under 11s: Up to four children under 11 go free per paying adult using contactless, Oyster, or a valid ticket.
You and your wife tap in / tap out with a contactless payment and the kids go free.
Don't bother with the Gatwick Express. Just get a regular Southern service from Victoria that stops at the airport and save some money. The Express is only 5 minutes or so quicker.
And also right re Gatwick Express. Don't bother. It's not an express, barely any faster than the regular trains (of which there are loads) and significantly more expensive.
One other tip - get the CityMapper app if you haven't already. It's the best for public transport routes. Google maps for walking, which is often the best way to go short distances. Many tube stops are only a 5 mins walk apart, and walking helps you to see a lot more. It's free too!
Enjoy your trip.
ETA, tube stops in zone 1 (the centre) that is. Don't try it out in the sticks, they can be quite a long way apart out there!
Edited by dontlookdown on Thursday 20th August 09:32
Bill said:
There are manned gates for people with big bags or kids rather than the automated barriers.
True, but they aren't always manned. The wider gates should be fine for wife to tap in/out and go thru with one kid, OP to do the same with the other. The TFL daily fare cap means the most each adult will pay for unlimited travel in zone 1 only is £8.90.
Friday
The short answer - Just tap through the gates with a bank card. Under 11s are free and adult single from Heathrow to Earls Court on the Picadilly Line will be either £2.60 or £3.80 depending if you're in peak or off peak hours.
Sat/Sun
The short answer - Still just tap through with a bank card. Provided you make sure you tap in and out with the same bank card (either physical or on phone, etc) the most you'll pay on any one day in Zone 1 is £8.90 (per-adult, U11s still free).
Monday
Ignore the Gatwick Express, it's just an very expensive way to save 4 or 5 minutes. Most trains heading towards Brighton will stop at Gatwick Airport. Blackfriars, London Bridge, and Victoria are some of the obvious termini - but plenty of apps to help you, probably in order Citymapper, the National Rail website, or the TFL website (as a last resort as it's terrible).
General
You don't get much time to go through the normal 'pedestrian' electronic gates, to prevent people fare dodging by tailgating a paying passenger but with cooperative children you can normally get then in front of you at the gate before you tap, then sort of push them through.
All exits should also have at least 1 manned or 'accessible' double gate, intended for wheelchairs/buggies/luggage - and parents with children. These give you more room and also time to usher people through.
The short answer - Just tap through the gates with a bank card. Under 11s are free and adult single from Heathrow to Earls Court on the Picadilly Line will be either £2.60 or £3.80 depending if you're in peak or off peak hours.
Sat/Sun
The short answer - Still just tap through with a bank card. Provided you make sure you tap in and out with the same bank card (either physical or on phone, etc) the most you'll pay on any one day in Zone 1 is £8.90 (per-adult, U11s still free).
Monday
Ignore the Gatwick Express, it's just an very expensive way to save 4 or 5 minutes. Most trains heading towards Brighton will stop at Gatwick Airport. Blackfriars, London Bridge, and Victoria are some of the obvious termini - but plenty of apps to help you, probably in order Citymapper, the National Rail website, or the TFL website (as a last resort as it's terrible).
General
You don't get much time to go through the normal 'pedestrian' electronic gates, to prevent people fare dodging by tailgating a paying passenger but with cooperative children you can normally get then in front of you at the gate before you tap, then sort of push them through.
All exits should also have at least 1 manned or 'accessible' double gate, intended for wheelchairs/buggies/luggage - and parents with children. These give you more room and also time to usher people through.
Edited by //j17 on Thursday 20th August 09:53
Just to echo the comments on Gatwick Express, definitely better travelling on a Southern service. Confusingly, when I did this in December, the train was actually in Gatwick Express livery even though it was a Southern train to Ore or somewhere down the coast. I believe you also get Gatwick Express trains painted in Southern colours. In short, look at the bottom line on the departure board where it should say “SOUTHERN” and ignore what colour the train is painted. The Gatwick Express trains are supposed to leave from dedicated platforms at Victoria anyway. If you’re further east, consider Thameslink from London Bridge, Blackfriars, St Pancras etc, though make sure you take one of the limited stop trains as others may be overtaken on the way to the airport.
Your kids don’t travel free on National Rail, so either buy a ticket or consider buying Zip Oyster cards. This will also get them a cheaper fare to Gatwick. https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-trave... or https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-trave...
For the adults, as before, don’t bother buying tickets and just use a contactless card. Ensure you tap in & out when using the DLR as there’s (generally) no barriers, same with unbarriered National Rail stations. No need to tap out on a bus.
Your kids don’t travel free on National Rail, so either buy a ticket or consider buying Zip Oyster cards. This will also get them a cheaper fare to Gatwick. https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-trave... or https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-trave...
For the adults, as before, don’t bother buying tickets and just use a contactless card. Ensure you tap in & out when using the DLR as there’s (generally) no barriers, same with unbarriered National Rail stations. No need to tap out on a bus.
Just in case it's not clear from all of the above posts:
Just use contactless.
Make sure that each adult uses the same card for the entire stay (not the same card as the other adult). That way, you will be charged the lowest overall fare for the combined journeys. If it turns out that a weekly ticket would have been cheaper (unlikely for 4 days) then that's what you will be charged for.
Just use contactless.
Make sure that each adult uses the same card for the entire stay (not the same card as the other adult). That way, you will be charged the lowest overall fare for the combined journeys. If it turns out that a weekly ticket would have been cheaper (unlikely for 4 days) then that's what you will be charged for.
If visiting from outside the UK, obviously each person using contactless needs to have a card that works in the UK - I have heard of overseas tourists being caught out by this!
I have many years' experience of taking my children on the tube and personally wouldn't regard it as safe to push a child through the standard automatic gate with me - definitely use the manned wider gate, or ask a staff member to hold one of the other gates open for you.
The tube, DLR and National Rail are 'tap-in and tap-out', but if you take a bus you only tap in when boarding as there's only one fare.
I have many years' experience of taking my children on the tube and personally wouldn't regard it as safe to push a child through the standard automatic gate with me - definitely use the manned wider gate, or ask a staff member to hold one of the other gates open for you.
The tube, DLR and National Rail are 'tap-in and tap-out', but if you take a bus you only tap in when boarding as there's only one fare.
And to be absolutely clear, use the same method all day each day.
i.e. If you have your contactless card in your phone wallet and the physical card in your physical wallet, pick one, and stick with it. If you were to tap in for a tube journey using the card on your phone, and tap out using the physical card, TfL's system will view this as two separate cards and charge you max fare for both journeys, as they are seen as "incomplete".
So make sure you use EITHER the digital or physical version only and you'll be fine.
It's a great city. Have a fabulous time. Stand on the right of escalators, let people off the train first before trying to board, remove any rucksacks you're wearing on the tube to avoid smashing other passengers in the face with it, and PLEASE don't stop dead either just before the ticket barriers or immediately after you've exited them. London will thank you.
i.e. If you have your contactless card in your phone wallet and the physical card in your physical wallet, pick one, and stick with it. If you were to tap in for a tube journey using the card on your phone, and tap out using the physical card, TfL's system will view this as two separate cards and charge you max fare for both journeys, as they are seen as "incomplete".
So make sure you use EITHER the digital or physical version only and you'll be fine.
It's a great city. Have a fabulous time. Stand on the right of escalators, let people off the train first before trying to board, remove any rucksacks you're wearing on the tube to avoid smashing other passengers in the face with it, and PLEASE don't stop dead either just before the ticket barriers or immediately after you've exited them. London will thank you.
Big Pants said:
And to be absolutely clear, use the same method all day each day.
It's a great city. Have a fabulous time. Stand on the right of escalators, let people off the train first before trying to board, remove any rucksacks you're wearing on the tube to avoid smashing other passengers in the face with it, and PLEASE don't stop dead either just before the ticket barriers or immediately after you've exited them. London will thank you.
Thanks, I am English (living in Germany) and have been to London many times so understand how general stuff works. It has just been a while since the last time and the ticketing has moved on (I have a very old Oyster card with about 15p on it somewhere!),It's a great city. Have a fabulous time. Stand on the right of escalators, let people off the train first before trying to board, remove any rucksacks you're wearing on the tube to avoid smashing other passengers in the face with it, and PLEASE don't stop dead either just before the ticket barriers or immediately after you've exited them. London will thank you.
Granadier said:
I have many years' experience of taking my children on the tube and personally wouldn't regard it as safe to push a child through the standard automatic gate with me - definitely use the manned wider gate, or ask a staff member to hold one of the other gates open for you.
The tube, DLR and National Rail are 'tap-in and tap-out', but if you take a bus you only tap in when boarding as there's only one fare.
The unmanned wider gates will also be fine. They are specifically for people with pushchairs, people pulling suitcases behind them, people with bikes and people with kids. They will stay open until everything it thru, so as long as the child comes thru right in front, or behind you, or holding your hand, no problem. The tube, DLR and National Rail are 'tap-in and tap-out', but if you take a bus you only tap in when boarding as there's only one fare.
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