Questions about one day bus pass Oyster

[Be3G]

Ever since the introduction of cashless fares on London buses, I've been a little bit nervous about the possibility of one day being stuck somewhere fairly remote with a malfunctioning CPC and therefore not being able to board a bus. (I know London buses don't go anywhere that remote, but still, being stuck somewhere with four buses a day unable to pay for a journey could be rather problematic – I do tend to end up in obscure parts of the bus network.) I was therefore interested to read late last year about the new ‘lightweight’ Oyster pre-loaded with a one day bus & tram pass, and am tempted to buy one to keep in my wallet as a backup payment method. However, there isn't much info about these online anywhere, so I was wondering if the collective knowledge of this forum could answer a few questions for me please?

• Does the place of purchase have to activate the pass when selling it, meaning it can only be used that day, or does it in fact lie dormant until someone touches it on their first bus/tram of the day?
• Between which hours is it valid? One day caps are 04:30 to 04:29, whereas the one-day bus passes of yore used to be 00:00 to 04:29, so I'm wondering which validity this new pass has.
• When TfL say it's a ‘lightweight’ Oyster, do they mean that metaphorically or actually literally (e.g. is it thinner than a normal Oyster)? Just wondering as my wallet is already rather bulging.

Thanks!

 

[radamfi]

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/ticket-types/paper-tickets?intcmp=11507

One Day Bus & Tram Passes can't be bought in advance. They can only be bought on the day of travel.

I have cashed in my Oyster cards and only use bank cards now.

 

[transmanche]

I'm going to guess that they are like the disposable OV-Chipkaart in the Netherlands; which is used for single journeys and day tickets, etc.

They're cardboard and hardly any thicker than a normal cardboard ticket. You can see one at the bottom of the photo (compared with an old-style NS ticket, which IIRC is paper rather than card.


Wegwerp OV-Chipkaart NS by Niels Meijer, on Flickr

 

[Be3G]

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/ticket-types/paper-tickets?intcmp=11507

Good spot radamfi, thanks. That's that idea out of the window! I wish TfL still sold saver tickets to members of the public; if they did I'd stash a couple of those away instead.

 

[radamfi]

I would just have multiple bank cards if you are worried about one of them not working. It is highly unlikely for two cards to not work. I carry a Visa Debit, Visa credit, MasterCard credit and American Express card and all of them are contactless. I only use my Santander 123 credit card for contactless transport payment as it gives 3% cashback and the backups haven't been required.

 

[Deerfold]

Where have you heard about the 1 day pass on Oyster? For rather complicated reasons I had cause to buy one last month at an underground station and it was issued as normal as a cardboard ticket.

EDIT: I see it's in the link radamfi posted - you don't get it from underground stations which seems odd - as is the fact I was unaware of it despite working for London buses...

 

[radamfi]

Where have you heard about the 1 day pass on Oyster? For rather complicated reasons I had cause to buy one last month at an underground station and it was issued as normal as a cardboard ticket.

The TfL website says it comes as a single use Oyster from Ticket Stops and a normal paper ticket from Tube, DLR or National Rail stations.

 

[Be3G]

Where have you heard about the 1 day pass on Oyster? For rather complicated reasons I had cause to buy one last month at an underground station and it was issued as normal as a cardboard ticket.

I read about it in the mayor's fares announcement document towards the end of last year. Quite a good idea I thought, which is why it stuck in my mind. I can only find one photo of it online, located here.

 

[causton]

Where have you heard about the 1 day pass on Oyster? For rather complicated reasons I had cause to buy one last month at an underground station and it was issued as normal as a cardboard ticket.

There are no such thing as one day passes on Oyster. You top up money and it deducts up to the amount of the equivalent pass or Travelcard. i.e. you top up £5, get on 10 buses and it won't charge you more than the £5. You top up £16.80 for a travelcard from Watford Junction and it won't charge you any more than that if you touch in and out correctly etc

 

[transmanche]

There are no such thing as one day passes on Oyster. You top up money and it deducts up to the amount of the equivalent pass or Travelcard. i.e. you top up £5, get on 10 buses and it won't charge you more than the £5.

The PAYG daily cap for buses on Oyster is £4.40, not £5.

But there is now a 'disposable' Oyster card, the one-day Bus and Tram card which costs £5 from Oyster ticket stops. The one day Bus and Tram pass was withdrawn a few years ago but re-introduced in the wake of buses going cashless, as it was perceived there was now need for something for people who didn't have Oyster or a contactless payment card.

 

[causton]

The PAYG daily cap for buses on Oyster is £4.40, not £5.

But there is now a 'disposable' Oyster card, the one-day Bus and Tram card which costs £5 from Oyster ticket stops. The one day Bus and Tram pass was withdrawn a few years ago but re-introduced in the wake of buses going cashless, as it was perceived there was now need for something for people who didn't have Oyster or a contactless payment card.

Ah okay, didn't realise that!

You can also buy the one day bus pass from any NR station ticket office, I sell quite a few...
Origin: Any station in the London Fare Zones (so not Watford Jn, Borehamwood, Potters Bar even though they have TfL buses)
Destination: H811 (or H881, if you type it the wrong way round it's Ware +Bus )

That costs £5

 

[radamfi]

You can also buy the one day bus pass from any NR station ticket office, I sell quite a few...

The TfL website says you can't buy it in advance, but presumably from your ticket office you can post-date the ticket like a normal train ticket?

 

[Be3G]

You can also buy the one day bus pass from any NR station ticket office, I sell quite a few...

That facility was introduced at the beginning of the year I believe (?) in line with the introduction of the bus pass Oysters this thread is about. It's interesting to hear that you sell them quite often though; it would seem that there is still a desire to use London's buses without any more permanent payment methods (traditional Oyster or CPC).

 

[causton]

That facility was introduced at the beginning of the year I believe (?) in line with the introduction of the bus pass Oysters this thread is about. It's interesting to hear that you sell them quite often though; it would seem that there is still a desire to use London's buses without any more permanent payment methods (traditional Oyster or CPC).

Ever since we stopped selling Oyster cards. I say quite a few, 4 or 5 a month, which is more than I sell PlusBus tickets!

And yes, they can be forward dated as they are just a normal ticket