PAYG vs contactless oyster

[Fazaar1889]

Very silly question but I've only ever used contactless oyster on the underground. Does it work the same for PAYG mainline stations? Of course, only inside london. Say if I went from waterloo east to London Bridge or charing cross or something, I can just tap the yellow pad with my card right? Just like with the underground?

 

[Horizon22]

Very silly question but I've only ever used contactless oyster on the underground. Does it work the same for PAYG mainline stations? Of course, only inside london. Say if I went from waterloo east to London Bridge or charing cross or something, I can just tap the yellow pad with my card right? Just like with the underground?

Yes anywhere where you can tap in with Oyster, you can use Contactless. This includes National Rail routes within* London zones.

* In some cases outside London, e.g. to Gatwick Airport which is only available via contactless, not Oyster.

 

[Watershed]

That's correct - Oyster and contactless PAYG works just the same on National Rail services as it does on the Underground. It's valid in the areas shown on this map; for some stations outside Zones 1-9, you only can only use contactless and not Oyster). You need to touch in and out at the yellow reader at either end of your journey to make sure you pay the correct fare.

If you transfer between National Rail and Underground at a given station (or between most nearby NR/LU stations), your NR & LU journeys will usually be 'joined up' via what's known as an "Out of Station Interchange" (OSI). This means that instead of being charged separately for each journey, you'll be charged for one, end-to-end journey. This usually saves you money.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 May 2024 ==

* In some cases outside London, e.g. to Gatwick Airport which is only available via contactless, not Oyster.

Gatwick Airport is one of the PAYG routes beyond Zone 9 where Oyster actually is valid. But as above, it does vary depending on the line in question, so you need to check the map if you're unsure.

 

[Horizon22]

Gatwick Airport is one of the PAYG routes beyond Zone 9 where Oyster actually is valid. But as above, it does vary depending on the line in question, so you need to check the map if you're unsure.

Quite right you are. West Drayton - Reading is somewhere where contactless is valid and Oyster isn't.

 

[Fazaar1889]

Thanks guys

 

[Surreytraveller]

Just be aware that fares on or involving non-TfL are more expensive than fares on solely TfL services