LU Child fares

[Russel]

Hi all,

I'll be taking my 6 year old to London in a couple of weeks for the first time.

I'll be using my contactless bank card that is already registered with TFL as I'm there frequently but I need to know how child fares work, can I get a child day travel card or child single fares?

I've Googled but I can't find a definitive answer, TFL have a page about 5-10 year old Oyster zip card for free travel but this involves a £10 admin fee to get one?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dstock7080]

Best ways for visitors to pay

A page for visitors to London aobut the best ways to pay for travel.

tfl.gov.uk

"Travelling with children
Children under five travel free with a fare-paying adult.
If your child is under 11, they can travel free on:
Buses and trams
Tube, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line and some National Rail services. They must be travelling with an adult who is using pay as you go, or has a valid ticket (excluding Group Day Travelcards). Up to four children per adult
You can also buy child-rate Day Travelcards, 7 Day Travelcards and Group Day Travelcards online before you leave home, from the TfL Visitor Shop or VisitBritain Shop.

If your child is 11-15 years old, you can ask a member of staff to set a Young Visitor discount on an Oyster or Visitor Oyster card. This allows them to get 50% off adult-rate pay as you go fares, for up to 14 days."

 

[Taunton]

If you are just using TfL services, including the Overground, but not suburban National Rail services, they just go for free. Go to the wide gate and the attendant will let them through with you.

There's a variant if they are travelling on their own, such as to school, but I guess this doesn't apply.

Separately (and possibly only to help others), you don't NEED to register your bank card, it's not necessary and doesn't give any significant advantage. Most Londoners appear not to.

 

[MikeWh]

you don't NEED to register your bank card, it's not necessary and doesn't give any significant advantage.

I consider the availability of almost real time journey history to be advantageous.

 

[Jonny]

Best ways for visitors to pay

A page for visitors to London aobut the best ways to pay for travel.

tfl.gov.uk

"Travelling with children
Children under five travel free with a fare-paying adult.
If your child is under 11, they can travel free on:
Buses and trams
Tube, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line and some National Rail services. They must be travelling with an adult who is using pay as you go, or has a valid ticket (excluding Group Day Travelcards). Up to four children per adult
You can also buy child-rate Day Travelcards, 7 Day Travelcards and Group Day Travelcards online before you leave home, from the TfL Visitor Shop or VisitBritain Shop.

If your child is 11-15 years old, you can ask a member of staff to set a Young Visitor discount on an Oyster or Visitor Oyster card. This allows them to get 50% off adult-rate pay as you go fares, for up to 14 days."

Just be aware if you are staying over 14 days, you will likely need to re-register for any young visitor discounts.

 

[Russel]

Thanks all, I was going to email TFL but I knew I would get a faster and clearer answer by posting here!

Separately (and possibly only to help others), you don't NEED to register your bank card, it's not necessary and doesn't give any significant advantage. Most Londoners appear not to.

Yeah, I didn't bother registering it until recently when amount they charged me looked higher than it should have, so I wanted to check my journey history to find out why. Turns out it was my mistake, I thought Newbury Park was zone 3 but it's zone 4.

 

[Taunton]

Thanks all, I was going to email TFL but I knew I would get a faster and clearer answer by posting here!

I'm afraid you would just have got a boilerplate response from TfL with three closely-printed pages of fiddly detail straight off the website.

Little Miss Taunton (age 9¾) sends regards to your child

... and already has a 5-10 Zip card, to go on National Rail when needed, and then insists in swiping it on the reader HERSELF!