Oyster Cards

[NSE]

I'm 17 and living outside of London, but after previously living there I travel back regularly for friends and family. For a day a travelcard is fine, however extended periods (i.e. monday to friday) mean I'd benefit from an oyster as I get through a killing spending £5 a day on a travel card.
I'm going back to visit mates next week, and wondered if I take a photo of me with me, do any major stations in London sell them there and then?
Thanks for any help.

 

[Wyvern]

I'm sure I bought mine over the internet.

Or (since you are talking about a photo) are you looking for a discount requiring a photocard?

 

[455driver]

I got mine at Paddington underground station, took all of 2 minutes, most underground stations issue them.
Why do you need a photo?

 

[142094]

You can get one through the TfL website, but it charges something like £2 for postage. However you get a nice design with pictures of St. Paul's and other iconic buildings.

 

[MikeWh]

Are you asking about the 16-18 Zip card? If you are then you're out of luck. You have to apply at a Post Office in the London area (or just outside) and they aren't taking applications until September 1st. You will also have to pay a £10 application fee. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14308.aspx

 

[Tyke Toper]

If you live outside London

You can apply for a non-resident Zip 16+ Oyster photocard online. Please allow three weeks for your application to be processed. A digital photo is required and payment of £5.00 which is credited as PAYG. This card is valid to your 18th birthday. From 01.09.10 charge will be £10 non-refundable/non-PAYG credit.

If you have Y-P Railcard then load this onto a standard Oyster for 1/3 off cap.

 

[NSE]

Ahh see this is where I've been getting confused. Reading on the net I was the under the impression it acted as a travelcard (i.e. shares the same boundaries and services) but you touched in and out of every individual tube/bus/tram journey. It'll mostly be used for buses around the South London area, and I thought I needed a picture as all my friends have.
This seems all so confusing :L

 

[yorkie]

I don't understand what you are asking for.

You asked for an Oyster card, that's a medium, not a product. It's like asking "how do you get a paper ticket?", without specifying which ticket you want.

 

[NSE]

Apologies for not being specific I hope you'll appreciate this is what I'm confused with. All my friends have a Oyster Card with a picture, and when I'm with them it costs me £2 for every single journey I make and as I can make three to four bus journeys a day it can get quite expensive.

I hope this manages to clear up some confusion, Oyster seems to generate a lot of it :L

 

[Hager98]

Apologies for not being specific I hope you'll appreciate this is what I'm confused with. All my friends have a Oyster Card with a picture, and when I'm with them it costs me £2 for every single journey I make and as I can make three to four bus journeys a day it can get quite expensive.

I hope this manages to clear up some confusion, Oyster seems to generate a lot of it :L

You can buy an Oyster card at any London Underground station, you just need to pay £3 for the card and put £5 credit on the card. The reason your friends Oyster cards have their photos on them is because they have a discount card because they live in London.

As you say you mainly use buses by using Oyster it will cost you £3.90 when you make several journeys between 04:30 and 04:29 or £1.20 for an individual journey.

If you want to buy an Oyster card online (from https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/link/0005.do ) It costs nothing to have it sent through 1st class post, though it will take about a week so may be best to buy it in London.

 

[theswissmonkey]

As you say you mainly use buses by using Oyster it will cost you £3.90 when you make several journeys between 04:30 and 04:29 or £1.20 for an individual journey.

And if you manage to get a Y-P railcard discount loaded onto it and don't travel before 0930 it rounds down to even less, £3.30 ish - the cap for z2-6, even if you're only travelling on buses.



TSM

 

[Mojo]

Where possible, and the price is the same, buy a Travelcard rather than using Oyster if you know you are going to get capped. This avoids the necessity to touch in/out on every leg and interchange, and also avoids you the hassle of having to arrange a refund when the system inevitably cocks up and overcharges you.

 

[theswissmonkey]

Where possible, and the price is the same, buy a Travelcard rather than using Oyster if you know you are going to get capped. This avoids the necessity to touch in/out on every leg and interchange, and also avoids you the hassle of having to arrange a refund when the system inevitably cocks up and overcharges you.

Seconded -- else you might get charged more to travel across London than a ticket from Aberystwyth to London. True story...

 

[MikeWh]

Apologies for not being specific I hope you'll appreciate this is what I'm confused with. All my friends have a Oyster Card with a picture, and when I'm with them it costs me £2 for every single journey I make and as I can make three to four bus journeys a day it can get quite expensive.

I hope this manages to clear up some confusion, Oyster seems to generate a lot of it :L

The card your friends have is a 16+ card which does need a photo. As a non-London resident you can apply online with a digital photo of yourself. Do it this month and the £5 fee gets added as credit, from 1st September the fee goes up to £10 and doesn't get added as credit. Full details are on the page I linked to above (sorry for missing the difference for non-London visitors.

You'll pay half adult rate on buses which is 60p per journey.

 

[At_traction]

Where possible, and the price is the same, buy a Travelcard rather than using Oyster if you know you are going to get capped. This avoids the necessity to touch in/out on every leg and interchange, and also avoids you the hassle of having to arrange a refund when the system inevitably cocks up and overcharges you.

Hear, hear! Saves a lot of nerves at 'stiles ("seek assistance") and time at counters clarifying what went wrong as well as extra money for re-topping up. Swipe out or you're goner, even if you'd have to leave the tube platforms, walk up to 'stiles, immediately re-enter using a (longer-haul) mainline ticket and walk back to platforms. How do I know?

But other than that, have a nice time...