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Travelcards on buses

SWR_Arterio

Member
Joined
10 May 2026
Messages
7
Location
Guildford
Does a zone 1-6 London travelcard include bus travel on ALL TfL buses, even those that leave zone 6 and those that leave Greater London, i.e: the bus route to Dorking.?
 
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RailUK Forums

Edvid

Established Member
Joined
7 Feb 2008
Messages
2,512
Yes it does. In fact any Travelcard is valid on all TfL buses regardless of what zones it's valid in.
 

aron2smith

Member
Joined
20 Jan 2025
Messages
699
Location
London
Yes all red buses even those that cross the boundary. However a non-TFL like the 715 in Kingston unfortunately doesn't accept them, even if the journey taken was wholly in Greater London. A bit of a shame really.
 

SWR_Arterio

Member
Joined
10 May 2026
Messages
7
Location
Guildford
Yes all red buses even those that cross the boundary. However a non-TFL like the 715 in Kingston unfortunately doesn't accept them, even if the journey taken was wholly in Greater London. A bit of a shame really.
Ye, I was aware that non-TfL it wasn't valid for but didnt realise that it technically means a zone 1-6 card is valid to slough. Thanks.
 

aron2smith

Member
Joined
20 Jan 2025
Messages
699
Location
London
Ye, I was aware that non-TfL it wasn't valid for but didnt realise that it technically means a zone 1-6 card is valid to slough. Thanks.
Yes it's valid on the 81 bus but that's the only way to Slough the travelcard is valid on if that's helpful.
 

81A

Member
Joined
22 May 2026
Messages
275
Location
GWR land
Travel cards valid in any of zones 3, 4, 5 or 6 are also valid on all the Croydon trams (at least according to the tube and rail map notes section).
 

Mark L

Member
Joined
12 Dec 2023
Messages
322
Location
West London
Ye, I was aware that non-TfL it wasn't valid for but didnt realise that it technically means a zone 1-6 card is valid to slough. Thanks.
…and to Dorking (on the 465), Redhill (405) and Watford (142/258) to name but three “cross-boundary” towns.
 

kijeta

Member
Joined
18 Jun 2022
Messages
110
Location
North London
If a travelcard was loaded onto ITSO, and the smartcard failed to scan on a TfL bus for whatever reason, what would happen? I presume the passenger is expected to pay by contactless and seek a refund from TfL retrospectively?
 

Surreytraveller

On Moderation
Joined
21 Oct 2009
Messages
3,905
If a travelcard was loaded onto ITSO, and the smartcard failed to scan on a TfL bus for whatever reason, what would happen? I presume the passenger is expected to pay by contactless and seek a refund from TfL retrospectively?
I suspect the driver would just wave you on
 

Edvid

Established Member
Joined
7 Feb 2008
Messages
2,512
If a travelcard was loaded onto ITSO, and the smartcard failed to scan on a TfL bus for whatever reason, what would happen? I presume the passenger is expected to pay by contactless and seek a refund from TfL retrospectively?
You're probably correct.

Also worth noting each TOC (as ITSO card issuer) has to pay TfL to have its set of smartcards recognised by the fare collection system; if it doesn't, the system will reject the smartcards themselves without even reading what's on them. I don't know the specifics but I believe back-office arrangements also matter.
 

Wallsendmag

Established Member
Joined
11 Dec 2014
Messages
6,285
Location
Wallsend or somewhere on the ECML
If a travelcard was loaded onto ITSO, and the smartcard failed to scan on a TfL bus for whatever reason, what would happen? I presume the passenger is expected to pay by contactless and seek a refund from TfL retrospectively?
From feedback from Kings Cross Travel Centre the customer is required to pay. We're seeing problems with a few cards on some buses
 

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