Londonium residents

redvee
redvee Posts: 11,922
edited January 2011 in Commuting chat
I shall be coming into the big city via National Express and travelling via those big red things that always give us cyclists due consideration. As I understand it most buses use Oyster Cards for payment, as an outsider, who in the past has used the tube or walked, how do I pay for buses without the need for an Oyster Card?
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Comments

  • you can still pay cash for buses, not sure how much it is though but it works out cheaper to use an oyster card
    i could be wrong though, i havent used public transport in about 20 years
  • EKE_38BPM
    EKE_38BPM Posts: 5,821
    Cash works on most buses but on some you have to pay before boarding. I'm not really a bus user (I hate the damn things) but if you have to pay before boarding and don't have an Oystercard I think you can buy a ticket at the bus stop.

    Oystercards work out cheaper. I think it £2.20 if you pay cash but £1.10 by Oyster.

    I hate buses. I was forced to use one last night. It had vomit sloshing around the floor.
    Grim.
    FCN 3: Raleigh Record Ace fixie-to be resurrected sometime in the future
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  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    EKE_38BPM wrote:

    I hate buses. I was forced to use one last night. It had vomit sloshing around the floor.
    Grim.

    No different to Brizzle then :lol:
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    You'll need to pay a deposit to get the oyster card. You can do this at any tube station. You'll save the money you spent on the deposit after four bus rides though. There is also a daily cap on the oyster cards on buses if you hit it you'll pay no more for that day with cash you'll keep on paying. Likewise if you mix and match bus and tube and hit the daily travelcard value you pay no more from then.

    See http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14415.aspx
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • mattsaw
    mattsaw Posts: 907
    London buses are care in the community on wheels - avoid. :wink:
    Bianchi C2C - Ritte Bosberg - Cervelo R3
    Strava
  • hatbeard
    hatbeard Posts: 1,087
    Mattsaw wrote:
    London buses are care in the community on wheels - avoid. :wink:

    nonsense, the 453 is a mystical chariot that appears when I'm at my most drunkest in the west end and magically transports me directly to my house for the cost of a handful of pence. every 15 minutes 24 hours a day. Many of my tuesday night 4am post-work endurance drinking events were only made possible thanks to that wondrous contraption :lol:
    Hat + Beard
  • hatbeard wrote:
    Mattsaw wrote:
    London buses are care in the community on wheels - avoid. :wink:

    nonsense, the 453 is a mystical chariot that appears when I'm at my most drunkest in the west end and magically transports me directly to my house for the cost of a handful of pence. every 15 minutes 24 hours a day. Many of my tuesday night 4am post-work endurance drinking events were only made possible thanks to that wondrous contraption :lol:

    Day buses - filled with the unemployed, the retired and people who smell of wee.
    Night buses - filled with drunks.

    Of course, one must guard against generalisations...
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

    Bike 1
    Bike 2-A
  • EKE_38BPM
    EKE_38BPM Posts: 5,821
    Greg66 wrote:
    hatbeard wrote:
    Mattsaw wrote:
    London buses are care in the community on wheels - avoid. :wink:

    nonsense, the 453 is a mystical chariot that appears when I'm at my most drunkest in the west end and magically transports me directly to my house for the cost of a handful of pence. every 15 minutes 24 hours a day. Many of my tuesday night 4am post-work endurance drinking events were only made possible thanks to that wondrous contraption :lol:

    Day buses - filled with the unemployed, the retired and people who smell of wee.
    Night buses - filled with drunks.

    Of course, one must guard against generalisations...

    The ones in bold are the bus drivers and those on the way to their jobs.
    FCN 3: Raleigh Record Ace fixie-to be resurrected sometime in the future
    FCN 4: Planet X Schmaffenschmack 2- workhorse
    FCN 9: B Twin Vitamin - winter commuter/loan bike for trainees

    I'm hungry. I'm always hungry!
  • SimonAH
    SimonAH Posts: 3,730
    "Ah the good old number eighteen, good reliable transportation for the poor and very poor alike"

    Lisa Simpson
    FCN 5 belt driven fixie for city bits
    CAADX 105 beastie for bumpy bits
    Litespeed L3 for Strava bits

    Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
  • Dudu
    Dudu Posts: 4,637
    Oi! London buses are brilliant (compared with anywhere else or the alternative) (except for bikes). And, unlike some of our number, the drivers never bother me (but then neither do cab drivers - could it be the speedy, assertive but legal way I ride?).

    Most routes run at least five times an hour. The best ones run every 3-4 minutes between about 8am and 9pm.

    In central London, buy a ticket (£2!!!) from the machine at the stop. In outer London pay the driver (£2!!!!).

    Oyster card is far cheaper. It costs £3 plus however much you want to start with. You can buy it online and at tube stations. You can top it up online, at tube and rail stations and a lot of newsagents.

    Oyster card fares are £1.30 for each bus trip, and depend on zones and rail fares for tube and train. It's always cheaper than paying cash. There is a cap on fares so that you never spend more than £8 a day.

    BTW I don't think the posh old birds I was wth on the 360 to Sloane Square and South Kensington yesterday would take kindly to being told they smell of wee. They have very well-filled handbags for hitting people with. The same goes for the kids with Hooray Henry accents in fancy school uniforms.
    ___________________________________________
    People need to be told what to do so badly they'll listen to anyone
  • Dudu wrote:
    BTW I don't think the posh old birds I was wth on the 360 to Sloane Square and South Kensington yesterday would take kindly to being told they smell of wee. They have very well-filled handbags for hitting people with.

    Bet they did. They just masked it with industrial volumes of lavender. Those Peter Jones types are the absolute worst.
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

    Bike 1
    Bike 2-A
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,052
    Boris bike surely?
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    itboffin wrote:
    Boris bike surely?

    Had crossed my mind but my friend isn't really traffic savvy and not a good idea in London, he gets away with it in Bristol just. Is the PAYG scheme running yet?
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,052
    redvee wrote:
    itboffin wrote:
    Boris bike surely?

    Had crossed my mind but my friend isn't really traffic savvy and not a good idea in London, he gets away with it in Bristol just. Is the PAYG scheme running yet?

    yes and he'll be fine just ride beside him.
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    itboffin wrote:
    redvee wrote:
    itboffin wrote:
    Boris bike surely?

    Had crossed my mind but my friend isn't really traffic savvy and not a good idea in London, he gets away with it in Bristol just. Is the PAYG scheme running yet?

    yes and he'll be fine just ride beside him.

    Definitely, there are so many cyclists in London these days that drivers expect them, especially since Boris bikes hit the road. If you're worried just take side streets...
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  • davmaggs
    davmaggs Posts: 1,008
    You can get the deposit back at the tube station.
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    Looked at borisbike webby and looks to be a go-er, need a free but good android app. Seen docks at Victoria and Shoreditch but might stop off elsewhere within the 30 min allowance.
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • I bought an oystercard in a newsagents; think it came with a fiver on it (don't know if you can still do this, it was a few years ago). It paid for itself amazingly quickly; I had to get from Chiswick to Southwark, from there to Kentish Town and then back to Chiswick again. Still got it, haven't used public transport in London since.
    Unwashed (but well-lubricated) fixed thing, jeans, DMs - FCN 7(?)
  • redvee wrote:
    Looked at borisbike webby and looks to be a go-er, need a free but good android app. Seen docks at Victoria and Shoreditch but might stop off elsewhere within the 30 min allowance.
    You may already know this, but in case not; the 30 mins free is per ride. You must leave 5 mins between rides. So you can make multiple 30min rides in 1 day.
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    If we do it right then we can get a whole day's use for £0? Ride from Victoria for 20 mins, dump bike at next dock, grab a beer/coffee and jump on the same bike we just left and do the same again, another 20 mins.
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • redvee wrote:
    If we do it right then we can get a whole day's use for £0? Ride from Victoria for 20 mins, dump bike at next dock, grab a beer/coffee and jump on the same bike we just left and do the same again, another 20 mins.
    You need to pay the access charge (I think PAYG is £1 per day) but, yes, other than that if you keep the journeys below 30 mins and 5+ mins breaks then it is zero additional cost (assuming you don't lose the bike, damage it, or forget to wait for the green light when docking ...).

    The bikes are, broadly speaking, only in zone 1. That is, basically, the centre of London. But I assume you have checked your route online?

    There is a reasonable app if you look up EasyBoris; and, for those of us without a modern mobile, the site also has a quite nice online version linked to at the bottom of the same page.

    If the destination BB stand is full, then go to the terminal and you can press a button to give yourself an extra 15 mins and status of the nearest few alternative stands (although often the names of the stand is not obvious from the position on the map).

    If you get a key (no point for occasional use now PAYG is up and running), then a useful tip that a lot of people don't seem to realise is that the green light stays on for approx 10 secs after the key is removed (it flashes for the last 3 or so secs). Doing it this way make it less likely you'll leave the key behind.