Bus journey in London, paying for

[AleisterCrowley]

I'm off to a funeral in London on Friday. The venue is a long way from any tube station so I'm getting a train to Feltham then a bus most of the way
It's years since I used a bus in London. What are the acceptable payment methods these days?
Assume no cash - will a debit card contactless be OK, or do I need to buy some sort of card or download a TfL app or similar horrors?
It's a £1.65 single, not sure if they do returns these days, or just day tickets

[XFool]

Contactless card OK.

[Spet0789]

Contactless card OK.

And if you’re just going there and back, 2 singles will be simplest. You’ll find it a very straightforward experience and in this weather, nicer than the tube.

The bus may be busy though so if you’re worried about Covid, take a mask. Week day bus ridership has recovered far faster than train / tube because in London at least the bus demographic tends not to be able to WFH.

[AleisterCrowley]

Thanks both - it's mid afternoon (c 3pm) so hopefully not too busy
I still wear a mask on trains (although I'm in a minority now) and will do so on the bus.

[pje16]

I still wear a mask on trains (although I'm in a minority now) and will do so on the bus.

I was on the Northern line on Monday at 9am
carriage was 75% full, I counted 3 mask wearers
must admit that was the first time I didn't wear one

[pje16]

just for clarity
the £1.65 is a hopper fare which allows you to change to different buses (and trams) within an hour of your first touch in (just tap using the same card)

[AleisterCrowley]

Do you mean an Oyster card tap in? No idea how they work... I will use Debit card
Anyway, it's a single journey on the 285 bus to Hanworth Air Park Leisure Ctr

[tjh290633]

I'm off to a funeral in London on Friday. The venue is a long way from any tube station so I'm getting a train to Feltham then a bus most of the way
It's years since I used a bus in London. What are the acceptable payment methods these days?
Assume no cash - will a debit card contactless be OK, or do I need to buy some sort of card or download a TfL app or similar horrors?
It's a £1.65 single, not sure if they do returns these days, or just day tickets

Don't forget that you can do multiple journeys with the hour with no extra cost. I think it's called a Hopper fare, but the software will take care of that. Buses are a flat fare anyway. If you are going to use the tube, you might find a day travelcard from your local station is the cheapest alternative, and will cover the bus as well. For a senior it is about £5 extra on the train fare, presumably more for youngsters.

TJH

[pje16]

Do you mean an Oyster card tap in? No idea how they work... I will use Debit card
Anyway, it's a single journey on the 285 bus to Hanworth Air Park Leisure Ctr

Your debit card will be fine (tap is just my phrase)
Oyster card and app are for daily/regular users

[AleisterCrowley]

I'm off to a funeral in London on Friday. The venue is a long way from any tube station so I'm getting a train to Feltham then a bus most of the way
It's years since I used a bus in London. What are the acceptable payment methods these days?
Assume no cash - will a debit card contactless be OK, or do I need to buy some sort of card or download a TfL app or similar horrors?
It's a £1.65 single, not sure if they do returns these days, or just day tickets

Don't forget that you can do multiple journeys with the hour with no extra cost. I think it's called a Hopper fare, but the software will take care of that. Buses are a flat fare anyway. If you are going to use the tube, you might find a day travelcard from your local station is the cheapest alternative, and will cover the bus as well. For a senior it is about £5 extra on the train fare, presumably more for youngsters.

TJH

Good point Terry - does a Travelcard cover bus travel then , I've only ever used it for train<>tube
I'll look at the prices - a return Reading<>Feltham and 2 x bus tickets may be cheaper than the Travelcard which is about £30 from here

[AleisterCrowley]

Do you mean an Oyster card tap in? No idea how they work... I will use Debit card
Anyway, it's a single journey on the 285 bus to Hanworth Air Park Leisure Ctr

Your debit card will be fine (tap is just my phrase)
Oyster card and app are for daily/regular users

How does that work then ? Will the return bus register that I've already used same card earlier and not charge?
probably not relevant as I suspect service etc will be >> 1 hour

[pje16]

For a senior it is about £5 extra on the train fare, presumably more for youngsters.
TJH

A senior (60+) who lives in a London borough can get an Oyster+ card
£10 admin fee (last for 5 years) and gives free travel on buses, tubes trams and national rail within the London area (and just outside)

[pje16]

Do you mean an Oyster card tap in? No idea how they work... I will use Debit card
Anyway, it's a single journey on the 285 bus to Hanworth Air Park Leisure Ctr

Your debit card will be fine (tap is just my phrase)
Oyster card and app are for daily/regular users

How does that work then ? Will the return bus register that I've already used same card earlier and not charge?
probably not relevant as I suspect service etc will be >> 1 hour

You will pay once each way, the Hopper fare only lasts for an hour
If you jump buses within that time just use the same card and you don't get charged again
I know you're not doing that, but useful to know

[AleisterCrowley]

Thanks, all good info. I haven't used London buses regularly since I lived in Crouch End (which has no tube station..)

[didds]

[
How does that work then ? Will the return bus register that I've already used same card earlier and not charge?

yes.

well the bus wont, but the "server" that handles all the transactions will. which is why you need to use the same card each time. its designed presumably so that if to get from A to C, and you can only travel A-B, B-C cos of bus routes, you aren't stung for £3.30 as a result.

[AleisterCrowley]

It's a mystery to me..as Toyah once sang

[pje16]

It's technology
but as they probably pay peanuts to monkeys to program it, always check your bank statement (which you should do anyway )

[UncleEbenezer]

just for clarity
the £1.65 is a hopper fare which allows you to change to different buses (and trams) within an hour of your first touch in (just tap using the same card)

That's a lot cheaper than ... um ... us much poorer areas. Have they brought back Red Ken's Fare's Fair (or whatever it was called)?

[pje16]

I think you mean Fares Fair
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fares_Fair
I was never of a fan of him... way to smarmy

[mc2fool]

Do you mean an Oyster card tap in? No idea how they work... I will use Debit card
Anyway, it's a single journey on the 285 bus to Hanworth Air Park Leisure Ctr

Your debit card will be fine (tap is just my phrase)
Oyster card and app are for daily/regular users

Oyster and contactless each have their advantages and disadvantages. I see they've now (a few months ago) fixed the inherent issue that made contactless cheaper than Oyster in some narrow circumstances. See https://oysterfares.com/information-pages/contactless-vs-oyster/

A senior (60+) who lives in a London borough can get an Oyster+ card
£10 admin fee (last for 5 years) and gives free travel on buses, tubes trams and national rail within the London area (and just outside)

It's been £20 to get one for a few years now, and they've added an annual address check and £10pa fee thereafter, and it lasts for 6 years, until you reach state pension age and become eligible for a Freedom Pass.

The simple rule is that it gives you free travel on any TfL service, all the way out to zone 9, but on National Rail only out to zone 6. So, while you can get out to Watford Junction (zone 9) on London Overground (a TfL service) for free, you can't go further than Harrow & Wealdstone (zone 5) on the two National Rail services that run up there, even though they all run on the same set of tracks. However, there are exceptions, e.g. you can go out to Amersham (zone 9) on either the Metropolitan line or Chiltern Railways. It's complicated.

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/60-plus-oyster-photocard

The other thing, that I recently found out in real life to my surprise, is that whereas the 60+ and Freedom Pass cards used to allow anytime travel on TfL services and 9.00/9.30am (depending on which line) onward travel on National Rail, in July 2020 they changed it so that those cards were no longer valid on TfL services during the morning peak period (04:30 to 09:00) Mon-Fri, and it is, as I recently discovered, still like that now despite the London Assembly calling for it to be lifted a year later.

https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2020/june/temporary-suspension-of-free-travel-for-older-person-s-freedom-pass-and-60-passengers-during-morning-peak-hours
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-assembly-freedom-pass-restrictions-b953653.html