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,_London_Buses_and_National_Rail.html" ;"title="London_Buses.html" ;"title=""type": ...
The Travelcard is an inter-modal travel ticket for unlimited use on the
,_London_Buses">"type":_...London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
, London Overground
London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...
, Elizabeth line
The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid urban–suburban rail service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of Paddington to and via Whitechapel ...
, Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Lo ...
, London Trams
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,_ , London Buses">"type": ...
, London Buses and National Rail">London_Buses.html" ;"title=""type": ...
, London Buses">"type": ...
, London Buses and National Rail services in the Greater London area. Travelcards can be purchased for a period of time varying from one day to a year, from Transport for London,
National Rail
National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...
and their agents. Depending on where it is purchased, and the length of validity, a Travelcard is either printed on a paper ticket with a magnetic stripe
The term digital card can refer to a physical item, such as a memory card on a camera, or, increasingly since 2017, to the digital content hosted
as a virtual card or cloud card, as a digital virtual representation of a physical card. They share ...
or encoded onto an Oyster card
The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and certain areas around it) in England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport ...
, Transport for London's contactless electronic smart card. The cost of a Travelcard is determined by the area it covers and, for this purpose, London is divided into a number of fare zones. The Travelcard season ticket for unlimited travel on London Buses and the London Underground was launched on 22 May 1983 by London Transport. One Day Travelcards and validity on other transport modes were added from 1984 onwards. The introduction of the Travelcard caused an increase in patronage and reduced the number of tickets that needed to be purchased by passengers.
History
Before the introduction of the Travelcard, tickets for the London Underground were purchased on a 'point-to-point' basis between two stations, either as a single, return or season ticket; and were priced according to distance travelled. Tickets for travel on London Buses and British Rail were purchased separately. The Travelcard was introduced as the third in a series of major fare revisions that had started in 1981. The introduction of the Travelcard was intended to increase patronage on London Underground and London Buses, particularly during less busy times and to speed up the boarding of bus services. On 4 October 1981, following the Greater London Council election, the incoming Labour administration simplified fares in Greater London by introducing four new bus fare zones and two central London Underground zones, named ''City'' and ''West End'', where flat fares applied for the first time. This was accompanied by a cut in prices of about a third and was marketed as the '' Fares Fair'' campaign. Following successful legal action against it, on 21 March 1982 London Bus fares were doubled and London Underground fares increased by 91%. The two central area zones were retained and the fares to all other stations were restructured to be graduated at three-mile intervals; and thus grouping those stations within three miles of the central zones in an 'inner zone'. In 1983, a third revision of fares was undertaken, and a new inter-modal Travelcard season ticket was launched covering five new numbered zones; representing an overall cut in prices of around 25%. The ''One Day Travelcard'' was launched in 1984 and on weekdays was only sold for travel after 09.30. In January 1985 the ''Capitalcard'' season ticket was launched, offering validity on British Rail services as well as London Underground and London Buses. It was priced around 10-15% higher than the Travelcard. The card was marketed under the brand "The London Connection", illustrated with an image of an electric plug bringing together the corporate identities of British Rail and London Transport. In June 1986 the ''One Day Capitalcard'' was launched. The Capitalcard brand ended in January 1989 when the Travelcard gained validity on British Rail and DLR services. In January 1991 Zone 5 was split to create a new Zone 6. In January 2002 a peak version of the One Day Travelcard was introduced on weekdays, which allows travel between 04:30 and 09:30 and in 2005 a 3-day version of the Travelcard was launched (they were discontinued in 2010). Travelcard season tickets were made available on electronic smart cards, known asOyster card
The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and certain areas around it) in England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport ...
s, from 2003 and by 2005 Transport for London ceased selling season tickets on paper tickets, although they continue to be available from National Rail
National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...
stations.
The sale of season Travelcards on paper at National Rail stations ended on 1 June 2022.
Operation
Usage
A Travelcard entitles the holder to unlimited travel in Greater London on London Buses,London Trams
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, London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
, London Overground
London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...
, Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Lo ...
and National Rail
National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...
services. They provide travel within up to 9 numbered concentric zones, with Travelcard Zone 1, Zone 1 (which includes the central areas of City of London, The City and the West End of London, West End) at the middle and zones Travelcard Zone 6, 6, [ 7, 8 and 9 (which includes London Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
and outlying suburbs such as Uxbridge
Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...
and Upminster
Upminster is a suburban town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is one of the district centres identified for development in the London Plan.
Historically a rural vill ...
, as well as places outside London such as Amersham) at the outer edge. On the London Underground, London Overground, DLR and National Rail, the Travelcard is only valid within the zones indicated on the ticket. On London Buses any Travelcard, regardless of the zones, can be used on any route. On Tramlink any Travelcard valid in zones 3, 4, 5, or 6 can be used on any tram route. Travelcards are sold in a limited number of combinations of adjacent zones with different combinations available depending on the length of validity. Travelcards for only one zone are no longer sold, having been withdrawn in 2006. Travelcards valid for travel in Zone 1 (most of central London) are more expensive than those excluding it, although as of 2011 one-day travelcards not including Zone 1 are no longer sold.
Travelcards are issued for periods of one day or seven days, or for any period from one month to one year, known as a season Travelcard. One day Travelcards can be purchased in ''Anytime'' and ''Off-Peak'' variants. Anytime Travelcard and Off-peak Travelcard. An Anytime Travelcard may be used from 00:01 on the date of validity and an Off-peak Travelcard may be used from 09:30 on Monday to Friday, and whole day on weekends and public holidays, with both expire at 04:29 the following day.
Travelcards for seven days or longer are known as season tickets and allow travel at any time of the day. When bought at a London Underground station or other Transport for London agent, one day Travelcards are sold on a paper ticket with a magnetic stripe and Travelcards lasting seven days or more are loaded on to an Oyster Card
The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and certain areas around it) in England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport ...
. A monthly travelcard (valid for between 28 and 31 days depending on month) is sold for 3.84 times the price of a 7-day card, while annual travelcards are sold for the price of 40 7-day tickets. The price of a travelcard valid for between one month and one year will be the sum of the relevant number of months, plus a pro-rata monthly rate for the number of days in the final month. As 40 weekly tickets cost approximately the same as a 10-month-12-day ticket, it is not possible in practice to buy a travelcard for a period between 10M12D and 1 year, as an annual pass is cheaper and will be issued anyway.
Currently, Anytime Travelcard is only sold for zones 1-4, 1-6 or 1-9, while off-peak Travelcard is only sold for zones 1-6 or 1-9. Travelcard season tickets are sold for any consecutive zone combinations including at least 2 consecutive zones within 1-6, with tickets including zone 1 significantly more expensive, while season tickets for the outer zones are offered in the combinations 1-7, 1-8, 1-9, 1-9+Watford Junction, 2-7, 2-9+Watford Junction, 4-7 and 4-9+Watford Junction only.
Sale
A Day Travelcard, only sold as a paper ticket, can be bought at the following places: * at ticket machines at London Underground / DLR stations, TfL Visitor Centres, or Tramlink shop in Croydon. * at ticket offices at National Rail stations, or bought from National Rail ticket retailers and collected at National Rail ticket machines / ticket offices. A Travelcard season ticket is currently sold on smart cards only, which includeOyster card
The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and certain areas around it) in England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport ...
and National Rail
National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...
ITSO smart cards:
* A Travelcard season ticket can be loaded into an Oyster card at ticket machines at London Underground / DLR stations, TfL Visitor Centres, Oyster ticket shops, or bought online.
* A Travelcard season ticket can be sold by National Rail retailers and loaded into National Rail smart card products.
* A 7 day Travelcard can also be bought online from TfL Visitor Shop, and mailed as a paper ticket. Unlike a 7-day Travelcard season ticket sold by National Rail, this ticket does not require a photocard. This ticket is not sold physically in London, instead, 7-day Travelcards are only sold as an Oyster card at TfL stations and offices.
Only Travelcards sold as National Rail tickets are valid for 2-for-1 offers at attractions in London.
Services outside Greater London
There are various services outside Greater London on which Travelcards can be used. These are six Central line stations in the Epping Forest
Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...
district of Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
(and two on the boundary) that are included in zones 4, 5 and 6; seven Metropolitan line stations in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire that are included in local ancillary zones 7, 8 and 9; four London Overground
London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...
stations in Hertfordshire, included in local ancillary zones 7 and 8; and fourteen National Rail
National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...
stations of other operators just outside Greater London that are included in zones 6 to 8. A Travelcard covering the appropriate zones are valid for unlimited travel to/from these stations. Additionally, on some London Buses services that cross the Greater London boundary, Travelcards are valid for the whole route.
From outside Travelcard zones, outboundary Travelcards can be bought from some stations to a combination of London Zones, including zone 6, as either a day ticket or season ticket. An outboundary day Travelcard can be used to make one outward journey from the origin station to the boundary of zone 6, then one return journey back to the origin on the same day, with unlimited travel allowed within the zones shown on the ticket. Network rail ticket barriers outside zone 6 will retain the day ticket once the return journey has been made even though the travelcard part of the ticket remains valid until 04:30 the following day within the zone 6 boundary. An outboundary Travelcard season ticket can be used for unlimited travel between the origin and destination, and also the within zones specified on the ticket.
Furthermore, Travelcard ticket holders needing to go outside the covered zones can buy a "Boundary Zone" ticket, used in conjunction with the Travelcard. Such tickets are little known and can only be bought from ticket offices but not online, as a result, many travellers, not realising that these tickets can be bought, ended up buying other more expensive tickets for their journeys, resulting in a class action lawsuit
A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...
against the train companies for a total of £93 million in compensation.
Exceptions
Although located in Zone 6, travel byHeathrow Express
Heathrow Express is a high-frequency airport rail link operating between London Heathrow Airport and . Opened in 1998, trains run non-stop, with a journey time of 15 minutes. The service is operated jointly by Great Western Railway and Heathrow ...
from Heathrow Central, Heathrow Terminal 4
Heathrow Terminal 4 is an airport terminal
An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an aircraft.
Within the ter ...
or Heathrow Terminal 5 to London Paddington station is not included.
Travel on the High Speed 1 rail link between London St Pancras
St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a London station group, central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Bor ...
and Stratford International is also not included unless the travelcard is "out-boundary": valid to a station outside London. This is because High Speed 1 is considered to be "outside the zones" except for London St Pancras station.
Revenue allocation
The revenues from Travelcard sales are divided according to a scheme agreed by Transport for London and theRail Delivery Group
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), previously the Association of Train Operating Companies, is the British rail industry membership body that brings together passenger and freight rail companies, Network Rail and High Speed 2.
History
From 24 Oc ...
. A quarterly survey known as the Travelcard Diary Survey is undertaken, where travelcard holders are asked to record all the bus, rail and tube trips they have made using their travelcard. Both "in-boundary" and "out-boundary" (i.e. Travelcards in or outside the zonal areas) are surveyed, as well as day and monthly, weekly and annual Travelcards. Ensuring that a statistically valid sample that will give a fair and accurate allocation presents a challenge. The average mileage recorded on each mode is then calculated to give allocation factors of the Travelcard revenue to tube, bus and rail.
Additional benefits
Travelcards entitle the holder to a 33% discount on scheduledLondon River Services
London River Services Limited is a division of Transport for London (TfL), which manages passenger transport—leisure-oriented tourist services and commuter services—on the River Thames in London. It does not own or operate any boats itself ...
and 25% on the London Cable Car. In addition, holders of annual travelcards receive a "gold record card" which offers savings on off-peak travel on the same basis as the National Rail annual gold card.
Travelcards issued on paper tickets at National Rail stations are also treated as 'train tickets' for thDays Out Guide
2-for-1 offers at most attractions participating in the scheme.
See also
*Oyster card
The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and certain areas around it) in England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport ...
*Navigo pass
The Navigo card (french: links=yes, Carte Navigo), formerly called the Navigo pass, is a means of payment for public transportation introduced on 1 October 2001 in the City of Paris and Île-de-France region. It is implemented as a contactless s ...
similar to Travelcard, used in Île de France
* Creditrans similar to Travelcard, used in the Greater Bilbao
Greater Bilbao ( Basque: ''Bilboaldea'', Spanish: ''Gran Bilbao'') is an administrative division of the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, Spain. It is one of the seven comarcas of Biscay and the most populated one. The capital city of ...
region.
References
External links
Travelcards and group tickets
- at Transport for London {{Transport in London Fare collection systems in London Transport for London