Oyster cards

stashmycash

Can Oyster cards be topped up ?
If so how do you do it ? Is it cheaper just to get another one ?
Thanks

alanrowell

You can do it online, you can have a regular payment set up, you can do it at machines at stations, you can do it at the little hutches at the stations, you can do it in shops...

In short, yes you can top up Oystercards

Kido

As the previous poster said you can top them up online. You can also top them up at the underground stations. Don't get a new one or they'll cahrge you another £3 for the priviledge.

MrSmartprice

I wonder why they feel the need to charge £3 for these cards.

They have a similar system in Lisbon and Porto, where you buy a card and top it up with credits or day passes. But they charge 50cents, about 30p.

I guess it's just Red Ken combining with Rip Off Britain again.:mad:

Bossyboots

MrSmartprice wrote:

I wonder why they feel the need to charge £3 for these cards.

They have a similar system in Lisbon and Porto, where you buy a card and top it up with credits or day passes. But they charge 50cents, about 30p.

I guess it's just Red Ken combining with Rip Off Britain again.:mad:

You don't pay the fee if you put a season ticket on the card.

Also, can you imagine how many cards would be used if people just got a new one every time they travelled simply because they couldn't be bothered to take care of their existing one?

I think the £3 is justified and after all it is refundable if you hand the card back in.

alanrowell

The £3 fee is only paid if you select Pay As You Go. There isn't a charge on 7 day travelcards or seasons tickets.

M_Thomson

MrSmartprice wrote:

I wonder why they feel the need to charge £3 for these cards.

They have a similar system in Lisbon and Porto, where you buy a card and top it up with credits or day passes. But they charge 50cents, about 30p.

I guess it's just Red Ken combining with Rip Off Britain again.:mad:

Are the cards in Portugal smart cards? As the poster above me says, these cards are not cheap. Can you imagine how many they would have to make if they were free of charge?

lavendergirl

Sorry when I got my 7 day travel card on Oyster I still had to pay the deposit of £3. My daughter who is a student in London has a monthly ticket on Oyster and she also had to pay the £3 deposit. It is refundable when you return your card.

Bossyboots

lavendergirl wrote:

Sorry when I got my 7 day travel card on Oyster I still had to pay the deposit of £3. My daughter who is a student in London has a monthly ticket on Oyster and she also had to pay the £3 deposit. It is refundable when you return your card.

From the tfl website :-

"When you first get your Oyster card, you will need to pay a refundable £3 deposit if you are only adding cash to pay as you go."

user1234_2

£3 deposit was on all Oystercards when they first came out. They changed the rules around August 2005 to encourage travelcarders to start using Oyster.

martinlewisfanclub

MrSmartprice wrote:

I wonder why they feel the need to charge £3 for these cards.

They have a similar system in Lisbon and Porto, where you buy a card and top it up with credits or day passes. But they charge 50cents, about 30p.

I guess it's just Red Ken combining with Rip Off Britain again.:mad:

Apart from the swifter movement of passengers through the TFL sytem and cheaper fares for users, these are highly intelligent cards...the technology can potentially trace and time your movements all over London if it's in your pocket and you pass through stations...big brother is watching....

I top up mine in my local corner shop with an Oyster sign in the window for use on Greater London buses.
However, you can buy little books of tickets in newsagents for buses (certainly in greater London-don't know if there is similar for the Tube). Great for visitors and they never expire so the price you pay when you buy remains the same (unlike fares when you use Oyster which are debited at the going rate). Wish I'd bought more of them before the recent price increase in Jan.