Where do you buy an annual bus pass?

Spark

I am trying to find out where you can buy a London annual bus pass, but I can't find anything on the internet. It says where you can buy a weekly or monthly bus pass, but nothing on where to buy an annual bus pass, which I find odd.
Anyone knows?

worried_jim

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/fares/bus-and-tram

enabledebra

I wouldn't buy one because I would lose it.

Spark

I have seen that website before, it tells about the prices of the bus passes but not where to buy them.
I have asked a newsagent, and she didn't know about monthly or annual bus passes, or she was new in the job or most people are buying weekly ones.
I am pretty sure I've read you can buy the weekly and monthly bus pass in a newsagent, but I don't know about thhe annual one.

Richard_Cranium

There are outlets that sell annual bus passes, but they only appear for one day once a year.

Quasar

You need to go to one of the major London Underground Stations or train stations. They will issue you with a year pass, for which you need to have a photo of yourself. Just ask them.

You can also visit the TfL website and particularly the page where it says further down in the travelcard section:

On Oyster, you can buy 7 Day, Monthly, odd period or Annual Travelcards for travel across Zones 1-9 and Watford Junction, Broxbourne and Shenfield. If you lose your Oyster card with a Travelcard on it, we can stop it, send you a replacement or arrange a transfer to a new Oyster card.
:http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/ticket-types/on-oyster?intcmp=11504

However, going direct to a train/tube station is better as you won't have to navigate the dzzying website. Good luck.

paddyrg

It'll need to be an actual TFL station - corner shops would make the risk of fraud way too high.

Spark

Travelcards are not the same as bus passes, travelcards are for both trains and buses, I only need a bus pass, annual travelcards for the zones I am interested in is £1064, the annual bus pass is £840, there is a big difference there.
I don't see why you could not buy it online and add it to your oyster card in your account online, something I can do with an annual travelcard apparently. Or why you would need a photo on the card for an annual bus pass, but not for an annual travelcard.
Unless they are trying to make it more difficult to get bus passes as there is a bigger saving to be made.

There are outlets that sell annual bus passes, but they only appear for one day once a year.

And where do you find where and when to go then?

Quasar

Spark wrote: »

Travelcards are not the same as bus passes, travelcards are for both trains and buses, I only need a bus pass, annual travelcards for the zones I am interested in is £1064, the annual bus pass is £840, there is a big difference there.
I don't see why you could not buy it online and add it to your oyster card in your account online, something I can do with an annual travelcard apparently. Or why you would need a photo on the card for an annual bus pass, but not for an annual travelcard.
Unless they are trying to make it more difficult to get bus passes as there is a bigger saving to be made.



And where do you find where and when to go then?

You can get an annual BUS PASS also at any Underground Station, or navigate the TfL website if you prefer. Alternatively, try the information centre in any large Bus Station London and they will give you all necessary information.

Spark

:huh:https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/link/0005.do

Why oh why this didn't appear previously when I was goggling "where to buy an annual bus pass?"
I have been trying to get the answer on and off for a few weeks now.:mad:

It seems that you need to get a new card every time then, I got 2 oyster cards already, one with an automatic top up and another one with a simple PAYG, you would think you could add the annual bus pass on one of your existing card. But as you can't get an annual bus pass on oyster online, you can't. This is stupid.....Wait a minute.... You can't buy it from oyster online..... but the website you can get the bus pass from is called oyster online... where it says that "you cannot get an Oyster card with a discounted or child-rate Travelcard or Bus & Tram Pass from Oyster online"...:huh:

paddyrg

Spark wrote: »

And where do you find where and when to go then?

I suspect RC was having a bit of a joke there ;-)