Day trip to London - unbelievable tube costs!

stockton_2

andygb wrote: »

I don't think there is any "surely" about it, because I was talking to a neighbour today and they don't have contactless cards either:

I never had one until last week when Santander sent me one through the post. I had not asked for it.

zagubov

If you're visiting London I'd always recommend using the bus instead of the tube. You can sit upstairs and watch the world go by. Much better experience than the underground.

You can plan your shopping using streetsensations.

macman

Double_V wrote: »

Where did you park for free in London ?
I have to go to London as well. Was thinking to take the car or not.

Rather depends where in London-there is plenty of on-street parking in the suburbs if you can find a space, but the City and West End are heavily metered. If you are driving into the Congestion Charge zone, that is another cost on top of parking,

zagubov

Double_V wrote: »

Where did you park for free in London ?
I have to go to London as well. Was thinking to take the car or not.

I've lived ( and driven and parked cars) south of the river for thirty years. The free parking may only apply in the evening in some areas, or on Sundays, but otherwise it could be very hard to find.

The closest areas where you could park on-street all day will be about seven or more stations distance from Waterloo.

Unless the OP can pass his info on to you, i think driving in and parking for free might be very difficult. There are online services to rent out parking spaces for you just outside the congestion charge zone.

susancs

lisyloo wrote: »

I can't understand people saying it's expensive (although I accept you're penalised for paper tickets).
A fiver for zones 1-6 is a bargain especially considering there's a punitive element for travelling at peak times (which if there wasn't would make your business journey even more crowded than it is already).
£12 is an extremely cheap Advance fare and not representative at all.
Trains through Reading are generally very expensive - for example London - Chippenham can be up to £128 single (ok, first class).
£1.50 to go anywhere on a bus is extremely good value and don't forget that tops out at £4.40 so if you're travelling all day it's spectacular value.

Try living somewhere without public transport and see what it costs to get around.

BTW - the Boris bikes are £2 for 24 hours.
Maybe not appropriate for your business journey, but a cheaper alternative for some.

I must admit Lisyloo that I am suprised that you consider £5.10 a bargain for travelling a single 1-6 zone journey on a rush hour tube. Most Londoners complain about the fact that we are all standing up, squashed together in an airless tube and paying a premium rate for doing so (and TBH there could be no more people packed onto the tubes I travel on during rush hour).

andygb

zagubov wrote: »

I've lived ( and driven and parked cars) south of the river for thirty years. The free parking may only apply in the evening in some areas, or on Sundays, but otherwise it could be very hard to find.

The closest areas where you could park on-street all day will be about seven or more stations distance from Waterloo.

Unless the OP can pass his info on to you, i think driving in and parking for free might be very difficult. There are online services to rent out parking spaces for you just outside the congestion charge zone.

It is indeed on a Sunday, and is the only way we can afford a day out to London. There are loads of places South of Chelsea and Albert Bridge, just outside Battersea Park, and the park itself is only £5 for the day.

andygb

Castle wrote: »

Last year (2014) a off peak Travelcard was £8.90; now £12.

I know, it came as a real shock to us:eek:

andygb

lisyloo wrote: »

Two alternatives.
Call you bank and ask for contactless cards (you'll need one each).

Otherwise just get the £5 deposit (plus credit) back ff your oyster card at the end of the day from one of the tube ticket machines.

I find contactless useful in the supermarket all the times, so I'd go for the former, but the latter is an option.

Buses top out at £4.40 for a whole day so not in any way expensive.

That does not apply any more, and we nearly got caight out about six months ago. We bought oyster cards at Stratford on the understanding that we would get the deposit back plus any credit, only to find the system has changed (due to fraud apparently), and when we swiped them on the machine it didn't show any credit.
We were told by station staff that you cannot claim the refund the same day, which is absolutely no use to us as we do not live in London:(

Cornucopia

Admittedly a while since I parked for free in Central London, but unless the zones have changed, then:-

Free all the time on street - all around Rotherhithe, within walking distance of Rotherhithe and Canada Water stations, or 15 mins to London Bridge on 381 bus. (this is probably the closest safe free on-street parking to the centre of London).

Free at weekends - the entire area south of Westminster & the parks i.e. St. James's Park area and parts of Victoria, also around Lambeth & some parts of Waterloo, South Bank, Blackfriars.

http://transact.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/parking/parking_zones_map.pdf

Free after 1:30pm on Saturday, and all day Sunday: Holborn area (walking distance to Covent Garden & Leicester Square). Bloomsbury area on Sundays only.

https://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/stream/asset/?asset_id=2262249

why are London's pavements so hard?

It's the high gold content.

earlywormgetsthebird

susancs wrote: »

I must admit Lisyloo that I am suprised that you consider £5.10 a bargain for travelling a single 1-6 zone journey on a rush hour tube. Most Londoners complain about the fact that we are all standing up, squashed together in an airless tube and paying a premium rate for doing so (and TBH there could be no more people packed onto the tubes I travel on during rush hour).

Absolutely agree with you: The costs of travelling by both tube and bus in central London are nothing less than outrageous!

More of we Londoners ought to be doing far less standing up in their packed carriages, but instead - far more standing up against their disgraceful fare rises!!!

I'm actually aghast, that there is even one poster here, who still thinks that such fleecing fares are somehow a 'bargain'.