Transport

London offers various ways of transport, from the world famous Tube, the oldest underground system in the world, to the highly recognisable red double decker buses.

Tube

I would highly recommend you to buy an Oyster card when you first arrive in London. Oyster card is an electronic ticketing transport card that can be purchased from a number of different outlets in London (underground, convenience shops,…).

There is a huge difference between the normal paper ticket and Oyster fare thus it is very important to get one.

As an example:

- Single Tube journey without Oyster: £4

- Single Tube journey with Oyster: £2

If you plan to take the tube several times in a day, it’s worth buying Travel cards (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Annually)

Prices, as of Feb. 2008 are:

……………..7 Day ..Monthly Annual

Zones 1-2 £24.20 £93.00 £968.00

Zones 1-3 £28.40 £109.10 £1,136.00

Zones 1-4 £34.60 £132.90 £1,384.00

Zones 1-5 £41.40 £159.00 £1,656.00

Zones 1-6 £44.60 £171.30 £1,784.00

Zones 1-7 £48.00 £184.40 £1,920.00

Zones 1-8 £56.00 £215.10 £2,240.00

Zones 1-9 £65.00 £249.60 £2,600.00

The tube runs between from 5:00am until 00:30pm. The tube service is not good value for money: lack of space in the carriage, bad ventilation, poor time frequency and delays occur regularly.

Buses

London is well known for its red double decker buses. They run 24h a day, switching to a night nus service from 10pm. The maps of the London buses can be found here, and here for the night buses. The single journey ticket price is £2 or 90p with Oyster. The service is pretty good as there are bus lanes on most of the roads, so it’s definitely more reliable compare to the tube but it’s slower, so it’s up to you!

Trains

There are several train stations across London: London Bridge, Waterloo, Victoria, Charing Cross, Paddington, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street,…) and various train companies (Virgin, Southern lines,….). You must buy a ticket prior to boarding. It is advisable to plan ahead.

You can check the fares here.

Cabs

Black cabs are part of London’s icons. In the day time you will find numerous cabs in the street. The light on the cab roof indicates the availability. The minimum charge is £2 and they charge on a pay per meter basis. Alternatively you can book a “mini-cab”, basically these are private companies that provide taxi services. In my opinion, the best (GPS, spacious car) and cheapest is Addison Lee (0207 387 8888). Tell them you are a pay by cash customer (otherwise you are a company), then you will be asked for the address that you will be taken from to your desired destination.

Airports

Heathrow is one of busiest airports in the world. London has 4 others airports: Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, City Airport. To get to the airports, you can take the Gatwick express, Stansted express, the Train for Luton airport and DLR for London City airport.

You can easily travel around Europe without having to spend a lot of money on air fare, check Ryanair and Easyjet and grab a bargain.

Cars

Not only it causes air pollution and noise, it is very expensive to own a car in London. If you want to drive in Central London, you will have to pay the Congestion Charge, £8 per day! The Congestion Charge applies from 7am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. The boundary of the central London congestion charge zone is basically the touristic centre and the City. Payment of the daily charge allows you to enter, drive around and leave the charging zone as many times as you wish in one day. You can pay online, by phone (0845 900 1234), by text, by post, at shops and petrol stations. Penalty is £50 if you failed to pay by midnight (to be payed within 2 weeks). Check the official website.

My advice is to rent a car, it’s cheaper and you don’t have to worry about congestion charge. You can check EasyRentacar or the great Streetcar the pay-as-you-go car service.

Parkings

If you plan to own a car, it’s best to buy a resident parking permit. It allows you to park around your neighborhood for an annual charge. You can find where to buy it here. Don’t forget it’s not allowed to park nearby a yellow or red double line.

Maps

In my opinion the best map online service is Google Maps.

Any other questions, please leave comments