The
London UndergroundThe London Underground, Underground or Tube is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire in the UK. The first section opened in 1863, and was the first underground railway system in the world, and, starting in...
metro system of
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
uses a mix of paper and electronic smart-card ticketing.
Fare zones
London Underground uses
Transport for LondonTransport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England...
's
TravelcardThe Travelcard is an inter-modal travel ticket for unlimited use on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink, 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,...
zones to calculate fares, including fares for use on the Underground only.
Travelcard Zone 1Travelcard Zone 1 is the central zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. For most tickets travel through the zone is...
is the most central, with a boundary just beyond the Circle Line and
Travelcard Zone 6Travelcard Zone 6 is an outer zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. The zone was created in January 1991; from May 1983...
is the most outlying and includes
London Heathrow AirportLondon Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , located in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the world's busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic. It is the world's second busiest airport in total passenger traffic. It is also the largest and busiest airport in the United Kingdom...
. All of
Greater LondonGreater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The administrative area was officially created in 1965 and covers the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and thirty two London boroughs...
is covered by zones 1 to 6.
Tickets including zone 1 are usually more expensive than those involving only outer zones. The zone system works well because the most popular destinations and the stations where lines cross are in zone 1, meaning that most journeys over similar distances will cost the same.
A few stations in the north east of the network, on the
Central LineThe Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Out of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...
, are outside Greater London in the
Epping ForestEpping Forest is a local government district of the county of Essex, England. It is named for Epping Forest, of which the district contains a large part...
district; however, they are included in zones 4, 5 and 6. In the north west of the network, on the
Metropolitan LineThe Metropolitan line is part of the London Underground. It is coloured in TfL's Corporate Magenta on the Tube map and in other branding. It was the first underground railway in the world, opening on 10 January 1863...
, zones 7, 8 and 9 (formerly A - D) cover stations outside Greater London including
AmershamAmersham station is a railway station serving Amersham in Buckinghamshire. It is located in Travelcard Zone 9 .Amersham Station is a terminus of the Metropolitan Line branch of the London Underground...
and
CheshamChesham lies at the end of the Chesham branch of the Metropolitan line, and opened 8 July 1889 as the original northern terminus of the Metropolitan Railway from Baker Street. There is no station starter signal at Chesham...
in the
ChilternChiltern is one of four local government districts of Buckinghamshire in south central England. It is named after the Chiltern Hills on which the region sits.The main towns in the district are Amersham and Chesham...
district of
BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury and the largest town in ceremonial Buckinghamshire is Milton Keynes....
. Unlike the lower numbered zones, these ancillary areas do not encircle the capital. They only apply to the Metropolitan line and
London OvergroundLondon Overground is a commuter rail service in London, UK, the brand applied by Transport for London to the services on four railway lines: the Watford DC Line, the North London Line, the West London Line and the Gospel Oak to Barking Line.The name has been used since 2007, when TfL took over...
.
Some stations are located on the boundary of two zones. For example,
VauxhallVauxhall station is a National Rail, London Underground and London Buses interchange station. It is at the Vauxhall Cross road junction opposite the southern approach to Vauxhall Bridge over the River Thames in the London district of Vauxhall...
is in Zones 1 and 2; passengers travelling from a Zone 1 station only need to purchase a ticket covering Zone 1, while passengers travelling from an outer Zone (Zone 2 or beyond) only require a ticket covering Zone 2 and the other zones they are travelling through.
Ticket issuing systems
Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc.
http://cubic.com/cts/, known as Westinghouse Cubic Ltd until April 1997, has manufactured all of London Underground's ticket machines since 1987. Tickets are sold from staffed ticket offices at stations, and from various types of self-service machines. The name for the system as installed from 1987 is "UTS" (Underground Ticketing System), though this system has been enhanced and extended recently, most notably since 1998 under the Prestige initiative, where Oyster smartcards were introduced.
- Ticket Office Machines (TOM): the system used in ticket offices. Now PC-based, replacing an earlier bespoke machine. The first machine at a station is numbered 01, with subsequent machines being numbered upwards from there.
- Few Fare Machines (FFM): also known as Tenfare. Self-service machines with only ten buttons, representing the most common fare types from that station. Machines do not accept credit or debit cards. Machines are numbered from 10 upwards.
- Multi Fare Machines (MFM): also known as Allfare. Self-service machines with touch-screens for all destinations on the London Underground network, offering a very wide range of tickets and Travelcards. Numbering goes upwards from 30.
- Queue Buster Machines (QBM): also known as Quick Ticket Machines (QTM). Smaller, wall-mounted, touch-screen machines installed initially at a larger Zone 1 stations, and subsequently at other locations. These accept credit and debit cards, but not cash. Machines are numbered 36, 37, 38 or 39.
- Advance Fare Machines (AFM): Self-service machines with touch-screens. They are refurbished Fewfare machines with the functionality of a Multifare machine. Machines are numbered from 29 downwards where possible.
FFMs and MFMs give change, but only MFMs accept paper money. Tickets from TOMs, FFMs and MFMs are identical, apart from the window/machine numbering, but tickets from QBMs are slightly different, with bolder printing and a slightly different font. The QBM uses thermal printing, whereas others use impact print.
In the Travelcard illustrated below,
0762 on the bottom line represents the
National Location CodeIn the context of the ticketing system of the British railway network, a National Location Code is a four-digit code allocated to every railway station and railway ticket issuing point in Great Britain. NLCs are used in the issue of tickets, and for accounting purposes...
of the issuing station (in this case, West Ruislip), and
30 represents the first (and, in fact, only) MFM at that station.
As a result of fares being set on a zonal basis, single or return tickets do not show a destination station - they display an 11-character abbreviation of the origin station name. Between 1987 and 1994 (when the layout of tickets was redesigned), up to 16 characters could be used for the name.
A list of all TOM, Fewfare and Multifare machines on the London Underground network as at September 2002
Summary of ticket types
The following tickets are available from London Underground and Transport for London ticket agents for use on the Underground:
| Ticket |
Paper |
Oyster |
Off peak version |
Notes |
| Single |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes (on Oyster) |
Paper tickets are priced at a higher rate. |
| Day Travelcard |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
The maximum daily spend on Oyster is capped at 50p below the travelcard price. |
| 3-day Travelcard |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
|
| Weekly Travelcard |
No |
Yes |
No |
Paper tickets for Weekly Travelcards are still available at National Rail stations. |
| Monthly Travelcard |
No |
Yes |
No |
Requires registration. |
| Annual Travelcard |
No |
Yes |
No |
Requires registration. |
Detailed information on tickets and pricing is available from the
Transport for London website.
Ticket types
Single tickets
The fare structure for paper single tickets was simplified in January 2006. From January 2007 all journeys excluding zone 1 cost £3, and all journeys including zone 1 cost £4 no matter how long or short the journey.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tickets/2007/downloads/TfL-Fares-Jan-2007.pdf Fares for single paper tickets have been set deliberately high in order to encourage users to use either
TravelcardThe Travelcard is an inter-modal travel ticket for unlimited use on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink, 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,...
s or
OysterThe Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing used on public transport services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. It is promoted by Transport for London and is valid on a number of different travel systems including London Underground, buses, the Docklands Light Railway ,...
pre-pay fares, which are substantially lower (by up to £2.50 per journey) than paper tickets.
Return tickets are sold at twice the price of a single ticket. A
TravelcardThe Travelcard is an inter-modal travel ticket for unlimited use on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink, 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,...
is often cheaper than a return ticket and will automatically be provided by ticket machines and ticket office staff if it is cheaper than the return fare.
Travelcard
Daily, three-day, seven-day, monthly and annual Travelcards are also available, allowing unlimited rides in two or more zones on the London Underground and most other forms of transport in London, including most
National RailNational Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
services,
busA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. A bus seats a maximum of 8 to 300 passengers...
es,
TramlinkTramlink is a tramway system in south London in the United Kingdom which began operation in May 2000...
and
Docklands Light RailwayThe Docklands Light Railway is a light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of East London, England...
. Travelcards are also available for 'odd periods' of between one month and a year.
Most regular travellers use Travelcards, and they are substantially better value for money than single tickets for anyone making more than a couple of journeys a day. Off-peak Travelcards, also known as "Day Travelcards", are sold only after 09:30, and a Peak Day Travelcard is also available at a higher price. Many shops, usually newsagents, sell bus passes and Travelcards; these are identified by a "Ticket Stop" sign, usually in a door panel or front window. A Day Travelcard is valid until 04:30 on the day after the date of issue.
The number and combination of zones is restricted depending the type of travelcard. Travelcards for only one zone are not sold.
| Validity |
Peak combinations |
Off-peak combinations |
| 1 day |
1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 1-6, 2-6 |
1-2, 1-4, 1-6, 2-6 |
| 3 days |
1-2, 1-6 |
1-6 |
| Weekly and longer |
At least two adjacent zones |
n/a |
Oyster Card
In 2003, Transport for London launched the Oyster card. It is a
proximity cardProximity card is a generic name for contactless integrated circuit devices used for security access or payment systems. It can refer to the older 125 kHz devices or the newer 13.56 MHz contactless RFID cards, most commonly known as contactless smartcards.Modern proximity cards are...
, which on buses, trams and on the Underground allows a traveller to touch the card on one of the yellow readers positioned on the automatic entrance and exit gates rather than feeding it through a card ticket reader.
Unlike card tickets, the Oyster card is not disposable, and value - either 'pay as you go' balance or Travelcards - can be added to it at computerised ticket machines and at ticket offices. Where pay as you go credit is used the cost of each journey is deducted from a stored balance. As of October 2005, weekly, monthly and annual
TravelcardThe Travelcard is an inter-modal travel ticket for unlimited use on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink, 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,...
s issued by
London UndergroundThe London Underground, Underground or Tube is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire in the UK. The first section opened in 1863, and was the first underground railway system in the world, and, starting in...
or directly by
Transport for LondonTransport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England...
are only available on Oyster cards.
The fare structure is now strongly biased to encourage the use of Oyster cards. From January 2008, the adult single cash fare for all journeys involving zone 1 is £4, and £3 for all journeys not involving zone 1, while there are different Oyster fares applicable between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday to Friday and at all other times (including public holidays): e.g. zone 1 only £1.60 at all times, zones 1-2 £2.20 peak, £1.60 off-peak, zones 1-3 £2.70 peak, zones 1-4 £2.80 peak, zones 1-4 £2.20 off-peak, zones 1-5 £3.70, 1-6 £3.80 peak, zones 1-6 £2 off-peak. Journeys not involving travel in zone 1 are much cheaper with Oyster: zone 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 only, or zones 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, or 5-6, £1.10 at all times; zones 2-4, 2-5, 2-6, 3-5, 3-6 or 4-6 £2 peak, £1.10 off-peak.
Daily travelcards are not sold on Oyster Card but a system called 'Capping' ensures that on each day of use no more than the equivalent Travelcard price less 50p is deducted from the balance. The balance can be automatically topped up with funds from a credit or debit card when the balance becomes low, a feature known as 'auto top-up'. Tickets and pay as you go credit can be purchased via a website or over the telephone.
The Oyster card system is designed to eliminate the need to purchase tickets at the station for most users. Following the implementation of the technology London Underground intends to reduce the number of staff working in ticket offices and redeploy them in other roles.
Penalty fares and fare evasion
In addition to the automatic and staffed ticket gates at stations, the Underground is sometimes patrolled by the uniformed staff who mainly stay at the ticket barriers, and very occasionally by plain-clothes ticket inspectors equipped with hand-held
Oyster cardThe Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing used on public transport services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. It is promoted by Transport for London and is valid on a number of different travel systems including London Underground, buses, the Docklands Light Railway ,...
readers. Passengers travelling without a ticket valid for their entire journey are sometimes required to pay a £50
penalty fareOn the United Kingdom's public transport systems, a penalty fare is a special fare charged at a higher than normal price because the purchaser did not comply with the normal ticket purchasing rules...
or face prosecution for
fare evasionFare evasion, as distinct from fare avoidance, is the act of illegally travelling on public transport, having deliberately not purchased the required ticket to travel . It is a problem in many parts of the world, and revenue protection officers operate on many systems...
.
OysterThe Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing used on public transport services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. It is promoted by Transport for London and is valid on a number of different travel systems including London Underground, buses, the Docklands Light Railway ,...
pre-pay users who have failed to 'touch in' at the start of their journey are also considered to be travelling without a valid ticket.
Touts at stations can often be seen attempting to resell used Day
TravelcardThe Travelcard is an inter-modal travel ticket for unlimited use on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink, 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,...
s that they have been given by passengers who no longer need them.
Transport for LondonTransport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England...
strongly discourage this, officially stating that Travelcards are 'non-transferable' and thus invalid if resold. Underground staff and inspectors very occasionally confiscate tickets that they know to have been resold, and may require a passenger using such a ticket to pay a penalty fare. In an attempt to reduce the numbers of Travelcards being used by more than one person, an experiment took place at
Brixton stationBrixton tube station, a station on the London Underground opened on July 23 1971, is the southern terminus of the Victoria Line.It is located in Brixton Road, and is about 100m from Brixton railway station . From the ticket hall, three escalators take passengers to and from the platforms...
in 2002. A box was provided at the station exit into which passengers were encouraged to deposit
TravelcardThe Travelcard is an inter-modal travel ticket for unlimited use on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink, 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,...
s that were no longer required, and for each ticket deposited London Underground made a small donation to local charities for the homeless.
Ticket offices
Because of the implementation of Oyster Card, London Underground started a programme of reducing hours and closing ticket offices in 2006. The ticket office staff have been redeployed in other customer-facing roles. As of 2007, further reductions in hours and closures are planned. The stations which currently operate without a ticket office are:
| Date |
Stations |
| 5 February 2006 |
ChigwellChigwell is a London Underground station at Chigwell in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located on the Hainault Loop of the Central Line and is between Grange Hill and Roding Valley stations...
, Grange HillGrange Hill station is a London Underground station on the Central Line which lies on the boundary between the London Borough of Redbridge and the Epping Forest district of Essex. The station is between Hainault tube station and Chigwell tube station...
, Roding ValleyRoding Valley is a London Underground station situated directly on the border between the Epping Forest district of Essex and the London Borough of Redbridge. The station is between Chigwell and Woodford stations. It is located in Station Way and Cherry Tree Rise...
, Upminster BridgeUpminster Bridge Station is a London Underground station on the District Line at Upminster Bridge in the London Borough of Havering, East London.It is the least used station on the District Line with 0.87 million exits/entrances per annum by passengers....
, Theydon BoisTheydon Bois is a London Underground station in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is served by the Central Line and is between Debden and Epping...
|