London Transport.
 

For anyone heading to London on layover:

The numpties of London Transport have decided not to accept cash on the buses from 6th July. You can only travel with an Oyster card and they don't sell them on the bus. Concierge told me to get one at the underground station.

Residents will manage, visitors obviously don't matter :ugh::ugh:

Mods please move a/r.

Same thing's happening in Sydney. Same numpties - I think we've borrowed one of yours.

Contactless
 

You can use any bank card (debit/credit) that has contactless payment

And Melbourne. Seems tourists are all so rich they can catch cabs. :(

Elfin Safe Tea.
Speeds up the queues and means that drivers no longer get mugged for the cash in the cab.

Conspiracy theorists and personal liberties campaigners will also note that this enables more tracking of the population.

As a Londoner I feel that this is not a good move, it might be easier for them but it is less flexible for their customers, particularly overseas visitors.

BTW, it has been Transport for London (TfL) for about 15 years!

It's not a smart move for visitors, but only mildly inconvenient as it requires a little forethought. I have had an Oyster card for a couple of years for my infrequent trips across London by bus between rail termini. Yesterday we had to travel from Waterloo to Kings Cross early morning, which I would normally have done by bus but as we had one Oystercard between three of us, I knew we'd have to take a taxi. Easier, faster, and more pleasant, and TfL lost the revenue, although I don't suppose it will greatly affect their financial results!

I don't understand why this is an issue here. Either the boss pays hence you use a cab or the traveler pays him/herself and and buying the relevant form of discounted ticket is a good way to travel.

Usually the standard reading I do for a European destination starts / finish with which discount ticket should I buy.

Having not used Public Transport for well over 10 years,I pre-booked a rail ticket .
Manchester to Farnborough, The bus to Manchester was £4, they accepted cash ~7.30 AM. I would NOT have contemplated buying a prepaid card with a balance I am unlikely to use for another 10 years (1996 and 2003 were my previous PT journeys, all for ferrying a vehicle for someone else)..and before that,1978, when I returned the Company Car and became Self-Employed.

Public transport works in London. My non-driving son is quite happy to live there....Daughter who lived in Woking,still had to keep a car....frequency,convenience and cost precluded sole reliance on PT.

As a London Visitor,on a one-off,Lifetime holiday,I'd probably succumb. buy a card and give away the credit when I departed....otherwise, just another good reason to avoid the Mighty Metrolopis.
This sounds a similar "stitch-up" to Direct debit energy-bills (ALWAYS overcharged, you have to fight to reduce thepayments to a realistic ,near zero annual balance)
Irresponsible, arrogant and concieted self-serving beaurocrats.

but, bugger the visitors, they only come once!..(Well,they will now!)

cockney steve,

Last time I visit London, for the bash we had, the credit remaining was returned to me at the great LHR.

Rwy in Sight

I have to say that Oyster cards are such a brilliant idea that I did NOT use one for several years....I assumed it was another useless product of the buffle-headed dandiprats who have taken over just about all aspects of life in UK. When someone told me that they are actually a good thing, I could not believe or understand how the brain-dead bureaucrats at TfL had managed to come up with something genuinely useful for Londoners and occasional visitors!

The other option if you are on a short layover is to buy an all zones 24 hr travelcard. It will cost no more than using an Oystercard for multiple journeys and you avoid the initial purchase cost.

If you do buy an Oystercard and are feeling generous then before departing these shores you can place the card in the collection box at stations and the initial purchase cost and any remaining credit are forwarded to charitable causes.

I did not know about that charitable donation option, a great idea! If only TfL could figure out that a cycle lane is no use to cyclists if it's full of pedestrians and/or motor vehicles!

Given that this forum deals with non-airline transport stuff but "but still involving aviation." How does it get past the boss's scissors?

HD, I guess that getting accross London is an aviation issue. The river route is so limiting for those of us with noisier vehicles.

HD: There's a 'London Transport Flying Club'; I'm looking at it and their aircraft right now!

I try to avoid going to London but if we go to Craven Cottage, we just get the train; if we're going to Arsenal or Millwall, a 'One Day Travel Card' is valid on trains and buses and is better value, especially as it also gives you a discount on 'Thames Clipper' boats between Cleo's Needle and Greenwich. We don't see any point getting an Oyster card as our visits to London are so infrequent.

And a warning to all. Dont carry your Oyster card in a purse or wallet next to a Contactless card, cos the cost will be debited twice. I know:=