Public Transport in London

London is a big, sprawling city covering 620sq miles and getting around it can require time and patience.

The best thing for a new visitor to do is get orientated with the map of the London Underground. The ‘Tube’ is the quickest and easiest way to get across and around the city, although it doesn’t go everywhere, just under 40 of the 275 Underground stations are on the southern side of the River Thames that divides London.

The are 12 Underground lines that are colour coded on maps and its pretty straight forward to navigate your way around the city and change lines, many stations also connect with National Rail services that cover suburban areas. 55% of Underground trains actually run overground.

The Tube is open 364 days a year, closed Christmas Day, but is not a 24 hour system, it opens around 5.30am and runs until midnight. It doesn’t have a flat fare pricing system, the network is divided into 6 zones starting with Zone 1 in the centre and moving out to Zone 6. The more zones you cross, the more you’ll pay.

Buses run all over London and are easy to use although the congested roads mean they aren’t going to be the fastest way to get about. Bus stops have the London Bus symbol,  a white circle with a white horizontal line through the middle on a red background, and all buses will stop at these stops. If the symbol has the word ‘Request’ written in red on the horizontal line you’ll have to signal the driver with an outstretched arm that you want him to stop. Not all services are 24 hour, but most of the main routes will have night buses running.

The best bet for visitors is to buy one of the Travelcard options, either single day, three day or seven day. Travelcards can be used on the Tube, Buses, some National Rail services and the Docklands Light Railway. The prepay Oyster card system was introduced in 2003 and is probably worth getting if your stay is longer than a week. Buying a ticket for a single journey can be very expensive, sometimes working out three times as much as you’d pay using an Oyster card. 

Be aware that single day travelcards can only be used after 9.30am Monday to Friday. Children under 5 can travel free anytime on buses and tubes, under 11’s free at anytime on buses and restricted free travel on tubes.

There’s a myriad of tickets, prices and restrictions. The best place to research what’s right for you is the Transport for London website which breaks down all their ticketing schemes. You can even buy your tickets there before you arrive in the UK, if you’re worried about figuring out the system once you land.

There are over 20,000 licensed cabs in London and they have a minimum starting fare of £2.20 at all times, and metered tariffs that change depending on the time of day and day of the week. London’s had a real problem with unlicenced cabs, mainly operating at night, and female visitors need to be aware of what vehicle’s they get in especially if they’re coming out of clubs and bars. There have been a lot of sexual assaults on women who’ve climbed into unmarked cars after having a few drinks.

Visitors to London should realise that the public transport system will be crowded, slow and uncomfortable at times, the Tube can get very warm in summer, but it will get you where you want to go.