Firstly, you really want to be asking this on uk.transport.london, so i've
followed up there as well; if i've made a mistake, someone there will
doubtless correct me.

Incidentally, there are various revisions being made to the ticket system
on the 4th of January; my comments below are based on the revised system.

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003, Miles wrote:

Is it possible to obtain a visitors travelcard in the USA on short
notice?

I have no idea. I'd suggest you buy a ticket when you get here instead.

I'll be leaving for London on Jan. 10th. Most websites I have
visited say it takes 2 weeks for standard mail delivery. Any USA travel
agents that could arrange delivery in less time so I can be sure to have
it prior to departure? The 2 week time frame is cutting things a bit
close with mail not reliable.

That pass seems to be about $43USD for a 4 day pass good for zones 1-6
all day.

This 'visitor's travelcard' is a rebranded version of what we call an 'LT
card'; it covers all the zones, and whilst it is valid on buses, the tube,
the Docklands light railway and Croydon tramlink, it isn't valid on
surface rail [1], which can be a pain. I believe LT cards proper are now
only available for one day; these cost 8.20, so four days would cost you
£32.80 (~$58). However, i suggest that you go for something else ...

If I can't get that pass, what is available once I get to London? I
have heard my choice is only a 7 day pass which is not good during the
mornings. What is the current price for such a pass?

This is what we call a travelcard; these cover a particular set of zones,
are valid on everything (tube, light rail, trams and surface rail in the
specified zones, and buses everywhere in London), and can be bought for a
single day, seven days, a month, or longer. Contrary to what you have
heard, travelcards are valid in the morning (except the one day off-peak
travelcard, which is a special case).

What you want is a 7-day travelcard covering zones 1 and 2 (i don't know
for sure, but i doubt very much that you'll routinely want to go outside
those zones; you can cover occasional trips out by buying extension
tickets), which will cost £20.20 (~$36). You can just turn up and buy this
at any tube station or at most newsagents. You won't need a photocard
(however, you will need one if you want a travelcard that lasts longer or
covers more zones; the 7-day Z12 ticket is a special case, basically so
that tourists don't have to bother with a photocard!).

HTH,
tom

[1] Sort of. It's not _generally_ valid, because surface rail isn't run by
Transport for London (TfL); the LT card is only valid on TfL's services,
hence the name (TfL used to be called London Transport, aka LT). However,
LT cards are in fact _specifically_ valid on a few particular surface rail
services, but the rules about this are somewhat unclear; there have been a
number of threads on u.t.l about this recently, to which i would direct
you if you wanted to know more (which you don't!).

--
or are they poststructuralist terrorists? perhaps we shall never truly know.