I will be staying in London for 11 days later on in the year

I will be arriving Eurostar (Waterloo). Can anyone advise me how long it
takes to purchase a 7day travel card on Oyster (I assume you have to go to
the underground booking office, or can a machine issue one)? Also what
paperwork is required, and is it easy later, to add PAYG to the card (can
you just "topup" a card even thought it hasn't previously been used for
PAYG)



It is possible to purchase PAYG oystercards in Sydney but not Travel cards
on Oyster (the TFL website for visitors will sell 7day travel cards but I
think they are issued as paper travel cards, and no amount of emailing will
get a response)



Thanks in advance for any advice



Peter

Sydney

On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:01:23 -0000, peter wrote:

I will be staying in London for 11 days later on in the year

I will be arriving Eurostar (Waterloo). Can anyone advise me how long it
takes to purchase a 7day travel card on Oyster (I assume you have to go
to
the underground booking office, or can a machine issue one)? Also what
paperwork is required, and is it easy later, to add PAYG to the card (can
you just "topup" a card even thought it hasn't previously been used for
PAYG)



It is possible to purchase PAYG oystercards in Sydney but not Travel
cards
on Oyster (the TFL website for visitors will sell 7day travel cards but I
think they are issued as paper travel cards, and no amount of emailing
will
get a response)

The length of time it will take depends only on the length of the queue at
the ticket window. You don't need any paperwork at all. The actual
transaction should take only a few seconds.

Once you have your oyster card you can load it with pre-pay (PAYG) at any
time at a machine. If you are planing on using pre-pay and can purchase a
card at your home then I would advise you to do that. You can add a 7 day
travel card once in London at a machine and avoid the queue at the ticket
window.

HTH

--
Fig

peter wrote:

I will be staying in London for 11 days later on in the year

I will be arriving Eurostar (Waterloo). Can anyone advise me how long it
takes to purchase a 7day travel card on Oyster (I assume you have to go to
the underground booking office, or can a machine issue one)?

Depends how long the queue is at the Tube station ticket office really!
Bear in mind there is an alternative Tube ticket office in the Jubilee
line entrance on the Waterloo Road side of the station which is likely
to be less hectic, not least as it's further away from the Eurostar
platforms (look to the bottom right of this map [1]). You can't buy an
Oyster card at the main line station's ticket offices. Well, not yet at
least!.

There are now some Oyster card vending machines at some major stations,
I don't know if Waterloo has one yet (if it does it'll probably be in
the other, busier Tube ticket office!). If there is one it'll be a wall
mounted blue vending machine with Oyster logos all over it - but it's
not very sophisticated, and you'll need £3 in exact change to pay for
it (the £3 is actually a refundable deposit). Once vended the Oyster
card will be empty so you need to load it up with either PAYG credit or
a weekly or longer Travelcard/bus pass.

*However* if you're buying a 7-day Travelcard (or indeed bus pass) on
Oyster you don't need to pay the £3 deposit - the hitch being that you
can't thus take advantage of the vending machine to get your 'free'
Oyster card. By the by you can also get Oyster cards from several
newsagents, but I suspect that won't be so convenient.

I suggest you bite the bullet and queue up to get the Oyster card,
perhaps at the other Tube ticket office as outlined above.


Also what
paperwork is required,

AIUI Oyster cards can only be registered to UK addresses - I'm looking
at a registration form now and there's no field to specify a different
country. Which is perhaps somewhat parochial, though I guess it
simplifies administering the system somewhat. So, if you have a friend
who lives here you could register it to their address, otherwise you'll
just get an unregistered Oyster card (which is exactly what you'll get
out of the vending machines I mentioned earlier).

and is it easy later, to add PAYG to the card (can
you just "topup" a card even thought it hasn't previously been used for
PAYG)

All Oyster cards can hold both 7-day Travelcards (or bus passes) and
PAYG credit, and can do so at the same time. Indeed you can use PAYG to
automatically pay for excess fares when you go beyond the zones covered
by your Travelcard - though you can only do this when using the
Underground or the DLR, if you're going beyond your zones on suburban
(i.e. overground) rail then you need to buy a paper extension ticket.
Likewise Oyster PAYG cannot be used on suburban rail, not yet at least.

Oyster cards must be registered in order to hold monthly and longer
Travelcards/bus passes.


It is possible to purchase PAYG oystercards in Sydney but not Travel cards
on Oyster (the TFL website for visitors will sell 7day travel cards but I
think they are issued as paper travel cards, and no amount of emailing will
get a response)

Looking at the Visitors ticketing section of the TfL website [2] it
definitely seems like your above assumptions are true - i.e. the Visit
Britain direct website [3] offers to sell you Oyster PAYG, whilst TfL's
Ticket-on-line/ Visitor tickets website certainly appears to sell
paper/printed tickets only.

There are of course advantages to getting you 7-day Travelcard on
Oyster - you can easily go beyond the zones covered by your Travelcard
when travelling on the Underground (as outlined previously) plus you've
got the card so you can use it later with PAYG, or add another 7-day
Travelcard to it.

However should you, or anyone else, just want a Travelcard on paper
they are easily obtained from suburban rail station ticket offices,
though they are now the only place you can buy a printed Travelcard.
The main line ticket offices at Waterloo will sell you one with no fuss
(no need to provide details for 7-day Travelcards, nor is there any
longer the need for a photocard). If you're only travelling on central
London then a zones 1&2 Travelcard will likely suit you fine, but
you'll pay through the nose should you wish to travel on the
Underground outside those zones.


Thanks in advance for any advice

Err, I've probably muddied the waters rather than adding clarity but if
you need any further clarification/confusion then just ask!


-----
[1] Waterloo station map - but not orientated North! (PDF)
http://www.networkrail.co.uk/documen...apWaterloo.pdf

[2] http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tick....asp#where-buy

[3] http://www.visitbritaindirect.com/en-AU/default.aspx

[4] http://www.ticket-on-line.com/

Fig wrote:
On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:01:23 -0000, peter wrote:

I will be staying in London for 11 days later on in the year

I will be arriving Eurostar (Waterloo). Can anyone advise me how long it
takes to purchase a 7day travel card on Oyster (I assume you have to go
to
the underground booking office, or can a machine issue one)? Also what
paperwork is required, and is it easy later, to add PAYG to the card (can
you just "topup" a card even thought it hasn't previously been used for
PAYG)



It is possible to purchase PAYG oystercards in Sydney but not Travel
cards
on Oyster (the TFL website for visitors will sell 7day travel cards but I
think they are issued as paper travel cards, and no amount of emailing
will
get a response)

The length of time it will take depends only on the length of the queue at
the ticket window. You don't need any paperwork at all. The actual
transaction should take only a few seconds.

Once you have your oyster card you can load it with pre-pay (PAYG) at any
time at a machine. If you are planing on using pre-pay and can purchase a
card at your home then I would advise you to do that. You can add a 7 day
travel card once in London at a machine and avoid the queue at the ticket
window.


Unless the rules have changed, you don't pay the £3 deposit if you get
a period travelcard when first getting the card, so getting the card in
advance would not be such a good option.

MIG wrote:

Fig wrote:
On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:01:23 -0000, peter wrote:

I will be staying in London for 11 days later on in the year

I will be arriving Eurostar (Waterloo). Can anyone advise me how long it
takes to purchase a 7day travel card on Oyster (I assume you have to go
to
the underground booking office, or can a machine issue one)? Also what
paperwork is required, and is it easy later, to add PAYG to the card (can
you just "topup" a card even thought it hasn't previously been used for
PAYG)



It is possible to purchase PAYG oystercards in Sydney but not Travel
cards
on Oyster (the TFL website for visitors will sell 7day travel cards but I
think they are issued as paper travel cards, and no amount of emailing
will
get a response)

The length of time it will take depends only on the length of the queue at
the ticket window. You don't need any paperwork at all. The actual
transaction should take only a few seconds.

Once you have your oyster card you can load it with pre-pay (PAYG) at any
time at a machine. If you are planing on using pre-pay and can purchase a
card at your home then I would advise you to do that. You can add a 7 day
travel card once in London at a machine and avoid the queue at the ticket
window.


Unless the rules have changed, you don't pay the £3 deposit if you get
a period travelcard when first getting the card, so getting the card in
advance would not be such a good option.

One could argue that paying the £3 deposit is worth it to avoid the
hassle of queueing.

Anyway to elaborate on my epic ramble in my other post on this thread I
see that Australians can only buy an Oyster card pre-loaded with £20
PAYG credit from Visit Britain Direct - however this will cost AUD
55.00 which according to XE currently works out at just under £22 -
given that it includes the £3 deposit (and I think the postage too)
would appear to be a (minor) bargain.

Whether the OP wants £20 of PAYG credit as well is another question.
It would seem that some visitors to London who are being sold an Oyster
card in advance are probably paying over the odds by using Oyster PAYG
for a week's visit when they'd be better off with a 7-day Travelcard.

"Mizter T" wrote in message
ups.com...
MIG wrote:

Fig wrote:
On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:01:23 -0000, peter wrote:

I will be staying in London for 11 days later on in the year

I will be arriving Eurostar (Waterloo). Can anyone advise me how long
it
takes to purchase a 7day travel card on Oyster (I assume you have to
go
to
the underground booking office, or can a machine issue one)? Also what
paperwork is required, and is it easy later, to add PAYG to the card
(can
you just "topup" a card even thought it hasn't previously been used
for
PAYG)



It is possible to purchase PAYG oystercards in Sydney but not Travel
cards
on Oyster (the TFL website for visitors will sell 7day travel cards
but I
think they are issued as paper travel cards, and no amount of emailing
will
get a response)

The length of time it will take depends only on the length of the queue
at
the ticket window. You don't need any paperwork at all. The actual
transaction should take only a few seconds.

Once you have your oyster card you can load it with pre-pay (PAYG) at
any
time at a machine. If you are planing on using pre-pay and can purchase
a
card at your home then I would advise you to do that. You can add a 7
day
travel card once in London at a machine and avoid the queue at the
ticket
window.


Unless the rules have changed, you don't pay the £3 deposit if you get
a period travelcard when first getting the card, so getting the card in
advance would not be such a good option.

One could argue that paying the £3 deposit is worth it to avoid the
hassle of queueing.

Anyway to elaborate on my epic ramble in my other post on this thread I
see that Australians can only buy an Oyster card pre-loaded with £20
PAYG credit from Visit Britain Direct - however this will cost AUD
55.00 which according to XE currently works out at just under £22 -
given that it includes the £3 deposit (and I think the postage too)
would appear to be a (minor) bargain.

Whether the OP wants £20 of PAYG credit as well is another question.
It would seem that some visitors to London who are being sold an Oyster
card in advance are probably paying over the odds by using Oyster PAYG
for a week's visit when they'd be better off with a 7-day Travelcard.


Thanks for all the info. Getting a PAYG card with £20 on it, may be the way
to go as you correctly say it will cost me under £22 (yes it does include
postage), and I will be able to avoid the queues. (and no curency exchange
cost as I will pay in AUD) Then at a quiet time, after a couple of days I
could find a machine and add a 7 day travel card to the oyster. Can you
specify the start date from the machine, say tomorrow?

Peter
Sydney

On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 03:05:26 -0000, peter wrote:

Thanks for all the info. Getting a PAYG card with £20 on it, may be the
way
to go as you correctly say it will cost me under £22 (yes it does include
postage), and I will be able to avoid the queues. (and no curency
exchange
cost as I will pay in AUD) Then at a quiet time, after a couple of days I
could find a machine and add a 7 day travel card to the oyster. Can you
specify the start date from the machine, say tomorrow?

I believe that is possible. It certainly is if you buy from a human so I
can't see why not.
You should also be relieved to know that, in my experience, the LU staff
are very helpfull and are more than willing to guide customers through the
top-up proccess at the ticket machines. There should be plenty of staff
hanging around at the Waterloo underground stations. The machines can seem
a bit confusing to a newbie but step by step instructions appear
on-screen. Make sure you touch your card to the machine reader at the
start AND the end of the transaction and confirm it has been updated.

Enjoy your visit.

--
Fig

On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 07:40:03 -0000, Fig
wrote in op.tmljk1i7m4iaeb@dell:
On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 03:05:26 -0000, peter wrote:

Thanks for all the info. Getting a PAYG card with £20 on it, may be the
way
to go as you correctly say it will cost me under £22 (yes it does include
postage), and I will be able to avoid the queues. (and no curency
exchange
cost as I will pay in AUD) Then at a quiet time, after a couple of days I
could find a machine and add a 7 day travel card to the oyster. Can you
specify the start date from the machine, say tomorrow?

I believe that is possible. It certainly is if you buy from a human so I
can't see why not.
You should also be relieved to know that, in my experience, the LU staff
are very helpfull and are more than willing to guide customers through the
top-up proccess at the ticket machines. There should be plenty of staff
hanging around at the Waterloo underground stations. The machines can seem
a bit confusing to a newbie but step by step instructions appear
on-screen. Make sure you touch your card to the machine reader at the
start AND the end of the transaction and confirm it has been updated.

Note that you can also add stuff (up to monthly Travelcards) to
your Oyster card at many small shops and newsagencies, although the staff
there may not be so knowledgeable as LU ticket-office staff.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tickets/2007/where.asp
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tick..._my_ticket.pdf

Enjoy your visit.

Don't forget your "We Won the Ashes!" T-shirts!


--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. ] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

Dr Ivan D. Reid wrote:
On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 07:40:03 -0000, Fig
wrote in op.tmljk1i7m4iaeb@dell:
On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 03:05:26 -0000, peter wrote:

Thanks for all the info. Getting a PAYG card with £20 on it, may be the
way
to go as you correctly say it will cost me under £22 (yes it does include
postage), and I will be able to avoid the queues. (and no curency
exchange
cost as I will pay in AUD) Then at a quiet time, after a couple of days I
could find a machine and add a 7 day travel card to the oyster. Can you
specify the start date from the machine, say tomorrow?

I believe that is possible. It certainly is if you buy from a human so I
can't see why not.
You should also be relieved to know that, in my experience, the LU staff
are very helpfull and are more than willing to guide customers through the
top-up proccess at the ticket machines. There should be plenty of staff
hanging around at the Waterloo underground stations. The machines can seem
a bit confusing to a newbie but step by step instructions appear
on-screen. Make sure you touch your card to the machine reader at the
start AND the end of the transaction and confirm it has been updated.

Note that you can also add stuff (up to monthly Travelcards) to
your Oyster card at many small shops and newsagencies, although the staff
there may not be so knowledgeable as LU ticket-office staff.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tickets/2007/where.asp
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tick..._my_ticket.pdf

Enjoy your visit.

Don't forget your "We Won the Ashes!" T-shirts!


When I've used a machine to put a travelcard on, there hasn't been an
option to specify the date, although there is a "renew" option, so
maybe if there is already a seven-day travelcard on there, you could
renew from a machine before it expired without it overlapping.

"Dr Ivan D. Reid" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 07:40:03 -0000, Fig
wrote in op.tmljk1i7m4iaeb@dell:
On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 03:05:26 -0000, peter wrote:

Thanks for all the info. Getting a PAYG card with £20 on it, may be the
way
to go as you correctly say it will cost me under £22 (yes it does
include
postage), and I will be able to avoid the queues. (and no curency
exchange
cost as I will pay in AUD) Then at a quiet time, after a couple of days
I
could find a machine and add a 7 day travel card to the oyster. Can you
specify the start date from the machine, say tomorrow?

I believe that is possible. It certainly is if you buy from a human so I
can't see why not.
You should also be relieved to know that, in my experience, the LU staff
are very helpfull and are more than willing to guide customers through
the
top-up proccess at the ticket machines. There should be plenty of staff
hanging around at the Waterloo underground stations. The machines can
seem
a bit confusing to a newbie but step by step instructions appear
on-screen. Make sure you touch your card to the machine reader at the
start AND the end of the transaction and confirm it has been updated.

Note that you can also add stuff (up to monthly Travelcards) to
your Oyster card at many small shops and newsagencies, although the staff
there may not be so knowledgeable as LU ticket-office staff.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tickets/2007/where.asp
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tick..._my_ticket.pdf

Enjoy your visit.

Don't forget your "We Won the Ashes!" T-shirts!

Thanks for all the info. And glad to see you have retained your sense of
humour :-) (I've just finished watching the NZ (210) vs. ENG (120) game

cheers
Peter
Sydney