It’s a frosty January morning, and you’re already running late for your first shift of 2025. Sprinting towards the ticket barrier, you reach into your bag for your phone and plunge it down onto the yellow dot. Then comes the double beep: you forgot to tap in. Groan. Another expensive mistake that’s the last thing you needed while still recovering from the holiday spending season.
Fellow Londoners, it’s been almost 22 years (yes, you’re that old!) since Oyster was first introduced on TfL services. But even for lifelong Londoners, there’s a trick or two which could save you serious cash in the new year. The Mayor may have delayed this year’s fare increase until March, but it’s coming down the track fast, so let’s start 2025 by getting savvy with our travel spending…
Quick takeaways:
- A moment’s card clash could cost you £20+ in wrong charges – not the kind of surprise bill you want in January
- Weekly caps start Mondays – perfect timing to plan your new year commuting routine
- Missing a tap-out means paying the maximum fare
- The TfL app is your best friend for spotting and fixing overcharges
Why card clash still catches people out
Key tip: Always use the same card to tap in and out
Those card clash warnings over the tannoy have been around so long that they’ve become background noise. But it’s worth paying attention: if you accidentally tap two different cards at the start and end of the journey, you could end up registering two incomplete journeys at £10.80 each. That’s over £21.60 for what should have been a £2.50 journey. Ouch. The good news is that you can often untangle this and claim a refund via the TfL app.
Understanding the charging system
Key tip: Make sure you’ve got enough money on Monday morning to cover weekend journeys
Ever wondered why, after tapping out, your fare isn’t immediately charged to your card, or why you’ll sometimes see unexpected payments coming out of your account in the early hours of the morning?
That’s because TfL bundles your journeys together. This means:
- Your daily journeys are grouped into a single payment, which comes out of your account in the early hours of the following day. There’s a daily price cap based on the zones you’ve travelled through – this is the maximum you can be charged in a single day, no matter how many journeys you take within those zones.
- Weekend travel isn’t charged until Monday morning (but you still need to have enough funds available to cover the cost of your fare).
- If you don’t have enough money in your account to cover the fare, you’ll usually be able to complete your journey, but your card will then be temporarily stopped and you won’t be able to use it for further travel.
Making fare caps work for you
Key tip: Plan significant travel for Monday to Sunday to benefit from weekly caps
The daily cap (£8.50 for Zones 1-2) is already handy, but weekly capping could save you even more. Here’s how it works:
- Once you hit £42.70 in Zone 1-2 travel between Monday and Sunday, every other journey that week is free.
- This happens automatically – payment will be taken each day you travel until you hit the weekly cap. After this point, you won’t be charged for the rest of the week.
- The weekly cap works out the same cost as a weekly travel card, so for most people, there’s no need to buy a weekly travelcard anymore.
Take the commute from Brixton into Central London: after a few journeys you’ll hit the daily cap, but keep using the same card all week and you’ll never pay more than the weekly cap, no matter how many extra trips you make. That’s why a monthly Travel card might not be your best option anymore – especially if you occasionally work from home and don’t travel every single day.
Choosing the right payment option
Key tip: Track your real travel patterns and actual costs before committing to a season ticket
If you travel into work 5 days a week or travel heavily within London, an Annual Travelcard could save you money. For example, a Zone 1-2 Annual Travelcard works out at £1708 a year – about £20 a month less than buying monthly tickets.
Taking into account bank holidays, weekends and annual leave, most of us work around 250 days per year. If you do travel into work every single day, then an Annual Travelcard averages out to £6.83 a day – substantially less than the £8.50 fare cap! If you travel a lot at weekends, it’s even better value – £4.90 per day if you travel 345 days a year.
If you go in less than that though, it may not be worth it. For example, if you work from home one day a week, you’ll be travelling around 183 days a year. In this case, an Annual Travel card will work out at £9.33 per day – higher than the daily cap. Unless you have a hectic social life and travel a lot at weekends or in the evenings, an annual season ticket probably isn’t worth it.
A simple rule of thumb? Do your calculations before rushing out to buy an Annual Travelcard. If you do any of the following:
- Working from home some days
- Taking regular holidays
- Mixing up your journey patterns
Then contactless capping might already be giving you the best deal.
Confused? It pays to ask
Key tip: TfL staff know every payment problem in the book
The staff at stations have seen it all before – and they’re always ready to help. Meanwhile, get into the habit of checking your journey history once a week using the TfL app. This free app from Transport for London lets you view all your journeys, spot overcharges, and claim refunds with just a few taps. Link your payment card to the app, and you could easily save yourself £20-30 a month.
Now that’s what we call starting 2025 on the right ‘track’! (groan)
