Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE TUBE & DOCKLANDS LIGHT RAILWAY
The
“Tube”
is the quickest
and easiest way to move around the capital. All Tube stations are clearly marked with
a red circle and blue crossbar. There are 10 extensive lines, plus the short Waterloo
& City line linking Waterloo and Bank, all of which are conveniently color-coded and
clearly mapped on the walls of every Tube station. The Tube generally operates Mon-
day to Saturday 5am to 12:30am, Sunday 7:30am to 11:30pm. The above-ground
extension of the Tube that links the City with points around the East End and Dock-
lands, including London City Airport, is known as the
Docklands Light Railway,
or “DLR.” This metro system is, to all intents and purposes, integrated with the Tube.
Tickets for the Tube operate on a system of six fare zones. The fare zones radiate
in concentric rings from the central Zone 1, which is where most visitors spend the
majority of their time. Zone 1 covers the area from Liverpool Street in the east to
Notting Hill in the west, and from Waterloo in the south to Baker Street, Euston, and
King's Cross in the north. Tube maps should be available at any Tube station. You can
also download one before your trip from the excellent Transport for London (TfL)
website, at
www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/standard-tube-map.pdf
or down-
load one of the many London Tube apps from the appropriate app store. A 24-hour
information service is also available at
&
0843/222-1234.
The best planning tool
is the TfL Journey Planner, online at
www.tfl.gov.uk/journeyplanner
.
If you don't have an Oyster (see above), you can get your ticket at a vending
machine or a ticket window. But note the prices: The cash fare for travel across up to
three zones is £4, rising to £5 to travel across six zones. A journey from anywhere in
zones 1 or 2 to anywhere else in zones 1 or 2 using Oyster pay-as-you-go costs £1.90
outside peak hours, £2.50 before 9:30am. Oyster will get you across all six zones for
£2.70 after 9:30am. On all ticketed journeys, you can transfer as many times as you
like as long as you stay on the Tube or DLR network.
THE BUS NETWORK
London's buses can be a delightful way to navigate the
city. Not only are they regular, efficient, and—late nights aside—comfortable, but
also cheap compared to the Tube system. Buses also have the distinct advantage of
allowing you to see where you're going—no need for an open-topped bus tour when
you can ride the upper deck of an old-fashioned heritage
Routemaster
from
Knightsbridge to Trafalgar Square on route no. 9, or Regent Street to St. Paul's and
the Tower of London on the no. 15. Other excellent “sightseeing” routes include the
no. 8 (from Oxford Circus to the Bank of England) and the no. 11 (from Victoria
Station, through Parliament Square and Trafalgar Square to Bank).
Unfortunately, the bewildering array of services and routes deters many visitors—
and even some locals. If you plan to keep largely to the center, the excellent “Key
bus routes in central London” map borrows a few design tricks from the Tube map to
help first-timers out. It's also available to download from
www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/
downloads/visitor-bus-route-map.pdf
.
Unlike on the Tube, fares do not vary according to distance traveled—but if you
transfer buses, you must pay again. A single journey from anywhere to anywhere costs
£2.20 with cash, £1.30 with an Oyster Card. You can travel on buses all day with an
Oyster for £4.
Buses generally run from 5am to just after midnight. Some run 24 hours, but other
popular routes are served by
night buses,
running once every half-hour or so during
the night, and with service numbers prefixed by an “N.” For
open-top bus tours
of
the city, see “Special Interest Tours,” p. 45.
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