Illford To London Bridge . Cheapest Way To Get There.

[dieseldick]

ok here goes again,

offered yet another job on london ( londonbridge ) free digs in illford b&b which is good.

so what is best way to get there to work and back each day , im bring car down also though ill bring my car only to keep belongings/tools inside plus if i get another job then i can travel to it.

so, london bridge to illford, via bus / train or tube and whats best ticket to buy.

THANKS

[mushroom25]

by bike. 42mn if you're reasonably fit.

by bus only would be cheapest, but it'll take you 1hr35mn, not making allowance for heavy traffic.

by train/tube with 1 change at Stratford, 39mn. it's all on TfL services so oyster fares applicable.

[dieseldick]

ok jane thankyou, sorry to ask but rail website is so complex and im not familiar with the zones and swapping trains /tubes etc.

does oyster card do me for both train + tubes ?

bear in mind i have car so is car parking free at main tube stations or train stations or even shopping centre malls ?

[dieseldick]

i think for sure if this job lasts more than a few months i will buy a decent bike and cycle to work.

[SeaJayPea]

You need to buy yourself an Oyster Card. It works like a credit card, but you have to put money on it first. Remember, you can't pay with cash on a bus at all now, so don't get caught out. Have a look round the TfL site here:

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/ticket-types

[SeaJayPea]

You'll pay for car parking at all stations and you're likely to get clamped or ticketed if you leave it in a shopping centre car park. Won't your digs have parking nearby? If not, leave the car behind. You won't use it in London. I'm lucky if I drive 1000 miles a year. Public transport is just so much more convenient.

[Fitzer]

You don't have to have an Oyster any more, any credit/debit card enabled for contactless payment will work fine, just swipe it on the Oyster reader and pay the same fare. All of Greater London's trains/tubes/buses come under Transport For London so the TFL website will give you A-B journeys and prices, you'd need to check individual station information for parking info (again on the website) but it's unlikely to be plentiful and won't be cheap!

[dieseldick]

thanks guys, though fitzer am i correct in saying instead of buying a monthly oyster card i will just pay by my credit card, so its the same and the same price ?

i thought the idea of an oyster was to give you a little extra savings on fares if you paid per month or week ? surely if i buy a months oyster then i get more benefits than by paying a day by day journey via my visa debit card ?

[SeaJayPea]

Have a look at this page:

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/ticket-types/which-ticket-should-i-buy#on-this-page-0

It seems that Oyster does have an advantage over contactless cards, because you can buy a season ticket with an Oyster Card and can't with contactless.

[mushroom25]

//It seems that Oyster does have an advantage over contactless cards, because you can buy a season ticket with an Oyster Card and can't with contactless. //

that's true enough CJP, but contactless cards have a weekly "cap" which takes care of that.
https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless/what-is-capping#on-this-page-3

discounts cannot be applied to contactless cards so if you're entitled to discounted travel, contactless cards aren't for you.

[Mamyalynne]

You got some very in depth advice re a similar topic recently, may be worth taking another look alongside all good advice given today.

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Travel/Question1426950.html

[WHU010]

There is no parking at Ilford station and its relatively straightforward to take train from that station to Stratford and change to Jubilee line there to Canary Wharf. Advantage with a monthly oyster card is you can use it at weekends or bank holidays to travel up to London at no extra cost.

[WHU010]

Sorry should have said London Bridge!!

[dieseldick]

oyster card it is then . im sure when i get on the job the rest of the lads can advise me also.

thanks very much ;-)

[johnny37]

maybe i'm out of touch with the way Oyster works but can you buy a season ticket nowadays? you could use it 365 days a year if you like and take 4 adults with you. Used to be a lot cheaper than paying every day, which is what Oyster seems to require.

[dieseldick]

thankyou

[Buenchico]

>>>maybe i'm out of touch with the way Oyster works but can you buy a season ticket nowadays?

You can but season tickets but not in the paper form. You have to put them onto your Oystercard as credit. (Oystercards work in TWO ways. You have have season tickets, which are now called Travelcards, on them AND/OR you can have pay-as-you-go credit on them).

Ilford is in Zone 4. London Bridge is in Zone 1. Travel is by National Rail to Stratford and London Underground (Jubilee Line) to London Bridge. Fares are as follows:

Not using an Oystercard or contactless debit card: £5.80 each way

Using an Oystercard with pay-as-you-go credit or using a contactless debit card: £3.90 out in the morning peak. £2.80 to return home.
(Note that, as long as travel doesn't go outside zones 1 to 4 by rail, or anywhere in London by bus, the maximum that can be charged in a day (using either type of card) is £9.20. The maximum that can be charged per week using a contactless debit card (only) is £46.10).

Using an Oystercard with a 7 day Travelcard on it: £46.10 (but that includes unlimited travel within Zones 1 to 4 and on all buses, as well as work travel).

Using an Oystercard with a Monthly Travelcard on it: £177.10 (with the additional free travel mentioned above included).

Using an Oystercard with an Annual Travelcard on it: £1,844.00 (with the additional free travel mentioned above included).