If you’re a Londoner or just visiting the capital, everyone has their own unique way of getting around the city. Some of us might take the District line from Barking to Ealing Broadway, while others might hop on National Rail at Fenchurch Street to get there faster.
But did you know that your Oyster card could fine you if you travel across London too slowly? This is because the Oyster card system has a rule in place to make sure none of us are taking advantage of it.
For example, if you were travelling from one side of the city to the other, and stopped to make stops and changes on route to grab a coffee, or post a parcel, and take three hours to complete the journey, you’d be doing more than just travelling.
You’d be making several journeys under the guise of one, which could end up costing you more than you bargained for. So remember, while it might sound like a fun day out, it’s important not to clog up the network and to use your Oyster card responsibly.
To prevent people from taking advantage of the system, Oyster cards are set up to charge us a fine if we take longer than Transport for London (TfL) thinks our journey should.
For example, travelling from Barking to Ealing Broadway, which crosses six zones, TfL believes it should take no more than two hours on weekdays before 7pm, two hours 15 mins on weekday evenings and Saturdays, or two hours 25 mins on Sundays.
If you exceed this time, you could be fined two maximum fares (up to £17.80), instead of the usual fare of £2.90 off-peak or £4 peak.
This rule also discourages people from not touching in and out at stations where there are no ticket barriers, or from taking unnecessarily long routes for fun or to meet friends.
These extra journeys can take up space for passengers making essential trips and make it harder for transport planners to accurately plan for future demand.
Generally, most journeys in London need to be completed within two hours.
The longest possible journey on Oyster, going through the most fare zones (across 20 zones), is given a maximum five-hour time.
