Kids fares and Oyster cards on London Transport
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By Time Out editors
Posted: Wed Jul 30 2008 -
There is a range of concessions available to young people travelling around London. With different arrangements for different ages and methods of travel, they can be difficult to get your head around, so – with the help of Transport for London – we’ve set out to clarify exactly what’s on offer and what you need to do to get it
Under 11s
Under 11s can travel free on buses and trams at all times. They can also travel free on the Tube, DLR and London Overground, if accompanied by an adult with a valid ticket, pass or Oyster card.
Under 16s
Young people who are under 16 can get an 11-15 Zip Oyster photocard that will allow them to travel free on buses and trams, pay half the adult rate on the Tube, DLR and London Overground and buy half-price Travelcard season tickets. The Oyster daily price cap means that they can travel all day on services where ‘pay as you go’ is available for a maximum cost of £1. Their 11-15 Oyster photocard will expire on Sept 30 following the end of the academic year in which they turn 16.
For further information on this scheme visit www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/1020.aspx
For general information on Oyster visit www.tfl.gov.uk/oyster. If you are unable to find the information you require, you can contact the Oyster Helpdesk on 0845 330 9876.
Travel Without a Zip card
Under 16s can buy an Off-Peak Day Travelcard for £2 without the need for a photocard (no form of identification is required and they can be purchased from a ticket machine); for Under 16s travelling with a valid adult-rate Travelcard holder, the Off-Peak Day Travelcard costs just £1. This allows travel on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground and National Rail services within Zones 1-6, from 9.30am Monday to Friday and all day at weekends and on public holidays.
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16-17 year olds
All 16-17 year olds (whether London residents or not) can get a 16+ Oyster photocard that will allow them to travel at half the adult rate on buses, trams, Tube, DLR and London Overground. In addition, 16-18 year olds in qualifying full-time education, who live in a London borough, are eligible for free bus and tram travel with a 16+ Oyster photocard. (Qualifying full-time education means a minimum of 12 hours of guided learning per week, for a minimum of ten weeks, on further education courses such as A-levels (AS/A2), NVQ level 3 and the International Baccalaureate. Your school or college will be able to tell you whether your course qualifies.)
Further details are available at www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/1018.aspx
How apply for free travel
If you live in London
If you live in London, you should apply for an 11-15 or 16+ Oyster photocard at your local Post Office. If it is your first Under 16s or 16+ Oyster photocard, or you are a 16+ applicant renewing your free travel concession, there is no fee. The card will be sent to the address given in your application within two weeks. If the card is lost, stolen or damaged, a replacement will cost £10 and can be obtained online at www.tfl.gov.uk/photocard or by contacting the Oyster helpline (0845 0170 330).
Young people wishing to benefit from free bus and tram travel need to re-apply at the Post Office at the start of each academic year. Applications for 16+ travel concession can be made at Post Offices from Sept 1 to June 30. Applications can be processed outside this time by contacting the Oyster helpline: 0845 330 9876.
Visitors to London
If you are planning a visit to London, you can apply for your Oyster photocard online at www.tfl.gov.uk/photocard, and collect it at a Travel Information Centre (www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/wheretobuytickets/travelinformationcentres/1086.aspx) when you arrive. You need to apply at least three weeks prior to your visit. Further options are available for groups (see www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/oneand3daytickets/2906.aspx).
18+
If you are older and coming to London to study, you may be eligible for the 18+ Oyster photocard scheme for students in full-time education. This scheme gives a 30 per cent discount on Travelcards and Bus Pass season tickets. Further information is available at: www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/1014.aspx
5-10 Oyster photocards
Parents may choose to obtain a 5-10 Oyster photocard for their child for various reasons: so that their child can travel free with an older sibling; to avoid having to ask a member of staff to let them through the gate; to purchase and use Travelcard season tickets on Oyster for use on National Rail services in London; because their child looks older (ie over 11).
5-10 Oyster photocard application forms are available at the Post Office. You can apply once your child is five. Once they are 10 years 11 months, they should apply instead for the 11-15 Oyster photocard. Applications are submitted at the Post Office in exactly the same way as for a 11-15 Oyster photocard.
Visitors from outside London can apply online at www.tfl.gov.uk/photocard to order a card for collection at a Travel Information Centre. They must apply a minimum of three weeks in advance. Replacements for lost or stolen cards are obtained at www.tfl.gov.uk/photocard or by calling 0845 0170 330 (a £10 fee is payable for duplicates).
What you need to take when you apply for a photocard
1. A completed application form.
2. A full-face passport photo.
3. Proof of age (valid passport/ID card from a European Economic Area/birth certificate).
4. Applicants for a 16+ Oyster photocard who are applying for free bus and tram travel also need a document that proves their address (it must bear the applicant’s name and address or the name of the applicant’s parent or guardian and the applicant’s address – eg, a recent utility bill, a council tax bill or a driving licence; mobile phone bills are not accepted).
Who needs a signature from their school?
For a 16+ Oyster photocard, the form requires the signature and official stamp of the applicant’s school or college.
For an 11-15 Oyster photocard, a school signature is only required if the applicant does not have a birth certificate or passport to prove their age.
Who needs to go to the Post Office?
Anyone can submit the application, whether for a 5-10, 11-15 or 16+ Oyster photocard.- Add your comment to this feature
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77 comments
@ Mrs K Rich...
The helpline will only speak to the child or the parent who signed the form when they applied.
Why you may ask?
Because anyone could call knowing all the details of your grandson... How would someone over the phone know you're not a paedophile trying to see what buses your grandson gets?
The Answer... Get your grandson to call.
They are kids when we want them to be...and adults when we want them to be... whilst they are at school they should be able to travel for free. Full stop, they don't earn, they can not drink which is good...the can not vote not good. Yes my child lost their card, we have to get a bus and train...much problems.
My grandson was staying with me when he lost his 11-16 bus pass..I rang tfl to get replacement I knew everyone of his details being his Gran - but tfl would not issue anything without speaking to his father who had applied for it originally. due to the data protection act.. what are they protecting I knew every detail already...I was willing to pay the £10 fee it would be sent to his home address..where does the data protection act need to come into use??? mental... thanks tfl its costing me £4 a day now until his parents get back...
well my i applied for an oyester card and the post strike hasn'ts ent it to me..so i have to pay 2 pounds to get on the bus each journey...what else can i do? S: x
I live in Surrey and travel via Travel Surrey bus line a few times a week. Would an Oyster card save me money? I only travel into London occasionally.
Right, so TFL state 'free' travel for children aged 11-16 right?? Yet, for all they money they are making already, they still continue to rack it in by robbing us of £10.00 for a replacement card!!! Come on TFL, kids, even adults misplace/lose items. It's seriously wrong.
My child takes 2 buses to get to school which meant that on discovering this morning that the card was missing, I needed to give him £8.00....(EIGHT POUNDS FOR ONE DAY OF TRAVELLING)...Disgusting!! Then to top it off, I'm reading of the delay in receiving the replacement? At least employ more staff to action these replacements within a fair and just time scale TFL. Then again, we as the unhappy people will just let our steam off here and not challenge this robbery. Enough...
Hello Please help me. Do you know if you applied for +18 oyster card can you also apply for +16 oyster card? Because I applied for +18 oyster card and then I made a mistake because I dont want +18 oyster card I want +16 oyster card but they said that they can't cancell it ;////// Please help me
I am 18 and studying level 3 (a levels). Am I able to apply for 16+ form?
im 14 and applied for a 11-15 zip oyster last year.
But i left it the bus and someone gave it to the driver, ive been to the bus station and they said theyve sent it up to some place in london. To be honest i have no way of getting it back because i dont have the pin number for it. I rang the helpline but i couldnt get through without it. What am i ment to do?
Hey, i applied for an 11-15 replacement oyster card online as i lost my other one, and i am still awaiting for it to arrive. But it says im non-resident in my details, but i live in London and my address in the application is in london. what should i do?
what is the advise centre?? do you have their number?
was ur childs oyster card *seized* by the bus driver .. ?
If you lose your card just tell the advise centre that it was taken by a driver. They will replace it for nothing. My child lost their card and I was charged ten pounds to replace it. When the driver took it as it was not working they sent a free one to me.
WARNING!! Make no mistakes - NO second chances!!
My 14 year old daughter scratched off her picture (not thinking it was important as nobody from London Transport had EVER looked at it). Then a jobs-worth in a hat and a clip board thinking he is very important, took it away and reported her (how big of him). They took her free travel away from her for a whole year!!!!!!! Naively, I appealed to their better nature asking them to just give her a warning as she wouldn't do it again, not realising that they dont have a better nature, just a bunch of self obsessed, heavy handed, over zealous office bods with delusions of Grandeur and a lamb kebab where their heart used to be.
They must really love their jobs! and how important they must feel, taking away childrens only means of free transport, all for one lousy mistake, one can only assume that they don't have children as NO child is perfect!!
hi Janette, i really need your help. I'm confused because my oyster card was seized by the tfl police, i ordered a new one and a few days later it arrived but then after some months, i lost that oyster card ..
Can i get another one?
because my dad asked the post office and they said i can't get a new one as it was seized but when i called the oyster helpline, they said i didn't have to worry as a letter will be sent to my home and that i'll be able to get another. But the letter never came, i even gave them my address, its been about 3 weeks.
So, now my dad has applied for a new one by sending £10 to the oyster card address, 1 week has passed, are oysters normally supposed to come in between 1-2 weeks?
i m really worried i'll never get free travel , its sadder than i thought i'd be, i feel ignored by the oyster card company. PLEASE HELP
hi! i lost my oyster card on the bus and i can't go 2 school coz non of the bus want to me get on also im steel 15 yrs old and also i have work experience next week on 29th of june and on thrusday 25th of june i have my appoitment in heathow
p[lz can u sent me other zip
plz plz plz