Getting about

London has a vast, user-friendly public transport system with buses, Underground and Overground metro trains and trams run by Transport for London (TFL), as well as National Rail trains run by various companies which can sometimes be convenient ways of moving about within London.

Oyster Card

All TFL services can (and should) be paid for using an Oyster Card. Paper tickets are available but are generally about double the price. Getting an Oyster Card requires a £3 deposit for the card, which is refunded if you return it, and they are available from any TFL ticket office. It is NEVER worth buying a paper ticket – even for one journey, if you have the cash on you get an Oyster card then get the deposit refunded later.

You can get weekly, monthly and annual Oyster Cards for unlimited public transport travel. However, these are not usually cost effective for Bankside residents as you do not need to use public transport to travel to LSE. If you do choose to get termly tickets however, you should get a Student Oyster Card which costs £5 and offers a discount of around a third on such tickets.

The best option for most Banksiders is to use the pay-as-you-go option, whereby you top-up the oyster card with cash and this is deducted from your balance each time you make a journey. Your daily spend is capped, meaning it will stop charging you once you have spent 50p less than the cost of buying a paper day Travelcard.

The Student Oyster Card does not offer any discount on daily fares. However, if you are 25 or under you can attach a National Railcard (which costs £24 to buy, although NatWest bank’s student customers get one for free) to a normal (not student) Oyster Card and this will give you a 34% discount on the daily off-peak cap.

To use your Oyster Card you simply touch it on the yellow readers to enter and exit the rail system, or when you get on (but not off) a bus or tram. The correct fares will be deducted until you reach your daily cap.

Underground

The London Underground ("the tube") is the oldest and largest underground train network in the world, and you're never far from an Underground station in cenral London, identifiable by their iconic "roundel" sign.

Lines are all named and colour coordinated. To use the underground simply touch-in with your Oyster card (on the yellow reader) to enter a station, then work out a reasonable route to your destination and take it.

On weekends make sure you check signs for closed routes as it is usual for large sections of track and several stations to be closed for maintenance work. 

Buses

London buses are still painted the traditional red, and most are "double-deckers" (2-storey buses). In recent years "bendy" buses became increasingly common, but are now on their way out thanks to new Mayor Boris Johnson, whose sole campain pledge for quite a while was the scrapping of all bendy buses and the introduction of modern "Routemasters" (the traditional double-decker buses with open rear ends allowing you to board and alight while the bus is in motion).

Night buses

London has an excellent provision of night transport with frequent night buses. A very large number of night buses from all parts of London go past St Paul's cathedral, which is often the best way to get back to Bankside (then just cross the Millennium footbridge). Night bus numbers begin with N. On a bus stop, it is normal for night bus information to be displayed on the reverse of the ordinary bus information (i.e. often on the rear of the bus stop).

Taxis

London's iconic black cabs can be found throughout the city. They may be a bit pricey, but if you're splitting the bill between a group of people they can be good value (they hold 5 passengers). Drivers have to pass an infamous test called 'The Knowledge' demonstrating their knowledge of London's streets.

Private hire vehicles ("minicabs")

An alternative to the black cab is a minicab. These are normal cars which can be hired only by phoning in advance, and can work out cheaper than black cabs for pre-planned journeys.

WARNING: When you leave a club late at night you may encounter shady-looking men in the street offering you a taxi. NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, SAY YES. You unfortunately run the risk of sexual assualt, or at the very least paying a considerable amount more than necessary. Only travel in TFL licenced vehicles.

Links

Check out the Our Area - Transport section for details of the public transport links near Bankside

Transport for London - includes journey planner to help you work out the best way from A to B(ankside)

Oyster Card Information

Tube Maps

Weekend Engineering Work Closures Information

National Rail Enquiries