London Travel: Getting Around the City Like a Local

Video 1.  How to Use Public Transport in London Like a Local (YouTube link)

Terminology

In Video 1, the below terms were mentioned:

• Oyster card
• Pay as you go fares
• Tube, DLR (Docklands Light Railway), London Overground, Elizabeth line and National Rail services wholly within the London Fare Zones area, and PAYG (special fares applied) can also be used on:
• Southeastern’s HS1 service between St Pancras International and Stratford International
• Gatwick Express and Southern services between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport
• Heathrow Express (train) between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport
• Journeys to Potters Bar and Radlett
• Elizabeth line (Tube) services between Hayes & Harlington and Heathrow Airport
• Values
• Pay as you go fares are cheaper than buying a paper single ticket or Day Travelcard.
• Your Visitor Oyster card offers daily capping. This means you can travel as much as you like in a single day and the amount you pay for your travel is limited (or capped). Find prices for daily capping and Day Travelcards.
• Use your card and save money at restaurants, shops, galleries and entertainment venues.
• Need to activate a new Travel Card on your Oyster
• by touching it at a ticket machine (not a barrier) should activate a card. You won't commit to a journey by touching at a machine - that should just give you your balance. That balance should show you whether any travelcard is loaded.
• You can use your Oyster card to reach Heathrow Airport (LHR) or Gatwick Airport (LGW), but not Stansted Airport (STN)
• You can put a Travelcard on an Oyster card (read more details here)
• TFL (Transport for London)
• a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London
• Underground (or Tube)
• Underground in UK is usually called THE TUBE, because it mostly goes inside a tunnel, a tube
• The Underground serves 270 stations and over 408 km of track
• Rush hour in the morning is from 8 to 10 am and then in the evening from 5 to 7 pm.
• Overground
• The overground are more traditional trains as opposed to the metro style for the Underground. 
• Overground is more of a ring around central London - it's useful for avoiding going via central London if you don't want to. 
• The Overground doesn't go anywhere near Heathrow.
• Thames Clippers (Route map)
• Uber Boat by Thames Clippers stops at 24 piers along the Thames between Barking Riverside Pier in the East and Putney Pier in the West
• Services run from early in the morning until late at night 7 days a week
• Trams
• a fast, frequent and reliable tram service to routes through central Croydon from Wimbledon, Beckenham, Elmers End and New Addington.
• National Rail
• Long-distance railway travel to Scotland, Wales, etc.
• Emirates Air Line cable car (see Figure 3)
• Glide above the Thames in the Emirates Air Line cable car and take in aerial views of London's skyline, as you travel from the Greenwich Peninsula to the Royal Docks.

Oyster— a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card

Figure 1.  London Tube Map (for the large print click here; for Thameslink click here)

Video 2.  How to Ride the London Tube (YouTube)

How to Get Around

Navigating the London Transport system isn’t always easy for beginners, but the official Transport for London app (Tfl Go—Android & Apple downloads) will give you a good head start. It will also help you find the nearest toilets.

After you have downloaded Tfl Go app, you need to get familiar with the Large print Tube map as illustrated in Fig 1.  From Fig 1, you can also find the "key to lines" and from Fig 2, you can find "key to symbols" and explanation of fare zones.

The easiest and most convenient way to get around London is with contactless payment. Simply add a bank card to Google Wallet and hold your phone to the card reader at bus and Tube stations. When you see a blue checkmark, you're all set!

Figure 2.  Key to symbols and explanation of zones (credit: Transport for London)

Video 3.  London Travel Tips (YouTube)

Figure 3.  Emirates Air Line (from Royal Docks to Greenwich Peninsula)

References

1. Transport for London
2. Oyster card
3. Elizabeth line
4. Oyster & Travelcards (National Rail Enquiries)
• If you want to use Pay as you go to travel beyond the Zones covered by your Travelcard, to a station within the Pay as you go area you will need to ensure you have sufficient Pay as you go credit on your Oyster card before starting your journey.
• Special conditions apply when using Oyster cards on National Rail - please view the Oyster Conditions of Use on National Rail services.
5. Terminal 2 Arrival Guide (Heathrow Airport)
• We advise to arrive three hours in advance for all flights (European and intercontinental).
• On average, it takes between 30 minutes and 1 hour to clear customs and immigration at Heathrow Airport.  However, it could be longer (i.e., up to 4 hours) if there are any problems, no way of knowing.
6. Find out the terminal your airline uses at Heathrow (link)
• TAP Portugal (T2)
• American Airlines (T3)