London`s public transport is a highly sophisticated system including the iconic (not necessarily always) red buses, the underground (called tube), opposed to that the Overground, the DLR and TfL rail, the Santander bikes for those you like it sporty as well as the river boat services.
Wow, quite a lot. And this means that it can get a little confusing at times. So let me help you keep the overview:
Good thing first: you can use all of these with the same payment method/ticket. The oyster card, in the shape of a usual credit card, can easily be bought at any tube station and plenty of shops around the city. You top it up with as much money as you like and when using some public transport you simply tap it on one of the yellow readers and the respective amount is deducted. Super easy and convenient. Lately, you can also simply use your contactless bank card so you don`t even need an additional card in your purse.
Coming to the different parts of London`s public transport system, we`ll take a look at the tube first. Most people refer to this and the TfL (Transport for London) rails as well as DLR (Dockland Light Railway) in one, as these are pretty much incorporated in the tube system and use the same fares. By the way, so does the Overground, whose colour is orange, not red and blue as for the underground. The tube network includes 14 lines, with the new Elisabeth line actually being built right now. Some of them also connect to airports and have stations at the most important sights around the city. A fun fact: All together there it only about half of the underground network really under ground.
Next we have the iconic busses, that bring you even closer to the respective locations. There are constantly updates in the lines and schedules, but if you use my recommended app Citymapper© you`ll be sure not to miss anything and always reach your destination. Some of the lines would actually be worth being called sightseeing tours, as they pass by so many monuments and tourist spots. Luckily, the usual busses are much cheaper than a real sightseeing bus tour. Find out about the most beautiful bus rides in London here. On the line 15 there is another specialty: some of the old models of the read buses, that still have personnel on each vehicle to check the tickets, are operating here. It is quite an adventure to go on one of them!
Finally, we have the real specialties of the system. Complementing all the connections on land, there are also some boats that help you get across the river and that can definitely replace an
expensive proper boat sightseeing tour as they have the same routes. There are several stops along the river Thames to make sure you can get off wherever you need to go. Additionally, there are
the Santander bikes. These are red bikes that you can find at the stations spread all over the city. It is absolutely cheap to use them, with the first 30 minutes for free even, and you can leave
them at any of the stations in the city. Lots of Londoners actually use them to get around but they are also perfect for us wanting to see the city in a different way at our own pace. Oh, and the
name obviously comes form the banking company Santander© sponsoring them.