london underground group travel card

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London Group Travelcard 2024

Cheapest transport pass for groups of 10 or more well, sometimes....

Summary of 1-day London Group Travelcard

The London one-day Group Travelcard is the only group ticket for London's public transport system.

There is no group travel product for longer durations than one day.

The Group Travelcard covers the same public transport as other public transport passes for individuals like standard Travelcards and Oyster.

If you are a group of 10 or more, this ticket is worth benchmarking against other alternatives but normally only becomes attractive financially if your group is staying outside the centre of London (zones 1 to 3).

Key rules   Purchasing 1-day group Travelcards   Purchasing from Visit Britain   Alternative tickets   Oyster & Travelcard prices compared

Key rules of the London Group Travelcard

You must have a minimum of 10 people and they all need to travel together. The 10 people can be a mix of adults and children.

The Group Travelcard is off-peak only, you cannot use it before 9.30am Mondays to Fridays. You can use them all day weekends and national holidays.

The Group Travelcard is only valid for zones 1-6. Most tourists only need zones 1 and 2.

The Group Travelcard is valid on all public transport that the standard individual Travelcard is valid for, including buses, London Underground and Overground, DLR and trains.

The Group Travelcard, like the 1 Day Travelcard, is valid for the calendar day, not 24 hours from first use.

The child age band is under 16, like standard Travelcards and Oysters there are no seniors concessions for visitors

You can only purchase from Underground Station ticket machines, Overground or TfL Rail station ticket offices and some National Rail stations that Tube and London Overground services run through – and only on the day of travel.

However you can buy them online in advance, from the Visit Britain TFL Travel shop .

If you are not travelling beyond zones 1 to 3, a standard individual Oyster Card is cheaper than than the Group Travelcard.

Purchasing 1-day Group Travelcards

You can buy Group Travelcards on the day of travel or in advance from Visit Britain or the TFL website (see below).

Buying in London there is a restricted list of outlets (compared with other public transport tickets) that you can purchase from.

Most people will buy Group Travelcards from Underground Station ticket machines. You can also purchase from London Overground or TFL Rail station ticket offices and some National Rail stations that Tube and London Overground services run through.

You can use credit and debit cards to purchase.

Group Travelcard 2024 Prices from 3 March

* Children under 11 travel free without a ticket on London buses, London Underground and Overground, DLR and some rail services.

Buy your Group Travelcards from Visit Britain in advance

If having to purchase on the day of travel and from a ticket machine is a lot of hassle and stress you do not need, you can order Group Travelcards online in advance from Visit Britain or the TFL website.

See banner below to order from Visit Britain.

Both sites only sell zone 1-6 Group Travelcards, they do not sell Group Travelcards for zones 1-9.

Tickets are sent to your home address wherever in the world you reside, for which there is a charge.

You can choose between standard and an express delivery option. When you select your country on ordering you will be given indicative delivery times for each option.

BUY GROUP DAY TRAVELCARD FOR LONDON

Visiting London in a group of 10 or more? Buy in advance to save time and money

Group Day Travelcard valid on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail and most National Rail services within London fare Zones 1 to 6.

Alternative tickets for groups that may be cheaper than Group Travelcards

There are three major features of the Group Travelcard that often means that even if you have a group of 10 or more it may be cheaper or more convenient to buy individual tickets for each member of the group.

- The cheapest and most popular Group Travelcard is for zones 1-6. Most visitors stay in a hotel in zones 1-2 and most attractions are also in zones 1-2. If you do not travel outside zones 1-3 it will be cheaper to buy an Oyster Card each instead.

- The Group Travelcard doesn't allow travel before 9.30am Monday to Friday. If you require to travel at these prohibited times then an individual Oyster Card or a 7 day Travelcard will be your best option.

- The Group Travelcard doesn't allow the Group to split up, they must all travel together, even though each person has individual tickets. If you require to split up your group when travelling then an individual Oyster Card or a 7 day Travelcard will be your best option.

Below are tables summarising fares and fare caps for individual travel passes for Oyster and Travelcards.

The fare caps are the most you can pay in a calendar day with Oyster. Once you hit that fare cap all travel for the rest of the day is free.

If you have a credit or debit card that supports contactless payment or have Apple Pay you can link these to Oyster fares.

Oyster Cards are cheaper than 1 day Travelcards but if you are travelling 5 or more days in any 7 then a 7 day Travelcard is normally cheaper than an Oyster Card.

Oyster Cards - more details

Contactless Payment Cards - more details

Travelcards - more details

Price caps for Oyster & contactless card payments, compared to Travelcard prices

From 3 march 2024 - march 2025.

* Travelcard peak fares apply for any travel made Monday to Friday before 9.30am. All other travel is off-peak.

** Prices for a 7 day Travelcard. Also the 7 day cap for contactless payment cards between Monday to Sunday - not available on Oyster.

SPECIAL CAP FOR BUS TRAVEL ONLY: £5.25 (When you only travel on London's buses on 1 day).

CHILDREN'S OYSTER CAPS: Off-peak: £1.80 (zones 1-9). Peak: approx half of adult cap.

Previously asked questions on your group travel options in London

At present we are unable to maintain the discuss service but you can contact us using the Contact Us link at the bottom of each page. We have decided to leave the answers here as they are useful for many of the questions we receive. If you cannot find an answer to your question, we'll be happy to hear from you.

London Underground tickets: How much is a travelcard and where you can buy one

Everything you need to know about buying a travelcard in London

• 16:51, 17 FEB 2020
• Updated 20:05, 17 FEB 2020

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The London Underground may seem cheap for a one off, £2.40 journey, but it all adds up if you use it all the time.

Whether you're in London just for the day or week, or you actually live here, it's worth working out the cheapest way of organising your travel on it.

For many people this means buying a travelcard.

Travelcards come in different types and give you unlimited access on buses, Tubes, trams, the DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail and National Rail services in London.

Types of Travelcards

Day travelcard.

They give you unlimited travel for a whole day. There are two types:

• Anytime Day Travelcards: You can use for the date shown on the ticket and for journeys starting before 4.30am the next day.
• Off-peak Day Travelcards: You can use from 9.30 (Monday to Friday) and anytime on weekends or bank holidays for the date on the ticket and for journeys starting before 4.30am the next day.

Group Day Travelcard

Unlimited travel for a group of ten or more travelling together for a day.

Travel from 9.30am (Monday to Friday), anytime on weekends or bank holidays for the date on the ticket and before 4.30am the next day.

Both the day travelcards can only be purchased as paper tickets.

Travelcard season tickets

If you're sticking around for a longer time because like us you love London, you could consider a travelcard season ticket.

You can choose from a seven-day, monthly, three-month, six-month, odd period or annual travelcard season ticket.

The savings on them are quite decent, especially the longer-term ones.

With annual travelcards you get 12 months of travel for the price of ten and a half.

It's cheaper to go for a monthly travel card than four seven-day ones.

You'll always be able to travel before the 4.30am on the day after the expiry date of your travelcard. The season ticket can start on any day of the week and be used at any time, so it doesn't matter if you're arriving into London mid-week for instance.

Where you can use travelcards

Buses and trams.

You can use travelcards on all buses and as long as your travelcard is valid in Zones 3, 4, 5 or 6, you can use it on all trams.

Tube, DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail and National Rail

Make sure you buy a travelcard that covers all the zones you need to travel through and go to. Work it out, but if you only very occasionally travel to a certain zone, you can add pay as you go if your travelcard is on your Oyster Card or buy an extension ticket.

Emirates Air Line

Travelcards get you discounts on the Emirates Air Line.

River service

You can use your Travelcard to get 1/3 off river boat fares on some services but double check first.

How you buy travelcards

Day travelcards, whether for a single person or a group, are only in paper ticket form.

Buy them from ticket machines at Tube, DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail and National Rail station, ticket offices at the London Overground, TfL Rail and National Rail stations, at visitor centres and at the Tramlink shop in Croydon.

Join the Mind The Gap group

We've created a Facebook group for people who travel on London's bus, rail, Underground, Overground and DLR services.

We will keep you informed about the latest news that affects your daily commute to work, as well as at the weekend.

We'll also let you know in advance if there are any roadworks, railworks or closures you should know about, or if there are any problems on the city's tube network.

Join the group here .

You can buy the longer travelcards (seven days, monthly, three months, six months or odd period, or annual) on an Oyster Card. You can buy it online or on the Oyster/contactless app, Oyster ticket shops, ticket offices and machines at stations and at visitor centres.

Make sure you add your card to a contactless and Oyster account you've created so that if you lose it or it gets stolen you don't have to buy a whole new one.

How much travelcards cost

The 2020 prices are as follows.

One day travelcards

• Zones 1-4 - £13.50

Zones 1-6 - Off peak - £13.50, peak - £19.50

Zones 1-9 - Off peak - £14.30, peak £24.30

Weekly travelcards

• Zones 1-2 - £36.10
• Zones 1-3 - £42.40
• Zones 1-4 - £51.90
• Zones 1-5 - £61.70
• Zones 1-6 - £66.00
• Zones 1-7 - £71.80
• Zones 1-8 - £84.80

Zones 1-9 - £94.10

Monthly travelcards

• Zones 1-2 - £138.70
• Zones 1-3 - £162.90
• Zones 1-4 - £199.30
• Zones 1-5 - £237.00
• Zones 1-6 - £253.50
• Zones 1-7 - £275.80
• Zones 1-8 - £325.70

Zones 1-9 - £361.40

Oyster and contactless cards

The totally alternative way to travel on London's public transport is by pay as you go.

As mentioned you can get a travelcard on your Oyster Card.

But you can also use it by topping it up and paying per journey.

You can also use a contactless debit or credit card to pay as you go.

The benefits of this are you only pay for journeys you make, you can travel all over the network at any time, and also there's an automatic daily cap even on pay as you go.

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What is a London Travelcard?

A London Travelcard gives you unlimited travel within zones 1-4 or 1-6 on the Underground, Overground, TfL Rail, Docklands Light Railway, buses, trams, and most National Rail services in London.

You can also use your London Travelcard to get discounted fares on the Emirates Air Line and a third off River Boat fares on selected services.

Be the first to hear when our cheapest Advance tickets go on sale

Buying a ticket with us just got more rewarding!

Which London Travelcard is right for me?

 one day london travelcard.

Anytime Day Travelcards can be used on the date shown on the ticket and for journeys starting before 04:30 the following day. Off-peak Day Travelcards can be used from 09:30 (Monday to Friday), at any time on weekends or bank holidays for the date on the ticket, and for journeys starting before 04:30 the next day.

London Weekly Travelcard

The London Weekly Travelcard offers seven days of travel for the price of five.

Monthly London Travelcard

Monthly Travelcards are typically more cost-effective than purchasing four consecutive 7-day Travelcards. They offer a saving of 11% compared to the continued use of 7-day Travelcards.

Group One Day London Travelcard

Travelling as a group of 10 or more? Get a Group One Day London Travelcard valid for the day from 09:30 (Monday to Friday), anytime on weekends or public holidays right up until 04:30 the next day.

London Travelcard season tickets

Your Travelcard season ticket can start any day of the week and you can travel right up until 04:30 on the day after your Travelcard expires.

Choose a seven-day, monthly, three-month, 6-month, custom or annual Travelcard season ticket.

How do I get a London Travelcard?

Travelcards can be sold with an Anytime , Off-Peak , Super Off-Peak , Advance  or season  (except Flexi Season ) train ticket to London on our website, app or at your local station.

You can add London Travelcards to your SWR touch smartcard , making it easier for you to tap in and out across the capital.

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The Moscow Metro Museum of Art: 10 Must-See Stations

There are few times one can claim having been on the subway all afternoon and loving it, but the Moscow Metro provides just that opportunity.  While many cities boast famous public transport systems—New York’s subway, London’s underground, San Salvador’s chicken buses—few warrant hours of exploration.  Moscow is different: Take one ride on the Metro, and you’ll find out that this network of railways can be so much more than point A to B drudgery.

The Metro began operating in 1935 with just thirteen stations, covering less than seven miles, but it has since grown into the world’s third busiest transit system ( Tokyo is first ), spanning about 200 miles and offering over 180 stops along the way.  The construction of the Metro began under Joseph Stalin’s command, and being one of the USSR’s most ambitious building projects, the iron-fisted leader instructed designers to create a place full of svet (radiance) and svetloe budushchee (a radiant future), a palace for the people and a tribute to the Mother nation.

Consequently, the Metro is among the most memorable attractions in Moscow.  The stations provide a unique collection of public art, comparable to anything the city’s galleries have to offer and providing a sense of the Soviet era, which is absent from the State National History Museum.  Even better, touring the Metro delivers palpable, experiential moments, which many of us don’t get standing in front of painting or a case of coins.

Though tours are available , discovering the Moscow Metro on your own provides a much more comprehensive, truer experience, something much less sterile than following a guide.  What better place is there to see the “real” Moscow than on mass transit: A few hours will expose you to characters and caricatures you’ll be hard-pressed to find dining near the Bolshoi Theater.  You become part of the attraction, hear it in the screech of the train, feel it as hurried commuters brush by: The Metro sucks you beneath the city and churns you into the mix.

With the recommendations of our born-and-bred Muscovite students, my wife Emma and I have just taken a self-guided tour of what some locals consider the top ten stations of the Moscow Metro. What most satisfied me about our Metro tour was the sense of adventure .  I loved following our route on the maps of the wagon walls as we circled the city, plotting out the course to the subsequent stops; having the weird sensation of being underground for nearly four hours; and discovering the next cavern of treasures, playing Indiana Jones for the afternoon, piecing together fragments of Russia’s mysterious history.  It’s the ultimate interactive museum.

Top Ten Stations (In order of appearance)

Kievskaya station.

Kievskaya Station went public in March of 1937, the rails between it and Park Kultury Station being the first to cross the Moscow River.  Kievskaya is full of mosaics depicting aristocratic scenes of Russian life, with great cameo appearances by Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin.  Each work has a Cyrillic title/explanation etched in the marble beneath it; however, if your Russian is rusty, you can just appreciate seeing familiar revolutionary dates like 1905 ( the Russian Revolution ) and 1917 ( the October Revolution ).

Mayakovskaya Station

Mayakovskaya Station ranks in my top three most notable Metro stations. Mayakovskaya just feels right, done Art Deco but no sense of gaudiness or pretention.  The arches are adorned with rounded chrome piping and create feeling of being in a jukebox, but the roof’s expansive mosaics of the sky are the real showstopper.  Subjects cleverly range from looking up at a high jumper, workers atop a building, spires of Orthodox cathedrals, to nimble aircraft humming by, a fleet of prop planes spelling out CCCP in the bluest of skies.

Novoslobodskaya Station

Novoslobodskaya is the Metro’s unique stained glass station.  Each column has its own distinctive panels of colorful glass, most of them with a floral theme, some of them capturing the odd sailor, musician, artist, gardener, or stenographer in action.  The glass is framed in Art Deco metalwork, and there is the lovely aspect of discovering panels in the less frequented haunches of the hall (on the trackside, between the incoming staircases).  Novosblod is, I’ve been told, the favorite amongst out-of-town visitors.

Komsomolskaya Station

Komsomolskaya Station is one of palatial grandeur.  It seems both magnificent and obligatory, like the presidential palace of a colonial city.  The yellow ceiling has leafy, white concrete garland and a series of golden military mosaics accenting the tile mosaics of glorified Russian life.  Switching lines here, the hallway has an Alice-in-Wonderland feel, impossibly long with decorative tile walls, culminating in a very old station left in a remarkable state of disrepair, offering a really tangible glimpse behind the palace walls.

Dostoevskaya Station

Dostoevskaya is a tribute to the late, great hero of Russian literature .  The station at first glance seems bare and unimpressive, a stark marble platform without a whiff of reassembled chips of tile.  However, two columns have eerie stone inlay collages of scenes from Dostoevsky’s work, including The Idiot , The Brothers Karamazov , and Crime and Punishment.   Then, standing at the center of the platform, the marble creates a kaleidoscope of reflections.  At the entrance, there is a large, inlay portrait of the author.

Chkalovskaya Station

Chkalovskaya does space Art Deco style (yet again).  Chrome borders all.  Passageways with curvy overhangs create the illusion of walking through the belly of a chic, new-age spacecraft.  There are two (kos)mosaics, one at each end, with planetary subjects.  Transferring here brings you above ground, where some rather elaborate metalwork is on display.  By name similarity only, I’d expected Komsolskaya Station to deliver some kosmonaut décor; instead, it was Chkalovskaya that took us up to the space station.

Elektrozavodskaya Station

Elektrozavodskaya is full of marble reliefs of workers, men and women, laboring through the different stages of industry.  The superhuman figures are round with muscles, Hollywood fit, and seemingly undeterred by each Herculean task they respectively perform.  The station is chocked with brass, from hammer and sickle light fixtures to beautiful, angular framework up the innards of the columns.  The station’s art pieces are less clever or extravagant than others, but identifying the different stages of industry is entertaining.

Baumanskaya Statio

Baumanskaya Station is the only stop that wasn’t suggested by the students.  Pulling in, the network of statues was just too enticing: Out of half-circle depressions in the platform’s columns, the USSR’s proud and powerful labor force again flaunts its success.  Pilots, blacksmiths, politicians, and artists have all congregated, posing amongst more Art Deco framing.  At the far end, a massive Soviet flag dons the face of Lenin and banners for ’05, ’17, and ‘45.  Standing in front of the flag, you can play with the echoing roof.

Ploshchad Revolutsii Station

Novokuznetskaya Station

Novokuznetskaya Station finishes off this tour, more or less, where it started: beautiful mosaics.  This station recalls the skyward-facing pieces from Mayakovskaya (Station #2), only with a little larger pictures in a more cramped, very trafficked area.  Due to a line of street lamps in the center of the platform, it has the atmosphere of a bustling market.  The more inventive sky scenes include a man on a ladder, women picking fruit, and a tank-dozer being craned in.  The station’s also has a handsome black-and-white stone mural.

Here is a map and a brief description of our route:

Start at (1)Kievskaya on the “ring line” (look for the squares at the bottom of the platform signs to help you navigate—the ring line is #5, brown line) and go north to Belorusskaya, make a quick switch to the Dark Green/#2 line, and go south one stop to (2)Mayakovskaya.  Backtrack to the ring line—Brown/#5—and continue north, getting off at (3)Novosblodskaya and (4)Komsolskaya.  At Komsolskaya Station, transfer to the Red/#1 line, go south for two stops to Chistye Prudy, and get on the Light Green/#10 line going north.  Take a look at (5)Dostoevskaya Station on the northern segment of Light Green/#10 line then change directions and head south to (6)Chkalovskaya, which offers a transfer to the Dark Blue/#3 line, going west, away from the city center.  Have a look (7)Elektroskaya Station before backtracking into the center of Moscow, stopping off at (8)Baumskaya, getting off the Dark Blue/#3 line at (9)Ploschad Revolyutsii.  Change to the Dark Green/#2 line and go south one stop to see (10)Novokuznetskaya Station.

Check out our new Moscow Indie Travel Guide , book a flight to Moscow and read 10 Bars with Views Worth Blowing the Budget For

Jonathon Engels, formerly a patron saint of misadventure, has been stumbling his way across cultural borders since 2005 and is currently volunteering in the mountains outside of Antigua, Guatemala.  For more of his work, visit his website and blog .

Photo credits:   SergeyRod , all others courtesy of the author and may not be used without permission