Children train travel

[KatsuQueen]

Hi now that minikatsu is 5, he no longer travels free on the train to London bridge. So what do we do, does it mean we have to buy a child ticket every time we travel with him (a pain) or can we beep him through on our prepay Oyster cards? how does that work I.e. how does the oyster reader know that it is a child and not an adult, and charge accordingly?

[civilservant]

if you don't want to buy a ticket every time you travel with him, you need to get him his own child Oyster photocard - I think forms are available in Post offices.

The rules on ticketing for children are quite complex, but to summarise - although he will probably need to pay child fare on trains, he will travel free on TfL i.e. Underground, Overground and buses, IF he is travelling with an adult.

He will need to pass through the gate with the adult, though, because if he swipes his own Oyster card on a Tube ticket gate, it will assume that he is travelling alone (it won't obv know that he is only 5!) and will deduct a child-travelling-alone-fare from it. When our daughter was little, she wanted to show that she was a big girl and could pass through the gate on her own, and we didn't realise for some time why we needed to top up her Oyster card so frequently!

More info on http://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/help-centre/travelling-with-children.html

[ianr]

It looks to me as if the rules for visitor children may be more restrictive than those for resident ones, as at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/students-and-children/5-10-zip-oyster-photocard?intcmp=11058.

[sunbob]

Just having an investigate of the red and green routes map. I think you could do it for free by going peckham rye to Surrey quays on the green route then get jubilee to London bridge. I had no idea 5 was a threshold for paying so thanks for starting the thread.

[Saffron]

Wait, let me get this straight. TFL will issue a photo ID card to a 5 yo, and not charge her/him if the child is travelling with an adult, as long as the child doesn't swipe-in. So by contrast, TFL implies that there are occasions where a 5 yo would travel with out an adult?!? OR, there are occasions where a child must swipe-in on TFL, even when travelling with an adult?

[Saffron]

From the above TFL link:

Under 11 years

Up to 10-years-old

Children aged under 11 can travel free on buses and trams at any time. They can also travel free on Tube, DLR and London Overground services at any time as long as they are accompanied by an adult using a valid Visitor Oyster card or ticket. Children aged under 5 travel free on the Emirates Air Line when accompanied by a fare paying adult. Children aged 5 to 15 pay child rate fares on the Emirates Air Line.

A maximum of four children under 11 can travel free with an adult who has a valid Visitor Oyster card or ticket on Tube, DLR and London Overground services.

If you?re using a Visitor Oyster card, you must touch in and touch out as normal but ask a member of staff to let your group through the side gate.

5-10 year olds pay fares on most National Rail services. They can get a 5-10 Oyster photocard to pay as they go at child rate which is cheaper than paying cash.

And...

Benefits and eligibility

If your child is under the age of 11, they can travel free on most TfL and some National Rail services. They may need a 5-10 Zip Oyster photocard to travel free or at child rate.

Your child only needs a 5-10 Zip Oyster photocard to travel free on Tube, DLR, London Overground and some National Rail services if:

?They're travelling without an adult

?They look older than 10

Your child doesn't need an Oyster photocard:

?To travel free on buses and trams

?To buy child-rate cash single and return tickets or Day Travelcards

?If they're with an adult who has a valid ticket, Freedom Pass, 60+ London or Veterans Oyster photocard, or who is using pay as you go (up to four children per adult)

[Saffron]

I don't know what line you're travelling to London Bridge, but if it's part of London Overground, it looks like the child doesn't need to pay if he's with a fee-paying adult, and the child looks under 10 yo. And in that case, you don't require a separate child card either. (Or did I miss something?)

But you might want to have a child card if you're regularly going to travel on a line that will require your child to pay (simply for convenience), although you could buy a child single without an ID card, if your child looks under 10 yo.

Blimey, I've seen mud clearer than these rules!)

[KatsuQueen]

Thanks for replies everyone. Sunbob, I had no idea either until recently, when I was behind a family with 3 kids trying to pass through the wide barriers. The eldest child looked about 7 or 8 and the guard refused to let them pass because they did not have a ticket for the eldest child. This was at Victoria Station. It had never really occurred to me before, I had assumed that children under 11 travel free everywhere on public transport.

It seems that it is only on TFL routes that under 11s travel free. So the overground and underground are free, but not the main rail network eg ED to London Bridge or Peckham Rye to LB, blackfriars, Victoria etc!

Looks like will have to get a zip oyster for my 5 year old.

[goldilocks]

Really its about time these rules were updated. Ie surely children should either travel free in London or they should pay fares. I know its all down to which routes are operated by TFL but it seems punative that if you don't live somewhere with a tube station you have to pay, whereas you could travel further by tube (eg from Wimbledon) but it would be free.

[Saffron]

Tell Boris?

[grabot]

I agree with Goldilocks. It is particularly galling that the National Rail routes are largely green (free) in North London and red (with the exception of the Overland) in South London.

http://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/pay-as-you-go-tarrifs-national-rail.pdf

I am starting to feel that politically, South London, is not really considered to be part of London. So, I don't know if Boris would help. Anyway, just a rant, completely pointless on my part. To take the smooth with the rough, on the whole I think that South London is cheaper and nicer than North London and I guess that the transport situation is a big contributor to that.