Fares capping
To ensure passengers get the best value for money when they travel, Transport for London (TfL) have fare caps which limit the amount people using Oyster or contactless cards pay for journeys they make in a single day or week. This is particularly useful for those who work part time. All you need to do is tap in and out whenever you travel using Oyster or a contactless card.
How does this work on the bus or tram?
Daily capping
Once you have made three bus or tram journeys in a day using your Oyster/contactless card you will pay no more and can travel for free the rest of the day.
Weekly capping
Once you have made three bus or tram journeys on board any London bus or tram on 5 out of 7 days using Oyster/contactless you will pay no more that week. So if you work Monday to Friday, you can travel for free at the weekend.
How does this work on the Tube, DLR, London Overground, the Elizabeth line and National Rail?
Daily capping
Once you have made around three journeys (peak or off peak) in a day on any Tube, DLR, London Overground, the Elizabeth line or National Rail train within Zones 1-6 using Oyster/contactless you will pay no more and will be able to travel for free for the rest of the day.
Once you have made around three journeys on any Tube, London Overground, the Elizabeth line or National Rail train from Zones 7-9 using Oyster/contactless you will be able to travel for free for the rest of the day. However, there is a difference between the cost of peak and off-peak travel.
Weekly capping – now also available on Oyster
If you have reached the capping limit on 5 days out of 7 you will be able to travel for free for the other two days.
To ensure that capping applies, you must touch in and out for your journey (where touching out applies) regardless of if you have already reached the minimum journey threshold for that day/week.
Services not included in the capping prices
- On the Heathrow Express, Gatwick Express and High Speed services to and from St Pancras International (HS1)
- River boat services
- IFS Cable Car
For those taking advantage of the bus Hopper fare (which grants passengers as many bus trips as they like within a 1 hour period for the price of a single fare of £1.75), each trip will only be counted as one journey under the capping system.
