Oyster card

Southern introduce Oyster pay as you go

You can use Oyster pay as you go on all Southern services in the London Fare Zones (zones 1-6). You can buy your Oyster card from East Croydon and Balham and (in limited numbers) from any Southern station within the London Fare Zones. Oyster cards are also available from any London Underground station, any one of 3800 Oyster ticket shops, London Overground ticket offices or online at tfl.gov.uk/oyster.

You can also top up your Oyster card at any Southern self-service ticket machine in the London Fare Zones.

Using your Oyster pay as you go card is very easy, simply remember to touch in on the yellow reader at the start of your journey and touch out at the end of your journey. The cost of your journey is automatically deducted from the balance on your card.

Just make sure you have topped up your card to cover the journey before you start.

For more information read our faqs.

Oyster pay as you go FAQs (138kb)

Where can I travel?

Your Oyster card can be used throughout the London Fare Zones. As well as Southern services you can use the same card on buses, London Underground, DLR, London Overground and National Rail services within the London Zones.

Oyster Extension Permit (no longer required)

From 22 May 2011, if you want to travel beyond the zones covered by your Travelcard on National Rail services within London you won't need to set an Oyster Extension Permit on your Oyster card before you travel.

Change of ticket types

The introduction of Oyster pay as you go also means that Rail Off-Peak Day Return tickets were withdrawn on 2nd January 2010. So instead of buying an Off-Peak Day Return you can use an Oyster card which is available for a £5.00 returnable deposit from many locations. And then top up the value of the card to cover the cost of your journey.

The £1 Child Off-Peak Travelcard (for children travelling with an adult Travelcard holder) will not be available from 2nd January 2010 as Off-Peak child fares on Oyster pay as you go are ‘capped’ at £1.40 So as long as children travel during the Off-Peak, they will not pay more than £1.40 for all their journeys.

Fares

If you travel Off-Peak only, fares using Oyster will either be cheaper or the same as before. However if you purchase an Off-Peak day return ticket but return during Peak hours, there may be a slight increase in costs.

Daily fare caps

An extra benefit of Oyster pay as you go is the daily fare cap. In simple terms, if you begin your journey Off-Peak but decide to later in the day during the evening Peak, your fare will remain capped at the Off-Peak level. And children using Oyster have a daily cap of only £1.40.

For details of Oyster pay as you go fares, please visit tfl.gov.uk

Child Oyster fares on National Rail

Age	Oyster pay as you go
Under 5	Free
5-10	50% of the adult fare with a 5-10 Oyster photocard. There is also an Off-Peak price cap of £1.40 for children
11-15	50% of the adult fare with a 11-15 Oyster photocard. There is also an Off-Peak price cap of £1.40 for children
16+	Child rate with 16+ photocard for 7 Day, Monthly or longer period Travelcard Seasons. Also, 50% of the adult fare when using pay as you go on the Underground, buses, trams and Docklands Light Railway (including 18 year olds in full time education)

If you currently use a Railcard, several discounts are also available on the Oyster pay as you go single fare and the daily cap. Disabled, Senior, 16-25, Gold Card and HM Forces Railcard discounts can be loaded onto your Oyster card at any London Underground or London Overground ticket office.

These Railcards provide a 1/3rd discount on the Off-Peak Oyster pay as you go fare for most journeys on Southern services within the London fare zone and a 1/3rd discount on the Off-Peak daily price cap (Disabled Railcard discounts are also available during Peak times).Your Oyster card will then be ‘flagged/loaded' with the Railcard discount. Including the card's expiry date.

Due to limitations of the pay as you go system, railcard discounts for Friends and Family Railcards, Network Cards or Partner Cards are not available on Oyster pay as you go.

Oyster Conditions of Use

The Oyster Conditions of Use set out your rights and obligations when using an Oyster card to travel on Southern as well as other Train operating Companies on National Rail services. They apply in addition to the conditions set out in the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, which you can view and download from the following link:

National Rail Conditions of Carriage (284 KB)

Where these Conditions of Use differ from the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, they take precedence when you are using your Oyster card. Please click on the following link to download a PDF version of the Oyster conditions of use:

Oyster Conditions of Use (178 KB)