Do seniors travel for free on the tube?
UK senior citizens aged over 60, who live in a London borough, are entitled to free travel on the London Underground if they have one of the senior passes described below.
UK senior citizens who don’t live in London, and all foreign tourists, have to pay a normal adult fare.
Senior Railcards are available to everyone over 60, but don’t apply to all tube journeys (see below).
Can you use an OAP bus pass on the train?
If your OAP bus pass was issued in England, but by a non-London council, then it will only work on the bus – see senior bus fares for more information. They do not work on the London Underground.
If your OAP pass was issued by a London council (called a Freedom Pass) then it will work on both.
What is a Freedom Pass?
A Freedom Pass (also known as an Older Persons Freedom Pass) offers free travel to senior citizens if their principal home is in London, and they’re old enough to receive a woman’s state pension (regardless of whether they’re a man or woman).
A Freedom Pass is the size of a credit card and works in exactly the same way as an Oyster card – you simply tap it down on the big yellow Oyster readers that you find at the front of all TFL buses, and by the ticket barriers at London Underground stations.
Where can you use a Freedom Pass?
A Freedom Pass can be used on TFL buses, the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR), Elizabeth Line, London trams, and in standard class on most National Rail trains within London. But it is not valid on the Gatwick Express, Heathrow Express, or Southeastern high speed services to/from St Pancras and Stratford International. A complete list of all the National Rail routes which are excluded can be found on their map at londoncouncils.gov.uk.
Pensioners can also benefit from a senior discount rate on the Uber Thames Clipper and IFS Cloud Cable Car.
The Freedom Pass is also part of the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) – denoted by the red rose symbol on the front. This entitles you to free bus travel on local services the length and breadth of England (but off-peak hours only – usually 9.30 AM to 11 PM Mon-Fri and all day Sat-Sun). And it only works with local bus services – not coaches, trams, trains, or any other form of public transport outside London. And it doesn’t work in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland either.
What are the time restrictions on a Freedom Pass?
A Freedom Pass does have some time restrictions. Senior citizens can only travel for free outside of the morning peak period (4.30 AM to 9 AM, Monday to Friday). If you need to travel before 9 AM then you’ll have to pay a regular tube fare. There are no time restrictions at the weekend.
Bear in mind that National Rail trains have a different peak period to London Underground tube trains. For most National Rail trains within London you need to travel after 9.30 AM Monday to Friday, or any time during the weekend, but you should check before you travel to be sure.
How can you apply for a Freedom Pass?
Pensioners can apply for a Freedom Pass online at londoncouncils.gov.uk.
In order to qualify for a pass you need to be old enough to receive a woman’s state pension (regardless of whether you’re a man or woman). If you’re not sure whether you meet the age criteria then you can enter your date of birth into their eligibility calculator.
You will also need to provide an active email address, a passport-style photograph, proof of age, and proof of your address within a London borough. (Note: If you work inside London but live outside London then you will not be eligible for a pass.)
Suitable documents to prove your age include a birth certificate, passport, driving licence or medical card. Documents which can prove your address include a recent council tax bill, utility bill or television licence. Bank or building society statements are not accepted.
What is a 60+ London Oyster photocard?
A 60+ London Oyster Photocard is aimed at people aged over-60 who’s principal living address is in London, but are not yet old enough to qualify for a Freedom Pass.
These passes are used in exactly the same way as an Oyster card. All you have to do is tap it down on the big yellow Oyster readers that you find at the front of all the buses, or by the London Underground ticket barriers.
Where can you use a 60+ Oyster photocard?
A 60+ London Oyster Photocard gives senior citizens free travel on London buses, the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR), Elizabeth Line (excluding the stretch between West Drayton and Reading), trams, and most of the National Rail trains within London. It does not work with any transport services outside of London.
Pensioners also get concessions on the Uber Thames Clipper and IFS Cloud Cable Car.
What are the time restrictions on a 60+ London Oyster photocard?
A 60+ London Oyster Photocard does have some time restrictions. Free bus and tube travel only applies after 9 AM (Monday-Friday) or any time during the weekend. If you need to travel before 9 AM then you’ll have to pay a normal bus and tube fare.
For most of the National Rail trains within London you need to travel after 9.30 AM (Monday-Friday) or any time during the weekend, but the timings differ between routes. Check this map to be sure: tfl.gov.uk/60-plus-london-free-travel-national-rail-map.pdf.
Note: Unlike a normal Oyster card, it’s not possible to load any extra credit onto a 60+ London Oyster Photocard. So if you need to pay a normal fare then you’ll have to purchase a completely separate ticket.
How do you apply for a 60+ Oyster photocard?
Senior citizens can apply for a 60+ London Oyster photocard two weeks before their 60th birthday at tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel.
The photocard costs £20 and you need to provide them with an active email address, a valid UK driving licence or digital image of your machine-readable passport (which includes your photo, personal details and passport number), a digital passport-style photo of yourself, plus a debit or credit card that is registered to your home address to prove you live in a London borough. You can also provide them with proof of address by showing them a recent utility bill or credit statement from your bank or building society.
If you can’t provide some of the items then the website gives you the option of printing off a verification letter which you can take into your local Post Office.
Every year you have the pass you have to pay an extra £10 fee and provide them with proof of address all over again.
And once you reach the state pension age you will need to bin the card and apply for a Freedom Pass instead. A Freedom Pass offers the same discounts, but is supplied by your local council rather than TFL.
Can tourists get a 60+ Oyster card?
No. Senior citizens from abroad cannot apply for any kind of senior pass. Only pensioners who live in London can get free travel on the tube.
What is a Senior Railcard?
A Senior Railcard is aimed at people aged over 60 and who are planning on using National Rail trains the length and breadth of Great Britain, and maybe an Oyster card on the London Underground.
For £30 a year, or £70 for three years, the discount pass will grant you a ⅓-off a wide range of National Rail train tickets and off-peak Oyster fares.
The average saving made by each pensioner over the course of a year is £98.
Can you use a Senior Railcard on the London Underground?
You can use a Senior Railcard on the London underground, but it works best on National Rail trains, where it grants you a 33% discount on Standard, First Class Anytime, Off-Peak and Advance fares. You can also use it on the Gatwick Express, Heathrow Express and Stansted Express.
It’s not quite as useful on the tube because it only applies to single journeys and the off-peak daily cap on Oyster. It does not apply to peak time journeys. And it doesn’t apply to cash fares or contactless fares either.
Off-peak on the London Underground is outside the hours of 6.30 AM-9.30 AM, and 4 PM-7 PM (Monday to Friday). Weekends and bank holidays are always classed as off-peak.
You can also get 33% knocked-off the cost of an Anytime 1-Day Travelcard – but only for zones 1-9 (which is more than most people will need), and only if it’s bought as part of a longer National Rail journey into London from outside London (subject to a minimum fare of £20.30).
Does the Senior Railcard have time restrictions?
Yes. The Senior Railcard is not valid for peak-time journeys within London, or morning peak-time journeys within the South East Network area.
Peak time on the London Underground is any journey that starts between 6.30 AM-9.30 AM, or 4 PM-7 PM (Monday to Friday).
The morning peak period for National Rail trains is a bit more complicated because it varies between routes, so it’s best to check your journey with the ticket office staff before buying your railcard.
Where can you buy a Senior Railcard?
Senior Railcards can be bought online at railcard.co.uk. You can also get them from a manned ticket window at a National Rail station. The National Rail stations in central London are Blackfriars, Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Euston, Farringdon, King’s Cross St Pancras, Liverpool Street, London Bridge, Marylebone, Paddington, Vauxhall, Victoria and Waterloo.
Bear in mind that you will have to provide them with proof of eligibility (like a UK driving licence, passport, national identity card or birth certificate), and a passport-size photo.
Senior Railcards come in two different versions: plastic and digital. Plastic ones will be sent through the post, whereas digital ones come with a Railcard app which can be downloaded on up to two different devices (like your mobile phone). It can also be loaded straight onto an existing Oyster card.
The author Craig Cross owns city-guide.london and has spent the last decade reviewing the capital’s landmarks, attractions and hotels. His guidebook London Squire is available from Amazon
Your comments and questions
Suzy Are you able to use a senior rail card when paying with contactless
Staff Hi Suzy. No, you can load a senior rail card onto an Oyster card, but you can’t load it onto your bank card, so it doesn’t work with contactless fares.
Alan S Morgan I have a 60+ Oyster card. I shall be travelling before 9.30am. How can I update my card?
Staff Hi Alan. They've changed the times now so you can travel after 9 AM instead of 9.30 AM, but if that is still too late then you'll just have to pay a normal fare. The easiest way would be to use your contactless bank card.
ELSPETH Hello. On my Oyster card it includes senior rail discount would I get this discount on a contactless card please
Staff Hi Elspeth. Unfortunately not, because a contactless card is just your normal everyday bank card. There's no way to load a railcard onto it.
Ann Winder I have an OAP bus pass can i use it on the tube
Staff Hi Ann, if you mean a London Freedom Pass then yes, but if it was issued by a council outside London then no. If it was issued by an English council and has a red rose symbol on it then you can only use it on the buses
MAL Are cheaper fares for OAPs on the underground only available to Londoners or UK pensioners please? I am a pensioner from Wales
Staff Hi Mal. That's right, yes. You need to get hold of a Freedom Pass or 60+ Oyster card, but they're only available to people who live in London. National bus passes work on London's buses if they were issued by an English council, but not Welsh ones unfortunately.
Rahmah Hi, we are Malaysians (3 paxs). Can we buy weekly ticket on senior citizen fares. We will be visiting London for 10 days. Thank you
Staff Hi Rahmah. Unfortunately not, no. Cheap fares for senior citizens are only available for UK citizens or people who live in London. An Oyster card will probably work out cheaper for you, rather than a weekly travelcard, but it all depends on how many journeys you're making in total. Bear in mind that a weekly travelcard has to be used over seven consecutive days. You can't spread the seven days over a stay of ten
Mr Jones I have a bus pass as I an 67 yrs old , can I get an oap rail card . So I and my wife can get discounted rail fare . She is 64 yrs old . Are we eligible for it as a couple even though she is not 66 yrs yet.
Staff Hi Mr Jones. Senior rail cards are valid for everyone aged 60 and over, so your wife will be eligible as well. You’ll both have to get one if you both want the discounts
Mrs smith Has the oap rail card for 1 yr stopped now. Only 3 yrs available.
Staff Hi Mrs Smith. Its still available, £30 for one year. If you click one of the links mentioned above for trainline or nationalrail then they’ll give you options for 1 year or 3 years
Artifex Isn’t it some form of human rights discrimination that while pensioners who live in London boroughs are entitled to free tube travel, pensioners from outside London are not?
Staff Hi Artifex. Freedom Passes aren't funded by the government. Local councils pay for them through their residents’ council tax.
Eliza T A bit confusing. 60+ oyster card allows me to travel free during Non-peak hours for London Underground as stated above. At the same time, under Senior Rail card, it stated that I can get 33% off on national Rail cost and non-peak London Underground (tube travel). Is it some confusion on the non-peak travel for London Underground? Is it free or 33% off? I am over 60 and move to and immigrate to London soon from oversea.
Staff Hi Eliza. The 60+ Oyster card is only available for people who live in London, whereas the Railcard can be bought by anyone. So If you live in London you're better off just getting the 60+ Oyster card. The only reason you'd want to get the railcard as well is if you were planning on travelling to other parts of the country, then you could get 33% off the national rail tickets.
Kris D Hello, I live in Liverpool and planning to spend a week this summer in London. I understand I can travel in London buses for free. I also have an Oyster card. What other cheaper travel options do I have for the duration of our stay. Thank you. Kris
Staff Hi Kris. The cheapest fares on the tube are always with Oyster and contactless (which are both the same), so if you already have an Oyster card I would use that on the tube and your national bus pass on the bus. (If you're staying for a whole seven days then it's possible that a weekly travelcard might work out cheaper, but only if you make two or more journeys on each of the seven days, or three or more journeys on six of the days)
Trevor I live just outside London (Ashford Surrey) and have to travel into London regularly for work. I have a senior person rail card, which gives me discount on the off-peak rail travel. Can I link the rail card to an oyster card to get cheaper underground travel?
Staff Hi Trevor. You can do, yes. you have to register your oyster card on the TFL website first (you’ve probably already done this) and then you just take both cards (or digital pass) to a member of TFL staff at the station and ask them to load it on. Then the discount will be applied automatically when you use the oyster card
Sarah Hello, we are going to be going to London for a week from May4-11th (flying from Canada). We are both over 60. We will be staying near Kew Bridge (zone 3).After reading about all the different types of cards and passes etc, it looks like the easiest (and cheapest?) option for us will be to use a contactless card and just tap on and off. From what I can gather the daily cap would be 9.60 pounds. It doesn't look like we wold be entitled to an over 60 discount. Is this correct?
Staff Hi Sarah. You certainly could use a contactless card if you wanted to, but if it's a foreign card then your bank might charge some kind of transaction fee every time you buy something with it over here, which will bump up the price of each ticket. So you should check that first. You can't get over 60s discount if you don't live in London, and it's too late to have a Visitor Oyster Card posted over to Canada, so we would recommend getting an Oyster card when you arrive, and loading it up with enough money to cover the 'daily cap' each day - city-guide.london/transport/oyster-cards.php - you can get them from heathrow if that's where you're arriving at. £9,60 is the daily cap for zones 1-3. the daily cap for heathrow to central london is £14,90 (zones 1-6)... I hope you enjoy the Coronation!
Maureen Hayhurst How much is the fare from Victoria to Waterloo?
Staff Hi Maureen. It depends on how you pay. All the different fares are shown here - city-guide.london/transport/train-journey.php?from=victoria&to=waterloo
Bob I'm a pensioner living in Leeds but coming early September to London for 2 weeks how can I make my travel costs more acceptable as I wish to travel around London to see various sites
Staff Hi Bob. If you've got an OAP bus pass then that will give you free travel on London's buses after 9 AM, as long as it has the red rose symbol on it (it should do). Unfortunately you need to be living in a London borough to get free travel on the tube, so the cheapest fares will be with your contactless card - city-guide.london/transport/contactless-cards.php
Colinne All answers for living in London. What is there for pensioners visiting London
Staff Hi Colinne. Senior citizens living outside london don't get any discounts on the trains (apart from the senior railcard described above), but you can use an English council supplied bus pass for free travel on the buses - city-guide.london/transport/senior-bus-fares.php
Ste Hi how do I get to Heathrow Terminal 4 from kings cross and how much cost please travel at 5.30 pm
Staff Hi Ste. You can just get the Piccadilly line. The prices are shown here - city-guide.london/transport/train-journey.php?from=kings-cross-st-pancras&to=heathrow-terminal-4
Rory Hi, as an Australian passport holder aged 64, am I eligible for the Senior Rail card?
Staff Hi Rory. You should be fine. According to their terms: "We accept machine readable passport codes from all countries except for those issued in the Philippines and Bangladesh prior to 2010" - senior-railcard.co.uk/help/faqs/visiting-outside-GB/
Jean Can I get a free Oyster card to load as a senior citizen from outside london
Staff Hi Jean. Unfortunately not, no. If you live outside london the only free travel you get is with your OAP bus pass on the buses, as described here - city-guide.london/transport/senior-bus-fares.php
Syl Can I load a senior rail card onto my visitor oyster Card? Presumably I will need to have my visitor oyster Card when I apply for my senior rail card or can I load my senior rail card later?
Staff Hi Syl. I don't think that's possible, because you need to register the oyster card online at the TFL website before you can load a railcard on to it. But they don't allow you to register visitor oyster cards, only regular oyster cards. You could buy a regular oyster card once you arrive in London, and load the railcard on then, but you won't be able to have it posted overseas before you arrive (I think you said you were from New Zealand in another post)
Jacquie Sorry sure you have been asked this many times. We are 66 and 68. We are in London for 3 nights in July, we need the flexibility to travel anytime on the underground. Do we just get an Oyster card each, or is there a better alternative? Thank you
Staff Hi Jacquie. If you want to travel at any time then the senior passes described above are no good (and you have to live in a London borough to get them). If you're from the UK then we recommend just using your contactless bank card because you won't have to pay the Oyster deposit. If you're from abroad then we recommend getting an Oyster card - city-guide.london/transport/oyster-contactless-travelcard-comparison.php