ISWC 2019

Public transport in London

Transport is London is easy, relatively cheap (depending on the option) and generally quick. There are lots of options:

The “Underground”/”Tube” The tube is London’s subway system. It’s extensive and frequent. Pricing is inexpensive and done by how many zones you cross. Although you can buy paper tickets, don’t - it’s cheaper and faster to use contactless payment at the gates. This can be done using a pre-pay “Oyster” card, or you can just use a contactless credit or debit bank card. Contactless payments have a daily cap too, so if you’re sightseeing you can take as many trips as you like in a day and stop paying at the cap. Read more

Buses London’s famous red double-decker buses are frequent and cheap. They work in tandem with the tube, sharing the same payment system. So the easiest thing to do is to hop onto a bus and pay with your Oyster or contactless bank card.

Taxis Only black cabs can operate in London from a Taxi rank or be hailed. Best avoided during rush hours since traffic is very slow in many places. Can be expensive compared to the other options
Uber/app-based drivers: These are commonly used in London and usually a cheaper choice than Black cabs.

Bike rental: Like many cities, London has various app-based bike rental schemes. The most common is the “Boris bike” that has automatic rental stations all over. https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/santander-cycles

Walk! London is a very walkable city, albeit you’ll probably want Google Maps to hand to check you’re going where you think you are (no manhattan grids here!). In central London walking is very safe and very popular.