How to Use Public Transport in London Like a Local

If you're visiting London for the first time, then you're going to need to know how to use

London's transport system. Today, I will run through the basics, plus a few tips, so you

can be using the London transport system like a local.

The first thing that you need to know is some of the slang or local terminology that we

use. The most common one is Tube. So the Tube is the train that runs in the London Underground.

That works. So we wouldn't call it a train; we'd say it's the Tube or a Tube station,

which is a London Underground station. And that's where you catch the Tube from. So Tube

is basically the replacement word for train, and we will just interchange that with different

words. The next one is TFL, which stands for Transport

For London. There are a couple of modes of transport. So we've already covered off the

Tube, which is the Underground network. Next is the buses. So you'll get both double-decker

buses and single-storey buses, and they will all be red. Most people like to go on the

double-decker buses, right up to the front seat, so when you're going through London,

you can see some of the iconic attractions. We then have what's called The National Rail.

National Rail is the national service that runs through Scotland, Wales, and England,

and this is where you do majority of your long-distance travel. And they do have services

that go a bit further outside of London, too. You will hear the Overground, which is slightly

different than the Underground. It's a whole overground network, but that is also run by

TFL. Then we have a few other modes of transport.

So we have the Thames Clipper. This is the ferry across the Thames. One of the ways that

I recommend using the ferry is if you wanted to go from the tower of London to Greenwich;

it's a lot quicker route to get there. Next is the Emirates Cable Car. This is mainly

a tourist attraction. We don't really use it too much as a local, but it is a little

bit of fun to catch. And finally, we do have some trams. These

are mainly run on the outskirts of London, so if you're kind of staying in Central London,

you won't see any trams at all. There are a couple ways that you can get access

to the London Transport System. So one is an Oyster card, and no, it's not the slippery

one; that's a shellfish. It is this card here. Or you can use a contactless card. So a contactless

card is one that you can just tap on and pay. Not all countries have access to this, so

you need to double-check whether your card is compatible with the contactless system.

And if you've got Apple Pay or Google Pay on your phone, then you can also tap your

There is also a visitor's version of the Oyster card that you can buy, and they will give

you all the discounts. So they might give you 10% off to The London Eye, for example.

So that can be a good idea, if you're looking for some savings on attractions, and you can

get sent the visitor Oyster card to your home address before you arrive here.

I'm just going to run you through how to buy an Oyster card and the options that you have

available. So I'm just going to select Get a New Oyster Card, and it goes into the number

of Oyster cards that I wish to purchase. So I will go to Confirm. Now it gives you two

options, whether to do top up, pay-as-you-go. Or you buy a travel card.