Oyster Card in Zones 1 and 2 and KCL Denmark Hill

Going to KCL (Guys) in September. Accommodation at Kings College Hall Denmark Hill. Will be 19 years of age next April.

What are my best travel options cost wise (16+ or 18+ Oyster card). Will I need to get Tube/bus and Natioanl rail credit on the card as I understand that Denmark Hill is served by a national rail train and not the tube (how much does this cost daily)??? (coming from abroad so I have no idea how Oyster works except what I have read on this and similar forums).

Reply 1

Surprise

you're only eligible for an 18+ Oyster card, to get a 16+ one you have to be at college doing A levels etc.

without an Oyster card it costs about £2.30 each way to get from Denmark Hill to London Bridge or Blackfriars (depends which campus you're based at), so assuming you make this journey at least twice a day, it will be cheaper for you to get a zones 1-2 travelcard on your Oyster.

a weekly travelcard costs £16.90 or a monthly one costs £64.90... this will cover all National Rail journeys you make from Denmark Hill or anywhere in zones 1-2, plus all tube journeys within zones 1-2, and bus journeys in all London zones.

Reply 2

Evolin

13

woo! This one I know!

You could get the train as described above by surprise. With the 30% discount it will cost you the prices above for the weekly or monthly travel card.

However, now being in my fourth year at kings and travelling to and from kings regularly I can give you a few other options off the top of my head.

1) take the bus! A 20 minute bus journey, even at about 8 in the morning means it is quick and saves you waiting /or running for the train which only come one every half hour. There are a number of buses that come from denmark hill to kings. This is what I do and its 90p a journey atm on a standard oyster card.

2) Take the shuttle bus. Which is FREE! This is a new service that has just opened from kings hospital to guy's hospital. Kings' students can use it but I'm not sure how packed it is in the morning if it's full of KCH students!

3) Have a chat to your hall mates and see how they get there. I remember most of them used to use the bus when my friends went there.

Hope that helps. any other questions- feel free to ask!

Check out the KCL wiki on this forum aswell. Would be very helpful

Reply 3

IB Freakout

OP

Thanks for these suggestions. Some other questions on the travel card. Is a monthly card valid for a calendar month or one month from the date of purchase. If I start in mid september is there any point in buying a monthly travel card ??

Will an Oyster Card on its own work on the train from Denmark Hill to London Bridge or must I have a travel card on it as well from the outset. If I do not buy a Travel card can I just use my Oyster card Credit to travel on the train. I take it the Oyster card will work on the bus and the shuttle is free. On this basis a Travel card may not be the most cost effective.

Also can I get a Student Oyster card immediately I arrive in London or do I need paperwork to confirm my bona fides and wait the issue of the Card.

Reply 4

Evolin

13

IB Freakout

Thanks for these suggestions. Some other questions on the travel card. Is a monthly card valid for a calendar month or one month from the date of purchase. If I start in mid september is there any point in buying a monthly travel card ??

Will an Oyster Card on its own work on the train from Denmark Hill to London Bridge or must I have a travel card on it as well from the outset. If I do not buy a Travel card can I just use my Oyster card Credit to travel on the train. I take it the Oyster card will work on the bus and the shuttle is free. On this basis a Travel card may not be the most cost effective.

Also can I get a Student Oyster card immediately I arrive in London or do I need paperwork to confirm my bona fides and wait the issue of the Card.

Sorry for the late reply.
I didn't notice you replied back. I hope this is still useful.

monthly oyster cards are valid for a month - no matter when it is bought.

You can use your oyster card from denmark hill to london bridge only if it has a travelcard on it. If you use the 'top-up' system then you can't use it at denmark hill and need to buy a paper ticket. So thats the answer to your next question- oyster top-up does not work on national rail stations as of yet (as opposed to underground stations).

And yes- you can use top up on your oyster card for the bus. You can also get 30% discount on a bus pass on your student oyster.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/seasontickets/2917.aspx

It would cost you £9.10 a week, or £35 monthly for bus passes on your student oyster and would be cost effectiv if using buses more than twice a day (twice a day for 5 days would break even).

And you can apply for the oyster card online now to arrive at KCH for by the time you get there. Check out TFL website. Then no paper work need be filled out.

Oyster Card in Zones 1 and 2 and KCL Denmark Hill

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