Pound-wise England : Save Money and Ride London Tube

If you plan to spend any time in London, you’ll probably spend at least some of that time traveling on the Underground system, also known as the “tube,” which has just completed its 100th year of service.

Moving about via the tube is relatively painless if you don’t mind the throngs of humanity that will be sharing it with you. Actually, the experience is often enlivened by street performers--moved underground--whose music echoes throughout the tiled halls of the stations.

Like everything else in England, transportation is expensive--a one-way adult ticket for Underground travel in central London is about $1.40--so if you expect to be on the go during your stay, you might want to purchase one of several discount tickets. The most difficult part may be deciding which ticket is the most economical for you.

Travelcards, the tickets that give you freedom to travel on London’s tube, buses and trains, including the Docklands Light Railway, can be purchased either in the United States or London for varying numbers of days and distances, and are available for both adults and children. Thoroughly confused? Let’s try to sort out your choices. Note: Special rates apply to kids between the ages of 5 and 15. Children under the age of 5 travel free.

The London Visitor Travelcard, which is available in the United States, can be purchased directly from BritRail or through your travel agent for either three ($18), four ($23) or seven days ($40). The cost for children is $8, $10 and $16. Visitor Travelcards are good for travel throughout all six London Underground zones, including the journey from Heathrow Airport into the city via the tube.

Before leaving the United States, you’ll receive a voucher to exchange for your Visitor Travelcard at any of the London Transport Travel Information Centres listed on the voucher jacket.

Along with your Visitor Travelcard, you’ll receive a book of discount coupons for various London attractions and shops. Though the coupons may vary from time to time, they usually include discounts of about $1 each for such popular tourist destinations as Tower Bridge, Madame Tussaud’s and the Cabinet War Rooms.

If you wait until you arrive in London to purchase a Travelcard, you can get one for a single day or seven days, but the three- and four-day cards are not available there. Nor will you receive the discount coupons. However, you will have a choice of the area of travel.

One-Day Travelcards can be purchased for two zones ($4.05), four ($4.55) or six ($5.10). Children’s rates are a flat $1.75. But beware: One-Day Travelcards cannot be used before 9:30 a.m. on weekdays.

You can purchase these cards at any of the Underground ticket offices or self-service ticket machines in the Underground stations, but Photocards are needed to purchase the One-Day Travelcard for 14- and 15-year-olds. These Photocards can be obtained only at main London-area post offices or at London Transport Travel Information Centres, located in the Euston and Victoria train stations, in major Underground stations and at Heathrow Airport. The cards are free, but you’ll need a passport-size photo and proof of age such as the child’s passport.

The seven-day Travelcard Season is available for one zone ($13.65), two ($17.50), three ($24.15), four ($30.10), five ($37.80) or all six zones ($38.50). A child’s seven-day Travelcard Season costs between $5.25 (one zone) and $10.85 (six zones). Travelcard Seasons are also available for longer periods of time.

Photocards are needed by both adults and children to purchase seven-day and extended-period cards (this does not apply if you purchase your Visitor Travelcards in the United States, according to Patricia Titley, director of marketing for BritRail in New York). You can obtain your free adult Photocard as well as purchase your Travelcard Season at any Underground station (remember, child-rate Photocards can be obtained only at the locations listed above).

Unless you plan to travel extensively outside the central London area, a two- or three-zone Travelcard should suffice, enabling you to visit a major portion of the outlying area. If, however, you plan to use the Underground between Heathrow and London, you’ll need a six-zone card.

Using the Travelcard is easy and saves you the time and trouble of purchasing a new ticket each time you ride the tube. Just insert it in the slot at any gate displaying a green “Ready” message, retrieve it when it pops up from another slot and move through the gate that has opened for you. If you have any problems or questions, an attendant is always on hand to assist.

If you land at Heathrow with only one or two small bags, you might consider taking the Underground into the city, a trip which can be covered by your London Visitor Travelcard or six-zone Travelcard Season. Without a Travelcard, the adult fare by Underground is $3.70, $1.40 for children.

If you’re hampered by several pieces of luggage, the Airbus will be your best bet. One of those familiar red English double-deckers, the Airbus offers two routes between London’s main airport and the city, with stops at or near most of the major hotels.

None of the Travelcards can be used on the Airbus, but tickets--both one way and round trip--can be purchased from the driver in either British or American currency. An adult ticket is $10 one way and $16 round trip; for children it’s $6 and $10.

From Gatwick Airport, south of the city, express trains run regularly to London’s Victoria Station. The adult one-way fare is $11.05; children are $5.55. Round-trip tickets, valid for one month, cost double that.

Before leaving England, consider visiting the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden, which is celebrating the Tube Centenary with a special exhibition through Oct. 6. Exhibits include computer simulators that allow you to try the controls of both the earliest and latest tube trains. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $4.55 for adults, $2.10 for children, $10.50 for families.

For more information about London Travelcards, contact your travel agent or write London Transport Travel Information, 55 Broadway, London SW1H 0BD, England. Or call BritRail Travel International at (800) 677-8585 or (714) 970-2639.