Cash free buses
Ways to pay
There are different ways to pay for your bus fare:
- A contactless payment card to pay as you go
- An Oyster card with pay as you go credit, Travelcard or Bus & Tram Pass
- A Visitor Oyster card
- A Day Travelcard or a One day Bus & Tram Pass

A pay as you go adult fare is £1.50 with a contactless payment, Oyster, or Visitor Oyster card. If you make another bus or tram journey within an hour of touching in on a bus or tram, your second journey will be free.
UK issued contactless payment cards are accepted, just look out for the contactless symbol. If you're visiting London from overseas then you will need to check if your card will be accepted first.
One more bus journey to get home
If you don't have enough credit on your Oyster card to pay the £1.50 fare or your Bus & Tram Pass or Travelcard has just expired, you can make one more journey on a bus. You must then top up your pay as you go credit to clear the negative balance before you can use your Oyster card again or before you can renew a Travelcard or Bus & Tram Pass.
Where to get or top up your Oyster card
- Oyster online
- Oyster app
- Oyster Ticket Stops
- Tube, London Overground and TfL Rail stations
- DLR stations (top up only at most stations)
- Visitor Centres
- Some National Rail stations in London
- TfL Customer Services on 0343 222 1234*
Auto top-up
Using Auto top-up means you'll never run out of pay as you go credit. When your balance goes below £20, we'll automatically top up your Oyster card with either £20 or £40 from your bank account.
Watch out for card clash
Card clash happens when a yellow card reader detects two or more Oyster, contactless payment or other smartcards at the same time.
If a card reader detects more than one card:
- It doesn't know which card to take payment from
- If you get a green light it could take payment from a card you did not intend to pay with
- If you get a red light it means you won't have paid for your journey
To avoid card clash, keep your Oyster and contactless payment cards separate and only touch the card you wish to use on the reader.
*Service and network charges may apply. Find out about TfL call charges for details.