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What is Oyster?

an Oyster card Oyster is a plastic smartcard you can use instead of paper tickets. You can put Travelcards, Bus & Tram season tickets and pay as you go credit on it.

Oyster is the cheapest way to pay for single journeys on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground and most National Rail services in London.

You can:

Store credit to pay as you go
Set up Auto-top up so you never run out of credit
Add Travelcards if they're for longer than a day
Add Bus & Tram Passes
Add Bus & Tram and Jobcentre Plus Travel Discounts
Add National Railcards or Gold Card discounts
Get student and child discounts with an Oyster photocard
Protect your card from loss or theft

Find out where to get Oyster cards

Oyster cards are reusable
Just keep topping up with credit or renew your Travelcard or Bus & Tram Pass on the same Oyster card when you need to.

Flexible
Oyster is smart - store pay as you go credit and a Travelcard on your card and it will work out which to use.

You will need to pay a £5 deposit when you get a new Oyster card. You can get the deposit refunded when you return your Oyster card to us. Find out more about refunds.

Protect your Oyster card

Protecting your Oyster card means no one can use your card's credit, Travelcards or Bus & Tram Passes once you've reported it lost or stolen. You may also be eligible for a refund or replacement for the remaining pay as you go credit.

If you want to buy monthly or longer period Travelcards or Bus & Tram Passes, you'll need to Register it first (see below).

To protect your card

Go online
Or pick up and complete an Oyster registration form at your local Oyster Ticket Stop, Tube or London Overground station, selected National Rail stations or a Travel Information Centre. You must take your Oyster card with you

Register your Oyster card

You'll need to register your Oyster card if you want to buy monthly or longer period Travelcards or Bus & Tram Passes on your Oyster card - they will be protected.

To register, complete an Oyster registration form and take it with your Oyster card to:

Tube, London Overground and some National Rail station ticket offices
Oyster Ticket Stops
Travel Information Centre

If you have protected your card online, you can register it at a Tube station. To do this, take a print out of the card overview page from your online account (as proof of ownership) and ask a member of staff to help you register.

If your card is registered or protected

You can get your money back if you report it lost or stolen.

If your card is not registered or protected

You can't get your money back if its lost or stolen.

Visitor cards cannot be registered or protected.