Travelling for less is ideal for everyone. If you’re a teenager, then you could be missing out on the 11-15 Oyster Zip card for cheaper travel in London across multiple services
If you haven’t heard of it before or don’t know if it’s for you, then we can explain how it works so you can get free or discounted travel across lots of services in London.
How The 11-15 Oyster Zip Card Works
Find out if you should apply and save yourself some money travelling in the capital city.
Parents need to apply for this card, so make sure you’ve got one on hand if you’re interested in getting one.
First of all, you can apply for the 11-15 Oyster card if you are 10 years and 11 months all the way up until you’re 15.
You’ll keep the card for that entire time and it will expire on the September 30 after your 16 birthday. So, you could potentially be using it for a while beyond 15 as well.
After that, you can still get a 16+ Oyster card to save on city travel too.
With the photocard, you’ll get free travel on any bus or tram in London. You’ll also get a child rate on any Underground or Overground tickets. You can also get 50 per cent off National Rail tickets and adult rate tickets for the Thames River Boat service too.
As soon as it arrives, you can use it straight away. Just make sure you’re tapping it at the start and end of your train journeys. For buses and trams, you only need to do this when getting onto the vehicle.
You can top up the 11-15 Oyster card on the website so you’ve always got enough to get from A to B. If parents add it to the ‘My Cards’ section on their TFL account, you can set up automatic top-ups when the credit goes below a certain amount.
How To Apply For The Oyster Card
As we said, you’ll need to get an adult to apply for the 11-15 Oyster card. To do this, they’ll need to go through Transport For London and create or sign into their account.
Here, they’ll need to upload a passport-style of you. Personal information such as address, name, DOB and more will also need to be filled in . The whole process shouldn’t take very long as long as you have a photo prepared.
By entering your birthday, TFL will know which card you’re applying for. There are travel cards available from ages 5-17. Passport information will then verify your age and your application will be processed.
Parents will then be told via text and/or email about the progress of the 11-15 Oyster card. It should arrive within 3 weeks of applying.
If you don’t normally live in London, you can get a Young Visitor discount. This can be used on the Tube and Overground. You need to ask for it in person and the child must be present. However, it can be applied to a standard Oyster card and lasts up to 2 weeks.