Great Western Coffee Shop

I recall that when I was very young,
some one stated that you could buy an underground ticket and just travel around the underground all day long as long as you did not get out at any station.

Would this still apply today?

Is there a time limit on how long you could remain underground?

With Oyster there are maximum journey times. Anything from 1 hour 10 minutes for a journey wholly in Zone 1, to 3 hours 25 minutes for a journey across 11 zones. Time of day and day of the week affect these maximums too. Tap out after the maximum permitted time for your journey and you will he charged 2x the maximum fare, which is currently £9.40, so a charge of £18.80.

There are no maximum journey times for TfL paper single or return tickets*. However, if you are caught off route by a revenue inspector then you'd likely be charged a penalty fare. Even if you've stayed on route (say, by going back and forth) they may question you when they note the time the ticket was issued - possibility of a penalty fare too.

The only legit way to travel around without exiting is to have a paper Travelcard. TfL no longer sell these, but Zones 1-6 paper Travelcards can be purchased from National Rail stations. Within Zones 1-6 that'll cost £15.20 (£10 with railcard) Off Peak, or £21.50 Peak. Out boundary Travelcards vary in price depending on origin station.



*TfL paper tickets are being withdrawn in 2024.

Back in January 2008, I was staying in Earls Court (roughly half way between Earls Court and Baron's Court stations) whilst daughter was in hospital. I woke up early one Sunday morning and just to dust off the cobwebs and waste a bit of time, took a trip from Earls Court to Baron's Court via Edgware Road and Hammersmith using my Oyster card. When I checked my Oyster account, I had only be charged for the one single fare.

A long-term aspiration to stop selling them, but still available as confirmed by the TfL website quoted below. There's a lot to be done first to provide alternatives that broadly work for everyone including Railcard holders, families etc before it can happen, plus the small matter of renegotiating the current collective agreement with the various Train Operating Companies.

You can buy Day Travelcards (paper ticket):
   

• From ticket machines at Tube, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line and National Rail stations