I just returned from a European trip and after riding the London Underground I will never complain about Metro's fares again. The base fare to enter the London Underground is 4 pounds or the equivalent of almost $8 US. For some trips it was cheaper for two people to take one of London's expensive cabs.
Heh. It is expensive, but having Oyster PAYG cap itself at the daily travelcard rates is helpful and a good way to railfan the system.
Was your trip just to London or anywhere else? Did you get caught in the labor action or was it all smooth sailing for you? Any Routemaster rides? Regardless, I hope you had a good time on your travels, I really like London as a city and its transit system is good, too.
Yes, I knew about the Oyster cards but I wasn't there long enough to make it work for me. I was in London for about three days then I boarded a cruise ship in Southampton (Queen Victoria) and spent the next 14 days visiting Belgium, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Russia and Estonia. I didn't ride a Routemaster but I did ride a Class 444 'Desiro' emu on Southwest Trains from Victoria station to Southampton. When we returned to Southampton we rode a chartered coach (Irizar body, Volvo engine) from Southampton Ocean Terminal to Heathrow.
I'm surprised to hear you say Oyster wouldn't have been worthwhile, I can't think of any circumstance where it isn't worthwhile but I'll take your word for it.
Sounds like a very nice cruise.
We weren't on a transit tour. We were touring museums including of course the ever popular London Transport Museum. Our hotel was across from Hyde Park so we did a lot of walking and really only took the Underground twice so there was no opportunity to make the Oyster card work.