London St Pancras International (STP)

Paying by contactless

• Adults can pay for the Tube by touching a contactless bank card, or a phone or watch with Apple Pay or Google Pay, on the yellow reader at the ticket gates as they go into the Tube and again at the end of the journey.
• Each person travelling on contactless needs a separate card or phone, but a phone or watch counts as a different card from the bank card linked to it, even on the same account, so one parent can pay for two people, one touching in with the card and the other with the phone.
• Use the same card/phone every time, and keep your phone charged, or you risk overpaying.
• Hold only one card or phone to the reader, and keep other cards away from it, or the reader may charge the wrong one.
• Many cards from abroad work, but your bank may charge an overseas transaction fee, and a phone linked to a non-UK card sometimes doesn’t work, so carry the card itself as well.
• Contactless only charges adult fares, so see Children’s tickets below for what children pay.
• If you use the same card or phone all day, Transport for London’s (TfL’s) daily cap stops your Tube and bus fares at £8.90 for Zones 1 and 2.

Children’s tickets

• Up to four children under 11 travel free with each paying adult on the Tube, and they don’t need a ticket or card.
• Children aged 11 to 15 pay the adult fare by contactless, or half fare with TfL’s Young Visitor discount on an Oyster card, which lasts up to 14 days.
• Staff at any Tube station, King’s Cross St Pancras included, can add the Young Visitor discount to an Oyster card or a Visitor Oyster card while the child is with you.
• An Oyster card costs £10.50, which TfL doesn’t refund, so for a single trip an 11 to 15-year-old pays less on the adult fare, but over a few days the discount saves more than the card costs, because it also halves their daily cap.

Paying at the station

• Adults pay about £3 for a Zone 1 journey on the Tube by contactless or Oyster.
• The Tube station’s ticket machines sell Oyster cards, single tickets and Travelcards, and a row of flags at the bottom of the start screen switches them from English to Français, Deutsch, Italiano, Español, 简体中文, हिन्दी, Português, 日本語, Polski, العربية, বাংলা, Ελληνικά, ગુજરાતી, ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, தமிழ், Türkçe or اردو.

Booking ahead online or in an app

• You don’t need to book the Tube ahead, because contactless or Oyster covers the trip.
• TfL’s Visitor Shop can post Visitor Oyster cards to you before you travel, for £10.50 per card plus postage, with £10 to £50 of credit on each, and they’re useful for anyone without a contactless card that works in the UK.

Tickets to avoid

• Don’t buy Oyster or Visitor Oyster cards for under-11s, who travel free, or for adults whose contactless card or phone works, because each card costs £10.50 and TfL doesn’t refund it.

Paying by contactless

• London buses don’t take cash, so adults pay by touching a contactless bank card, a phone or watch with Apple Pay or Google Pay, or an Oyster card on the yellow reader as they get on.
• You only touch in when you get on the bus, not when you get off.
• Each person travelling on contactless needs a separate card or phone, but a phone or watch counts as a different card from the bank card linked to it, even on the same account, so one parent can pay for two people, one touching in with the card and the other with the phone.
• Hold only one card or phone to the reader, and keep other cards away from it, or the reader may charge the wrong one.
• Many cards from abroad work, but your bank may charge an overseas transaction fee, and a phone linked to a non-UK card sometimes doesn’t work, so carry the card itself as well.
• Contactless only charges adult fares, so see Children’s tickets below for what children pay.
• If you use the same card or phone all day, Transport for London’s (TfL’s) daily cap stops your Tube and bus fares at £8.90 for Zones 1 and 2.

Children’s tickets

• Under-11s ride the bus free.
• Children aged 11 to 15 pay the adult fare by contactless, or half fare (85p, or 90p from 1 November 2026) with TfL’s Young Visitor discount on an Oyster card, the same discount as on the Tube.

Paying at the station

• Adults pay £1.75 a ride on the bus (£1.85 from 1 November 2026) by contactless or Oyster, and changing to another bus within an hour is free.

Paying by contactless

• Adults can pay for Thameslink and Southeastern high-speed trains by touching a contactless bank card, or a phone or watch with Apple Pay or Google Pay, on the yellow reader at the ticket gates at St Pancras and again at the end of the journey.
• Each person travelling on contactless needs a separate card or phone, but a phone or watch counts as a different card from the bank card linked to it, even on the same account, so one parent can pay for two people, one touching in with the card and the other with the phone.
• Use the same card/phone every time, and keep your phone charged, or you risk overpaying.
• Hold only one card or phone to the reader, and keep other cards away from it, or the reader may charge the wrong one.
• Many cards from abroad work, but your bank may charge an overseas transaction fee, and a phone linked to a non-UK card sometimes doesn’t work, so carry the card itself as well.
• Contactless only charges adult fares, so see Children’s tickets below for what children pay.
• If you use the same card or phone all day, Transport for London’s (TfL’s) daily cap stops your Thameslink, Tube and bus fares at £8.90 for Zones 1 and 2.

Children’s tickets

• Up to four children under 11 travel free with each paying adult on Thameslink from St Pancras to Farringdon, Blackfriars and London Bridge.
• Children aged 11 to 15 pay the adult fare on Thameslink by contactless, or half fare (£1.50 off-peak) with TfL’s Young Visitor discount on an Oyster card, as on the Tube.
• Under-5s travel free on Southeastern high-speed trains, but unlike on the Tube and Thameslink, 5 to 10-year-olds don’t.
• Children aged 5 to 15 need a child ticket for Southeastern high-speed trains, at about half the adult fare, from a ticket machine, because contactless only charges adult fares.

Paying at the station

• Adults pay the same fare on Thameslink as on the Tube, about £3 for a Zone 1 journey, by contactless or Oyster.
• Adults pay about £5 off-peak on Southeastern high-speed trains to Stratford International by contactless or Oyster, and this special fare doesn’t count towards TfL’s daily cap.

Booking ahead online or in an app

• You don’t need to book Thameslink or Southeastern high-speed trains ahead, because contactless or Oyster covers the trip.

Paying at the station

• Black cabs at the rank on Midland Road run on the meter, and every one must take contactless cards, with no extra charge for paying by credit or debit card.
• Black cabs also take cash. Tipping is up to you, but 10% is standard.

Booking ahead online or in an app

• You don’t need to book a black cab, because only black cabs can be hired at a rank without a booking, though you can also book one in the Freenow app.

Things to avoid

• Don’t get into a minicab you haven’t booked, including one whose driver comes up to you, because unbooked minicabs are illegal and uninsured for passengers.

Paying at the station

• Freenow’s Ride cars cost a fixed price, which the app shows before you book.
• Freenow’s black cabs run on the meter after the app shows an estimate, and each trip carries a £2 service fee.

Things to avoid

• Don’t get into a minicab you haven’t booked, including one whose driver comes up to you, because unbooked minicabs are illegal and uninsured for passengers.
• If the driver or the car’s number plate doesn’t match your booking confirmation, don’t get in, because it isn’t safe.