Low Emissions Zone
Good Afternoon,
I've just booked a stay at Abbey Wood,as I haven't been to London in many a year..it's the low emissions I don't understand?
as my car is not exempt,does this mean I have to pay a charge everyday I use my car in this area? and even if I don't use my car during my stay,I will be charged on my arrival and departure day at Abbey Wood?
Do I have to pay upfront,and where do I pay?... I realise I can google for all this info,but before I do,any help or advice would be appreciated,plus any suggestions as to how to travel into London,all the options if you've done it before...much appreciated...
Cedric
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It's a good question and not at all clear from the website.
We might have had a similar query recently - we drove to Heathrow, parked at a hotel for the week and then drove home again at the end of the week. Not sure if we'd have had to pay for just those 2 days or if it would be from "in" to "out" which would have meant paying for 9 days. In the end we solved the dilemma by driving our newer, small petrol car which is exempt.
Would be curious to know if anyone has the definitive answer.
Edit - Celtic, as far as paying is concerned you can do it on line, I think it has to be within 3 days, just Google "pay London LEZ".
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You only pay for the LEZ (or the ULEZ) for the days that you actually drive your car. The same is true of the Congestion charge.
You can pay up to 90 days in advance or up to three days after. Ways to pay can be found here.
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/low-emission-zone/make-a-payment#on-this-page-1
Regarding travel, there is so much one could write. For travel from Abbey Wood into London the quickest way is to walk to Abbey Wood station (about 10 minutes). From there, there are Southeastern trains to Charing Cross or Cannon Street, Thameslink trains and now Elizabeth Line trains to Paddington with some stops in central London - Liverpool Street, Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road. The Elizabeth Line does not run on Sundays until later in the year. I only found that out myself yesterday in an email from TfL.
There is a bus nearby on MacLoed Road - the 180 - that goes to Greenwich and Woolwich (westwards and no where in particular eastwards) - where you can change for a bus for Central London. The bus takes forever, but you do get to see a lot more than on the train. You can get a fast river launch thing from Greenwich, but I've never bothered with that and not entirely sure how that works, viz-a-viz tickets etc. Someone else will know.
That is just a flavour. I will let others add more.
One thing to add: If you plan to do a fair bit of travel it is handy to register a debit card (assuming you are not local and have an Oyster card), with Transport for London which you can then use to tap in and tap out at all stations in the TfL region. This saves so much time and hassle buying tickets and it also means you don't necessarily have to do a lot of advance planning. You can go where you please, more or less and fares are capped!! This is one aspect of modern technology that I absolutely love.
You can do this here:
https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/contactless-and-oyster-account
If you have a bus pass, you have to show this to the driver. It does not work on the yellow tap-in tap-out devices you will see by the doors.
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If you want to avoid the LEZ you can always stay outside of it and travel in. Yiou don't reveal where abouts you are traveling from, if from the the West try the C&CC at Chertsey, its just been refurbished. if from the north i can recommend Henlow Bridge Lakes, a 5 minute walk to the station.
peedee
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Have a peak at this discussion where I have posted a few suggestions https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/club-together/discussions/welcome-hobby-talk/introductions/elizabeth-line/
David
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I would add that on a previous visit to London we used the tap in tap out system on the Tube, the water bus (can’t remember the right name) and the Dockland Light Railway all without issue and without registering either my card or my OH’s
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Yes, I am sorry to have mislead. You don't actually have to register the card. Registration gives you an account so you can then log in, see your journeys, the costs incurred, and a lot of other data. But the tap-in tap-out will work without an account.
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We prefer the visitor Oyster cards, which we’ve had for a few years. I seem to remember we had to apply for them before leaving home and you had to load them with £10 or £20. There after they can be topped up in a machine at most stations. We can then just keep them in an easy access pocket and saves getting the credit cards out in a busy station. They can stay secure in my money belt.
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I remember looking into this as well, but I decided it was much easier to use my debit card and not have to bother with another card and topping up. I keep my debit card in my front trouser pocket when out in London (usually in jeans which keeps it pretty safe). My wallet with other cards and any cash is usually in my rucksack. I've never owned a money belt.
I think my cards are pretty secure, but you can never be sure of course. You're right that my method is higher risk as you stand to lose more if the debit card is lost or stolen; this is especially so with the increase in contactless limit to £100. As with lots of things, there is a trade off between risk and convenience and part of the decision, in this case, will depend on how risk averse you are.
Ordinarily I keep my debit card in my wallet. I freely admit that, about three years ago, I did lose my debit card - I have no idea how and it was only my debit card not my other cards - and someone who either stole it or found it used it three times in shops nearby to my home, spending under £45 each time, as was the limit then, before I discovered the loss. My bank refunded the money, but perhaps that won't always be so.
The ability to do contactless payments is being widened to a further 230 stations over the next few years - by the end of 2024 is the plan - but this extension will not apply to Oyster cards. It will include places like Reading and Southend, for example. It is costing £68m which seems to suggest that people like the ease of paying this way. Of course most bus companies now accept them as well; albeit not all of them on a tap-on and tap-off basis as yet.
There was talk, a year or two back, of ending Oyster cards altogether, and making payments contactless only. But that idea seems to have been dropped. There's no doubt that for Londoners Oyster is popular.
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Misled, not mislead!
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TW's link is the best way to find out what charge you have to pay when and what times its the Transport for London site so you won't go wrong I use every time we go to the Crystal Palace site the rules change frequently so always leave it until a couple of days before you pay and check again.
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.... also,any suggestions for days out in the area would be appreciated....and once again,many thanks!!
