Commuting steadily most of the year → the annual Travelcard: around £500 cheaper than monthly and nearly £1,000 cheaper than paying contactless every week. Ask your employer about an interest-free season ticket loan, repaid from your salary.Variable schedule or you'd rather not pay upfront → just use contactless/Oyster: the weekly cap applies automatically, nothing to buy in advance.In between → a monthly Travelcard.A pass only covers its zones. These are 2026 rates; TfL usually raises fares in early March, so check the current price before buying.Source: TfL's official 2026 fares price list.…

Money

Which travel pass to buy for commuting into the City

Q: What's cheaper for 5 days a week?

Contactless with the weekly cap: £81.60 a week — about £4,243 a year.Monthly Travelcard: about £3,760 a year.Annual Travelcard: £3,264 a year — the cheapest.

For a daily commute into the City the right pass saves hundreds a year. We compare contactless, monthly and annual Travelcards for Zones 1–6 and say which to choose.

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A London Underground sign — ONLYWAY.NEWS illustration, London. Photo: ONLYWAY NEWS

If you commute into the City every weekday, the right travel pass saves hundreds of pounds a year. Here's whether contactless, a monthly or an annual Travelcard works out cheaper.

First, work out your zones

The City is Zone 1. People on the outer edge usually need Zones 1–6. If you live beyond the Tube network (for example the village of Ongar in Essex), the nearest station is Epping, the end of the Central line in Zone 6; count the trip to the station (bus or car plus parking) separately — it is not included in a zonal pass.

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Options and prices for Zones 1–6 (2026 rates)

Contactless / Oyster pay as you go: it caps automatically — a weekly cap of £81.60 (Monday–Sunday), daily cap £23.60 at peak.
Monthly Travelcard: £313.40.
Annual Travelcard: £3,264 (plus a Gold Card with discounts).

What's cheaper for 5 days a week

Contactless with the weekly cap: £81.60 a week — about £4,243 a year.
Monthly Travelcard: about £3,760 a year.
Annual Travelcard: £3,264 a year — the cheapest.

How to choose

Commuting steadily most of the year → the annual Travelcard: around £500 cheaper than monthly and nearly £1,000 cheaper than paying contactless every week. Ask your employer about an interest-free season ticket loan, repaid from your salary.
Variable schedule or you'd rather not pay upfront → just use contactless/Oyster: the weekly cap applies automatically, nothing to buy in advance.
In between → a monthly Travelcard.

A pass only covers its zones. These are 2026 rates; TfL usually raises fares in early March, so check the current price before buying.

Source: TfL's official 2026 fares price list. Checked 26 October 2026.

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Published 26 October 2026, 14:44 2 min read Editorial desk of the British newspaper ONLYWAY NEWS - LONDON - UK

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