Last month I was on bus number 91 at King's Cross when a visitor stepped on holding a £10 note out to the driver. The driver just shook his head, pointed at the yellow reader, and the poor man had to step off again. Nobody had told him that London buses stopped taking cash years ago. So this is the post I wish you see if you don't already know this.
How to pay bus fare in London: the short answer
Tap a contactless bank card, your phone or watch, or an Oyster card on the yellow reader as you board. The fare is a flat £1.75 however far you go. You cannot pay cash, you cannot buy a ticket on board, and you do not tap again when you get off.
How do you pay for a bus in London?
There is exactly one moment where you pay: when you step on. Every London bus has a yellow card reader next to the driver. Touch one of these on it:
- A contactless bank card. Visa, Mastercard or American Express, from any country. This is what most Londoners use.
- Your phone or watch. Apple Pay or Google Pay work exactly like a contactless card. Wake the phone before you tap.
- An Oyster card (or Visitor Oyster card) with pay as you go credit on it.
- A Travelcard or Bus & Tram Pass loaded on an Oyster card, or a paper Travelcard bought with a National Rail ticket.
- A concession card. Freedom Pass, 60+ London Oyster and Zip photocards all just tap the same way.
The reader beeps once and shows a green light, and that is it. You are done. If it beeps twice with an orange or red light, the tap did not work, so try again or use another card. Nobody comes round to check tickets on most journeys, but inspectors do board, and a failed tap you ignored counts as not paying.
And that is genuinely the whole system. No ticket, no receipt, no zones to think about. A bus from one stop to the next costs £1.75, and a bus from Heathrow to Trafalgar Square (17 miles) costs £1.75.
Can you pay cash on London buses?
No. London buses went completely cashless in July 2014, so it has been over a decade now. The driver has no money tray, no tickets to sell, and no way to take your coins even if they wanted to.
But TfL did keep one bit of kindness in the system. If you pay with Oyster and your balance is positive but not quite enough for the fare, the reader will still let you make one more journey and take your balance negative. You top it back up before you can travel again. This only works on buses and trams, not on the Tube, and it only works once. It has saved me at least twice on late nights home.
If you have no card, no phone and no Oyster at all, the honest answer is that you cannot ride. Find a shop with an Oyster Ticket Stop sign (most corner shops near bus stops are one) and buy an Oyster card there, or buy a One Day Bus & Tram Pass at the same counter.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Apple Pay or Google Pay on London buses?
Yes, both work exactly like a contactless card. Tap your phone or watch flat on the yellow reader as you board. Express Mode on iPhone and the equivalent on Android mean you do not even need to unlock the phone, but the battery has to be alive, so carry a backup card if your phone dies easily.
Can I use a foreign bank card on a London bus?
Yes. Any contactless Visa, Mastercard or American Express issued abroad works, and you pay the same £1.75 as everyone else. The only thing to watch is your own bank's foreign transaction fee, which some overseas banks add on top. If yours charges one, a Visitor Oyster or a normal Oyster card avoids it.
What happens if I have no money on my Oyster card?
If your balance is positive but below £1.75, the bus reader lets you make one more journey and your balance goes negative. You must top up before your next trip. If the balance is already zero or negative, the reader rejects you, and drivers cannot sell tickets, so keep auto top-up on or a contactless card as backup.
Can I buy a ticket on the bus in London?
No. There are no tickets sold on board and no cash accepted, and there have not been since 2014. Everything is tap-based. If you have nothing to tap, buy an Oyster card or a One Day Bus & Tram Pass (£6.00) from a shop showing the Oyster Ticket Stop sign before you board.
How much is a London bus fare with contactless?
£1.75 for a single journey of any length, with free changes onto other buses and trams for an hour after your first tap. Your day caps at £5.25 and your Monday to Sunday week caps at £24.70, all applied automatically as long as you use the same card every time.
Now make sure the bus is actually coming
Paying is the easy part. Knowing when the last one leaves is where people get stranded. Check first and last buses for every TfL route on our bus timetable pages, or plan your whole night with the app.
Check your bus timetable →Fares correct as of August 2026 and frozen until 1 November 2026, but TfL can change prices and rules. Check tfl.gov.uk for the latest before you rely on them.