16-18

Can I get a 16+ Oyster photocard?

If you're 16 or 17

Your parent/guardian can apply for a 16+ Oyster photocard for you, which will allow you to travel at reduced rate on all TfL services.

If you were still 18 on 31 August before the start of the academic year

• And are in full-time education
• And live in a London borough

You may be eligible for a 16+ Oyster photocard which gives free travel on buses and trams in addition to reduced rates on other services. To be eligible, you must live in a London borough.

• Check if you live in a London borough 

Full-time education (for the purposes of qualifying for free travel on buses and trams) means:

• At least 12 hours of guided learning per week, between 09:00-18:00 Monday-Friday, for at least 10 weeks on further education courses at Level 3 or below in a sixth form college, academy, further education college or other training provider  
• Examples of Level 3 courses include A levels (AS/A2), vocational awards such as BTEC or City & Guilds qualifications at level 3 and the International baccalaureate. It can also include apprenticeships, training courses funded by the Young People's Learning Agency and some courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency. Your school, college or training provider will be able to confirm if the course qualifies

If you are in full time education, but don't live in a London borough, you're not eligible for free bus and tram travel.

Under 16 on 31 August 2011
If you were under 16 on 31 August, before the start of the current academic year, you can apply for an 11-15 Oyster photocard, which allows you to travel free on buses and trams and to buy Travelcard season tickets and pay as you go at child-rate.

• Terms and conditions 16+ Oyster photocard

How much do I save with a 16+ Oyster photocard?

If you have a 16+ Zip Oyster photocard you can:

• Buy 7 Day, Monthly or longer period Travelcards and Bus & Tram Passes at child rate. You cannot buy discounted rate Travelcards online 
• Pay half the adult rate when you pay as you go on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground and some pay as you go tariffs on National Rail (PDF 60KB)
• Add a 16-25 NR Railcard discount entitlement to your 16+ Oyster photocard. This gives a 34 per cent discount on off-peak pay as you go single fares on Tube, DLR, London Overground and National Rail services in London. It also gives a 34 percent discount on an off-peak daily price cap
• If you have the 16-25 National Railcard discount added to your 16+ Oyster photocard, Oyster will automatically work out the cheapest fare depending on how you're travelling

• Find out how much you'll pay for single journeys on Tube, DLR, London Overground and National Rail services in London.

You are also eligible for free bus and tram travel if you:

• Live in a London borough
• And are in full-time education
• And were aged 18 or under before the start of the current academic year

The pay as you go tariffs on National Rail map (PDF 60KB) shows the routes on which you will be charged an adult fare.

How do I apply for my 16+ Oyster photocard?

• Applicants in a London borough
• Applicants outside London
• Non UK applicants
• Tracking an application

If you're under 18, your parent or guardian must apply on your behalf.

 

Applicants in a London borough

If you're the parent or guardian applying on behalf of a 16-18 year-old who lives in London, you need to collect a 16+ Zip Oyster photocard application form from a Post Office in London.

If the 16-18 year-old is eligible for free travel on buses and trams, their school, college or training provider must confirm they meet the education criteria.

You should then submit the completed application at a Post Office in London.

Parents/guardians will need:

• A full face passport-sized photo of the 16-18 year old. Ink jet quality photos are not accepted. It must be a true likeness and they should not be wearing anything that covers their head, unless worn for medical or religious reasons
• £10 administration fee (cheques are no longer accepted)
• Proof of your (parent/guardian) identity and address, which must be one of the following and dated in the last three months:
  - Residential utility bill
  - Council tax bill
  - Bank, building society or credit card statement
  - Council or housing association rent book or statement
  - Driving licence (full or provisional)
• Proof of age of the 16-18 year old, which must be one of the following: 
  - Passport
  - ID card from a European Economic Area country 
  - Birth certificate 
  - Driving licence (full or provisional)

We don't accept photocopies, please provide original documents.

Applicants outside London

If you're the parent or guardian applying on behalf of a 16-18 year-old who lives outside London, you need to apply online.

Parents/guardians will  need:

• Both your and the 16-18 year-old's machine-readable passport numbers
• A digital photo of the 16-18 year-old. It must be a true likeness and they should not be wearing anything that covers their head, unless worn for medical or religious reasons
• Credit or debit card to pay the £10 fee

If we can verify your details and the 16-18 year old's age online, we'll post the 16+ Zip Oyster photocard to the address supplied. Allow two weeks for their photocard to be delivered

If we cannot verify your details or the 16-18 year-old's age online, the photocard will have to be collected from a Travel Information Centre. You can choose which Travel Information Centre during the application process.

Allow a minimum of four weeks from the application date to the collection date from the Travel Information centre. You can apply up to three months before the collection date.

If the 16-18 year-old lives outside London, they can't get free bus and tram travel, even if their school or college is in London.

• Apply online

Non UK applicants

If you're the parent or guardian of a 16-18 year-old who lives outside the UK, you need to apply online.

We can't post Oyster photocards overseas, so you need to select a Travel Information Centre to collect the photocard from. Allow a minimum of four weeks from the application date to the collection date from the Travel Information centre. You can apply up to three months before the collection date.

Parents/guardians will need:

• A digital photo of the 16-18 year-old. It must be a true likeness and they should not be wearing anything that covers their head, unless worn for medical or religious reason
• Credit or debit card to pay the £10 fee

We will need proof of the young person's identity when they collect their Oyster photocard from a Travel Information Centre. This can be either:

• Passport
• ID card from a European Economic Area country
• Birth certificate
• Driving licence (full or provisional)

We don't accept photocopies, please provide original documents.

• Apply online
  

• Terms and conditions 16+ Oyster photocard

Tracking an application

If you want to find out what's happening with your application, you can text your application reference number to 07624 809330.

• You'll receive a response from our SMS service. Standard network charges apply and can vary considerably. Please check with your mobile phone provider.

You can also check the status of your application online if you have a web account.

If the photocard doesn't arrive within two weeks, call 0845 331 9872, quoting your application reference number.

How do I use my 16+ Oyster photocard?

Make sure you carry your Oyster photocard with you or you'll pay adult fares. You'll need to add pay as you go credit or a season ticket to your 16+ Oyster photocard, unless you have the free bus and tram concession and will only be using those services.

Touching in and out

If you don't touch in correctly, or you don't have enough pay as you go credit on your card, it may stop working, even if you are entitled to free travel on buses. If this happens you need to top it up before you can use it.

To avoid paying too much, make sure you touch your card on the yellow card reader. It's a bit different for each type of transport. If you don't, or if you don't have a valid ticket on your Oyster photocard, you may have to pay a penalty fare.

If your photocard is not accepted, you may be asked to pay a cash single fare.

• Find out more about touching in and out

Behaviour Code

You must keep to the rules in our Behaviour Code, which you signed up to as part of the application process. If you don't, we can withdraw your travel concession and Oyster photocard.

Problems using your Oyster photocard

If your Oyster photocard stops working, please check that it doesn't have a negative pay as you go balance.

If this isn't the reason for the failure, call our helpline on 0845 330 9876. We can only deal with queries from the 16+ Zip Oyster photocard holder or the parent/guardian who completed the application. 

If your 16+ Oyster photocard is worn and more than two years old, you can get another one free by calling our helpline on 0845 331 9872.

PIN numbers and security questions

Your PIN number is on your paper application form. It's the same as the last four numbers of your form's application reference number.

If you applied online, you won't have a PIN number. Instead, the parent/guardian who applied would have been given the option to select the answer to a security question.

You will need this if you contact us with queries about your 16+ Zip Oyster photocard or if the photocard is reported as lost, stolen or damaged.

Once you have received your photocard, the parent/guardian who applied can change the PIN online by creating a photocard account and using the 'Change PIN' option.

Expiry date

If you have a 16+ Oyster photocard with free travel on buses and trams issued from 1 September 2011
Your photocard will expire on 30 September 2012; this is printed on the front of the photocard. Until that date the cardholder can travel free on buses and trams and pay as you go at half adult rate on other TfL services.

• Full details of the fares for 16-18 year olds

If you are eligible for free bus and tram travel after September 2012, your parent/guardian will need to apply again for you at the start of that academic year.

If you have a 16+ Oyster photocard without free travel on buses and trams (half rate only)

Your photocard will expire on the day before your 18th birthday; this is printed on the front of your photocard. Until that date you can pay as you go at half adult rate on all TfL services.

Applying for a new card
If you order a new or a replacement card (for example, if you're reapplying for free bus and tram travel at the start of the academic year or replacing a lost photocard), your existing one will stop working shortly after your new photocard has been issued. The replacement photocard should arrive before the existing photocard is stopped. If it doesn't, you'll need to buy tickets until it arrives. We will not refund the cost of these tickets.

Changing your photo

Your photo must be a good and recent likeness of you. You can change your photo online if you are no longer recognisable from the photo. It costs £10 to update online.

Lost, stolen or damaged cards

Find out what to do if your 16+ Oyster photocard is lost, stolen or stops working

Information for schools

If your students apply for a 16+ Zip Oyster photocard with free travel on buses and trams, you'll have to complete part of their application form. You don't have to register to do this.

Your school doesn't have to be in a London borough but for students to be eligible, they must:

• Live in a London borough, and
• Be in full-time education, and
• Be aged 18 or under on 31 August 2011

Eligibility

Full-time education (for the purposes of qualifying for free travel on buses and trams) means:
The student must be enrolled at a school, college or other training provider, studying for a minimum of 12 hours of guided learning per week, between 09:00-18:00, Monday-Friday. Their course must last for at least 10 weeks and be at Level 3 or below.

Examples of Level 3 courses are A levels (AS/A2), vocational awards such as BTEC or City & Guilds qualifications at level 3 and the International baccalaureate. 

We also include apprenticeships and training courses funded by the Young People's Learning Agency and some courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency, as long as the age criteria are met.

What to do

• Check that the student meets the criteria above
• Complete section three of the student's application form

What not to do

• Don't authorise the form until the student has started their course. We'll reject applications submitted too early (for 2011-2012 academic year, scheme opens 1 September 2011)
• Don't attach anything to the forms, such as staples. This delays processing and may result in their application being rejected
• You don't need to sign applications if the applicant isn't a London resident
• If the applicant is 18 and doesn't live in London, they are not eligible for a 16-18 Oyster photocard

Your DfE or UPIN number

Schools - normally the three digit LEA code and your four digit school ID.  Check your DfE number, by using your school's postcode. Please note this has previously been called the DfES and DCSF number.

Young People's Learning Agency/Skills Funding Agency training providers - your UPIN number

If you don't have a DfE (formerly DfES) DCSF or UPIN number, enter the code RETP08 in the box and write the name of your establishment on the form, in capital letters, within the school stamp box. You must also stamp the form.

Check your DfE (formerly DfES) number by searching using your school's postcode

If your students don't live in London

If you have students aged 18 or over and don't live in a London borough, they are not eligible for the 16+ Oyster photocard scheme.