As one of the biggest cities in the world, London has quite diverse and rich varieties of public transport. The public transport in London is literally fabulous! As a traveler, you have many options to choose, from public buses to trains and underground (tube). The underground network in London is called Tube.
There is a great website for planning your journey to/in London
Plan Your Journey
Generally, the public transport of London consists of:
SEE THE TUBE MAP
CHECK THE STATUS UPDATES
OYSTER CARD
As a traveler, it’s better and cheaper to buy an Oyster card. The Oyster card is a smartcard which can hold pay as you go credit, Travelcard and Bus & Tram Pass season tickets. Use it to travel on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail, Emirates Air Line, River Bus services and most National Rail services in London. It costs only £5
Read about the Oyster Card
Avoid card clash: If you keep your Oyster card in your wallet/purse with your bank cards, you might occasionally see a red light when you touch it on a card reader at stations and on buses. The red light means you haven’t paid for your journey and if you’re at a ticket gate, it might not open. This can happen even if you’ve got enough pay as you go credit, a valid Travelcard or Bus & Tram Pass on your Oyster card because you could be experiencing ‘card clash’.
You can also download special apps to plan our journey from your smartphone:
Citymapper
Citymapper is a free all-in-one London-centric app that covers live departure information for all possible modes of transport between two locations, with support for trains (Tube and Overground), bus, and cycle hire.
DOWNLOAD: iOS / Android
National Rail Enquiries
If you’re a frequent train traveller across the UK, this free app is a must-have for up-to-date rail information. National Rail Enquiries allows you to track specific trains, find out about disruptions to your journey (via push notifications), and re-plan your journey on the go.
DOWNLOAD: iOS / Android