An Oyster cap, specifically referring to daily capping on an Oyster card like the Visitor Oyster card, means you can travel as much as you like in a single day and the amount you pay for your travel is limited (or capped).
Understanding Daily Capping on Oyster Cards
The concept of capping is a key feature of the Oyster card system used for public transport in London. Instead of charging for each individual journey up to an unlimited amount, the system sets a maximum daily charge based on the zones you travel through.
Here's how it works:
- Pay As You Go: When you use an Oyster card, you pay for each journey you make by touching in and out at the start and end of your trip.
- Accumulated Fares: The system keeps track of the total cost of your journeys throughout the day.
- The Daily Limit: Once the total cost of your journeys reaches a predefined daily cap amount for the zones you have travelled in, you will not be charged any more for travel on that day, no matter how many more journeys you make.
Essentially, the daily cap acts as a safety net, preventing your daily travel costs from exceeding a certain limit, making unlimited travel within the specified zones for that day effectively free after the cap is reached.
This feature ensures that using Pay As You Go with an Oyster card is often cheaper or equivalent to buying a Day Travelcard, especially if you make multiple journeys.
For more information on specific daily capping prices and how they compare to Day Travelcards, you can refer to official transport resources.