Compare every network
One row per system, with the true metro and light rail networks separated from the regions that brand their buses and trains as a metro. The day ticket column is the figure that matters most for a visitor, because on every network here it is also the contactless daily cap or very close to it.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column →
| Network | City | Fare model | Cheapest single | All day | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metro, tram and light rail | |||||
| Transport for London | London | Zonal, distance-based, with a daily cap | £2.90 peak / £2.80 off-peak (Zone 1) | £8.90 | May 2026 |
| Tyne and Wear Metro | Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland | Three zones (A, B, C) | £2.60 | £5.90 | May 2026 |
| Glasgow Subway | Glasgow | Flat fare, no zones | £1.80 | £4.40 | May 2026 |
| Merseyrail | Liverpool, the Wirral, Southport | Zonal, with a flat city-centre zone | £2.60 | £6.20 | May 2026 |
| South Wales Metro | Cardiff and the Valleys | Distance-based rail fares, with multi-modal day tickets | £2.70 | £7.30 | May 2026 |
| Metrolink | Manchester | Four zones | £1.80 | £3.60 | May 2026 |
| West Midlands Metro | Birmingham, Wolverhampton | Zonal, with a free city-centre section | Free | £4.60 | May 2026 |
| Supertram | Sheffield, Rotherham | Distance bands by number of stops | £2.20 | £5.30 | May 2026 |
| NET Tram | Nottingham | Flat fare, no zones | £2.70 | £5.00 | May 2026 |
| Edinburgh Trams | Edinburgh | Two zones — City, and Airport | £2.20 | £5.50 | May 2026 |
| London Trams | Croydon, south London | Flat bus-style fare within the TfL system | £1.75 | £5.25 | May 2026 |
| Blackpool Tramway | Blackpool, Fleetwood | Distance-based fare stages | £2.60 | £6.50 | May 2026 |
| DLR | East London | Zonal — identical to the Underground | From £1.90 off-peak | £8.90 | May 2026 |
| Integrated city networks | |||||
| Bee Network | Greater Manchester | Capped fares across bus, tram and participating rail | £2.10 | £5.60 | May 2026 |
| WY Metro | Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Huddersfield | Zonal day and season tickets across bus and rail | £2.10 | £5.60 | May 2026 |
| Belfast Metro & Glider | Belfast | Zonal, shared across bus, Glider and local rail | £2.30 | £4.20 | May 2026 |
| Guided busways | Cambridge, Manchester, Crawley, Bristol, Luton | Operator-set bus fares, capped nationally | £3.00 | £7.50 | September 2026 |
| Cable cars, cliff railways and people movers | |||||
| Airport shuttles | Stansted, Luton, Gatwick, Birmingham | Varies — some free, some a flat charge | £4.90 single | — | May 2026 |
| IFS Cloud Cable Car | Greenwich and the Royal Docks, London | Flat fare, outside the TfL cap | £6.00 | — | September 2026 |
| Cable cars & lifts | Llandudno, Matlock Bath, Fort William | Return admission, not transit fares | £12.50 | — | September 2026 |
| Cliff railways | Hastings, Scarborough, Aberystwyth, Lynton, Bridgnorth | Flat fare per ride, set by each operator | £2.00 | — | September 2026 |
| Heritage tramways | Llandudno, Brighton, Seaton, Birkenhead | Flat return fare per line | £12.00 | — | September 2026 |
| Isle of Man railways | Douglas, Laxey, Ramsey | Zonal, with an all-network rover ticket | £7.20 | £21.00 | September 2026 |
| Not open yet | |||||
| In development | Coventry, Leeds, Bradford, Glasgow, Edinburgh | Not yet set | Not yet open | — | September 2026 |
Where you tap
This is the single most expensive detail to get wrong, so it is worth reading twice.
Tap in and tap out
London Underground, DLR, Overground and Elizabeth line; Tyne and Wear Metro; Manchester Metrolink; Glasgow Subway; Merseyrail. Forgetting to tap out means an incomplete journey and the maximum fare for that entry point.
Tap in only
London Trams at Croydon; Nottingham Express Transit; Edinburgh Trams; West Midlands Metro. One tap at the stop covers the journey.
Pay the conductor
Sheffield Supertram, the Blackpool Tramway and most Valley Lines services in south Wales still sell tickets on board. Board first and wait to be asked — there is often nothing to buy from on the platform.