How to choose

1. How many journeys will you make today?

   One or two, buy singles. Three or more, buy the day ticket — or simply use contactless and let the daily cap arrive at the same number without you having to decide. The exact break-even varies more than people expect: of the 16 networks where we can compare like with like, 7 have a day ticket that already wins on the second journey, 8 on the third, and London alone needs a fourth. Every system page shows its own arithmetic.

2. Are you going to an airport?

   Airport fares are the biggest trap. Edinburgh charges £7.50 to the airport against £2.20 for anywhere else on the same line. Manchester puts the airport in the outer zone. Luton’s DART is free only if your rail ticket says the right thing. Look up the airport fare specifically before assuming.

3. Are you staying more than four days?

   Weekly tickets and weekly contactless caps start to beat daily ones somewhere around the fifth day of travel. In London the weekly cap runs Monday to Sunday, so a stay that straddles a weekend may do better with a 7 Day Travelcard bought on the day you arrive.

4. Will you use buses too?

   Most cities sell a combined ticket — Network One in Tyne and Wear, nNetwork in the West Midlands, Kangaroo in Nottingham, CityWide in Sheffield. These typically cost a pound or two more than the tram-only day ticket and open up far more of the city. If your destination is not on the single tram line, buy the combined one.

5. Are you travelling with children?

   Under fives are free everywhere. Beyond that it varies sharply: under-11s travel free across all of London, Scotland gives free travel to residents under 22, and most English tram systems charge roughly half fare to 16. Family day tickets, where they exist, usually beat buying individually for two adults and two children.

A note on paper tickets

Paper singles bought from a machine are the most expensive way to travel on almost every network on this site, and on the London Underground they cost roughly double the contactless fare. Unless you have no contactless card at all, there is no situation in which buying a paper single is the right answer.

A note on these prices

Each network on this site carries its own check date, shown next to its ticket options; the oldest anywhere here is May 2026. Rail fares are reviewed annually and the bus-based city networks every six months, because capped bus fares are set by policy and move more often. Use these figures to work out which type of ticket suits you, then confirm the exact price with the operator before you buy.