The Best Ways To Travel In London For Business

London is a big city, and you can’t walk from the west to the east side in a matter of minutes. Instead, you have to find a form of transport that is cost-effective and gets where you need to be in time. Luckily, the residents of London have noticed the need for this and over the years have developed a wide range of transportation options to get around. 

Each option has its own benefits, and the one you use will depend on your preferences, how far you’re travelling, and your budget. Sometimes you may want to decide which travel method you’ll be using when you visit the city, especially if you’re planning on coming for a long business trip.

Below are the five best travel options in London when you come to the city for business. 

The London Underground

Even if you’ve never been to London before, you’ve definitely heard of the London Underground, also known as the ‘tube’. It is the city's underground railway system and is connected to every location you could need to get to. Operating since as early as 1863, it carries over a billion people every year across the 270 stations that span 250 miles across London. 

No matter where you are in England’s capital, you’ll find an underground stop near you. You don’t need to schedule which one you’re going to get or worry about missing one because there is often a train arriving within every 10 minutes, or even less than that. It is an extremely fast way to get around the city because the railway doesn’t need to worry about traffic. Most lines operate from 5 am to midnight, and some even carry on for the entire 24 hours every day. 

How much the London Underground costs will depend on the zone you are travelling in. There are six zones across the city, with zone 1 in the centre of London and zone 6 surrounding the outskirts. If you go between multiple zones on one journey, this will most likely increase the cost of your fare. 

London buses

After the Underground, many people across the world will recognise London by its double-decker red buses. You may think that the Underground is the most used form of transport, as it has over a billion passengers each year, but the number of people that travel on the buses is actually double this, with over two billion a year. It may be a surprising figure, but it isn’t as surprising when you realise how easy it is to travel on the buses. 

There are tons of bus routes in London, and similarly to the Underground, you can get almost anywhere by riding one of them. They may take a little bit longer to get to your destination due to traffic, and you have to follow bus times a little bit more closely to ensure you get to your destination on time, but that doesn’t take away the fact they are still extremely efficient. 

Buses are also extremely cost-effective, especially if you are an Oyster cardholder. Since March 2022, you can ride on the bus for a fixed price of £1.65 for a single journey when you have one of these cards, and it doesn’t matter how far you are travelling. Therefore, if you are planning to come to London for business quite frequently throughout the year, it isn’t a bad idea to invest in an Oyster card. 

Private taxis

The black cab is also a staple of London, and you will see them almost anywhere you turn when you’re walking through the streets of the city. It is an iconic mode of transport, particularly useful when you need to get somewhere quickly and that isn’t too far away. Founded in 1662 and referred to as London’s Hackney Carriages, these drivers have a vast knowledge of the city and can get you where you need to be without having to use a map or sat nav. 

You can figure out whether a taxi is available by looking in the street and seeing if their taxi light is on. If it is, then it is free to take you where you need to be. All you need to do is wave the driver down, and they should stop and pick you up. The price will most likely end up being more expensive than any other form of transport in London, but if you travel in a group, you can split the bill and save money.

Unlike the Underground and buses, you can’t use an Oyster card when riding in a taxi. Instead, you will have to pay by cash or credit card at the end of each journey. You can keep an eye on the fare while you’re travelling as it will be displayed on the cab’s meter.

Santander Cycles

If you want to save money and stay fit at the same time while travelling around London, then you can hire a Santander Cycles and try out one of the bicycle paths. In 2010, the city wanted to introduce a more green initiative and encourage people to be more active. That’s why they built a wide range of public cycle points around the city.  

You can use your own bike, but if you don’t have one, you can use the Santander Cycles app to hire one when you’re visiting on business. From there, you find a bike on one of the docking stations, connect it to the app, and start riding. If you don’t have the app, you can just go to the nearest docking station terminal and use your debit or credit card to pay for your journey. 

How you pay for your Santander Cycles will be up to you. You can either pay £1.65 for a 30 minute journey, and add this amount on for an additional 30 minutes or you can sign up for a membership. A monthly membership is £20 a month and provides you with unlimited rides for up to 60 minutes for 30 days. You can also select an annual membership for £120, which provides you with unlimited rides for up to 60 minutes for 365 days. 

Uber

If you need to book a form of transport at a specific time, then you can use Uber. This rideshare service is similar to the London taxis, but you travel with everyday people in their cars instead via an app. All you have to do is download the Uber app, connect your chosen payment method, order a car, and they will take you to your chosen destination. Your payment will also be charged automatically at the end of the ride. 

Uber is extremely useful when you’re stuck and can’t find any other form of transport or if you need to get somewhere in a rush. The prices are always changing depending on how busy the app is at the time, and you can sometimes get surge pricing when there is a popular event in the city. However, most of the time, Uber is a reasonable transport service and doesn’t cost you too much. 

You can also save money by ordering an Uber and sharing it with other people through the app. Previously known as Uber Pool, UberX Share allows you to cut costs by sharing the journey with other people going in a similar direction. The only difficulty is it may make your own journey slightly longer.