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Pay As You Go

Guarantee the best value for the journeys you make each week*, while saving time in the station. PAYG is the easiest way to pay for regular travellers.

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Overview

You can Pay As You Go for most journeys across our network by registering for keyGo on a Key Smartcard. Once setup, you can simply tap your Smartcard on the yellow contactless pads at stations when you enter and exit to pay for your journey. KeyGo will automatically calculate the best value daily or weekly walk-up fare based on the journeys you have made each week (capping applies Monday to Sunday) so you no longer need to decide the best ticket to buy at the start of the day or week.

If you predominantly travel across London and use a variety of modes of public transport (tube / bus etc), then you can also use an Oyster card or contactless bank card to travel, enabling you to benefit from Transport for London’s wider capping system.

When can I use PAYG?

  • keyGo is available for all standard-class, single-person journeys across the majority of the Southern network. Check out eligible stations on our network map.
  • Oyster and contactless is only valid for journeys within the Oyster and contactless zones. Check out eligible stations on our network map.  They can also be used across other modes of public transport across London such as Tube, Bus, Tram and other rail networks.

Things to remember

  • If you are travelling entirely within the Oyster and Contactless zones and using other modes of transport such as tube, bus, tram or other rail networks, then you will likely be best using Oyster or Contactless, so you can benefit from Transport for London’s zonal multi-mode price capping.
  • If you regularly start or finish your journey outside the Oyster or Contactless zones, or if you only use Southern, Thameslink or Gatwick Express services, then you will likely be best using keyGo.
  • The price paid will vary in line with normal walk-up ticket prices depending on time of day of travel, travel frequency, railcards, route travelled and operators used, ensuring you never pay more than you should.  Other ticket options are available if you book in advance.
  • First Class travel is not supported on any PAYG method.
  • Remember to tap-in and tap-out at stations to avoid incomplete journey charges. You will be notified if using keyGo and provided with an opportunity to complete the journey online.
  • Please checkout the relevant keyGo, Oyster or Contactless pages for more detailed information about each of these payment methods.

Benefits of using PAYG

  • Guarantee the best value* - No need to decide the best ticket to buy at the start of the day or week.  Just tap-in and tap-out and get the best walk-up fare for the journeys you have used.
  • Weekly capping - Travel as much as you like between two stations across the week, and you’ll never pay more than a Weekly Season Ticket.  If travelling within London using Oyster or Contactless, you will also benefit from their weekly zonal capping.
  • Save time and fly through the station - No need to buy tickets at the station or ahead of time – just tap and go.
  • Automatic railcard discounts by linking your railcard to your keyGo
  • Receive automated notifications if you are eligible for Delay Repay (available with keyGo only).

KeyGo

Register for keyGo on a Key Smartcard and guarantee the best value daily or weekly walk-up fare when using our services.

Learn more about keyGo

Contactless

Pay using a contactless debit or credit card within the London contactless zones and use for buses, tubes, trams and most trains too.

Learn more about Contactless

Oyster card

Pay using an Oyster card within the London Oyster zones and use for buses, tubes, trams and most trains too. You will need to manually or automatically top-up before use.

Learn more about Oyster cards