Staying in Sydenham - few Q

[xylem]

Hello,

I will be staying in Sydenham area for a while and working in central London, so I have few questions:

- how long does it take for the train from Sydenham to the first Underground station in London, how much is the ticket and can I get a monthly ticket (Oyster?)

- is there a possibility to get a payable wireless internet access in Sydenham (like London's city WiFi...)?

- any nice pubs in Sydenham?

Thanky,
LV from Slovenia

[bensonby]

Hello,

I will be staying in Sydenham area for a while and working in central London, so I have few questions:

Hello, I'll do my best to answer...

- how long does it take for the train from Sydenham to the first Underground station in London, how much is the ticket and can I get a monthly ticket (Oyster?)

At the moment the closes underground - in terms of travelling time - is London Bridge. Which is 14 mins from Sydenham railway station. Geographically, I would wager Balham is closer - which is about 20 mins on the train.

From 2010 Sydenham will be part of the underground network (through the new "Overground" line) and until last year the closest tube was at New Cross Gate.

A monthly ticket into London Bridge cotsts about £61. A monthly travelcard (valid on all transport within the zones specified) for zones 1-3 is £109. Traverlcards can be placed on Oyster cards, but you cannot use pre-pay on the Mainline Railway - you can, however, use it on buses, trams, and tube. (it is worth getting a prepay anyway just to use on buses as the price on prepay is 1/2 price)

- is there a possibility to get a payable wireless internet access in Sydenham (like London's city WiFi...)?

Not that I know of - although the library has internet I think.

- any nice pubs in Sydenham?

The golden lion is alright but a bit steep in my opinion. The Dolphin is too "trendy" - unfortunately there are limiteed options for real decent real-ale boozers. (but that's my opinion as CAMRA - real ale - buff)

Thanky,
LV from Slovenia

You're welcome, I hope I helped.

[xylem]

Hello,

A monthly ticket into London Bridge cotsts about £61. A monthly travelcard (valid on all transport within the zones specified) for zones 1-3 is £109. Traverlcards can be placed on Oyster cards, but you cannot use pre-pay on the Mainline Railway - you can, however, use it on buses, trams, and tube. (it is worth getting a prepay anyway just to use on buses as the price on prepay is 1/2 price)

I guess a monthly travelcard does not cover a train journey from Sydenham? Best for a monthly daily trips to London would then be purchasing a monthly train ticket plus travelcard on Oyster...with those I can make unlimited journeys within a month?

Not that I know of - although the library has internet I think.

Does a mobile network provider offer any prepaid internet options?


Thank you for all the info,
LV, Slovenia

[bensonby]

I guess a monthly travelcard does not cover a train journey from Sydenham? Best for a monthly daily trips to London would then be purchasing a monthly train ticket plus travelcard on Oyster...with those I can make unlimited journeys within a month?

A travelcard is valid on the trains. If you intend on goinginto london everyday on the train and traveling around on buses or tubes &c. then a travelcard is your best bet - it gives you unlimited travel on all forms of transport within those zones for a month. (Sydenham is zone 3 - but right on the outside edge of zone 3)

Are you going to be working in central london or just visiting for liesure?

Not that I know of - although the library has internet I think.

Does a mobile network provider offer any prepaid internet options?


Thank you for all the info,
LV, Slovenia[/quote]

Not sure- but internet through the mobile phone network is very expensive. I'd just use an internet cafe or the library. (or get it at home)

[xylem]

Are you going to be working in central london or just visiting for liesure?

I'll be working every day, besides weekends of course.
So, monthly travelcard is my option. As I cannot use Oyster on trains, what do you show than on trains?

[bensonby]

If you buy a monthly travelcard at the station then it will come on a paper ticket (you will also need to bring a passport-sized photograph). This paper ticket will go through the barriers at any tube/train station in zones 1, 2 or 3. You show it to the driver if you get on a bus (it will be valid on any london bus throughout london - zones don't apply to buses)


If you buy the traevlcard on an oyster card then it will work on any barriers buy touching the Card reader (a travelcard on an oyster will work on the railways - only prepay doesn') - you also touch it on the card reader when getting on a bus.


Its all very confusing isn't it!

[xylem]

Its all very confusing isn't it!

It is ..
What is the difference between those two options (oyster and classic travel card), besides how they are used on trains?
They cost the same and offer the same....

[bensonby]

yes, they are exactly the same and cost the same.* Ostercards are bought at tube stations, paper "classic" tickets at train stations.



*NB. You have to pay an extra refundable £3 deposit when buying an oystercard.

[natbeuk]

Does a mobile network provider offer any prepaid internet options?


Thank you for all the info,
LV, Slovenia

Yes, you can get pre-pay USB modems which are very small modems (ie smaller than a mobile phone) that plug straight into the USB port on your PC or laptop. T-Mobile and "3" offer them. If you go into a Carphone Warehouse store, or similar, they should be able to help you. I've never used one though so I don't know how well they work.

AOL also do a pay as go option for home broadband, ie the conventional sort of broadband rather than the USB modem sort.

[xylem]

yes, they are exactly the same and cost the same.* Ostercards are bought at tube stations, paper "classic" tickets at train stations.



*NB. You have to pay an extra refundable £3 deposit when buying an oystercard.

I'll go for Oyster then, as I already own one from the last time I visited London.
Thank you again for all the answers!

[bensonby]

Does a mobile network provider offer any prepaid internet options?


Thank you for all the info,
LV, Slovenia

Yes, you can get pre-pay USB modems which are very small modems (ie smaller than a mobile phone) that plug straight into the USB port on your PC or laptop. T-Mobile and "3" offer them. If you go into a Carphone Warehouse store, or similar, they should be able to help you. I've never used one though so I don't know how well they work.

AOL also do a pay as go option for home broadband, ie the conventional sort of broadband rather than the USB modem sort.

I stand corrected - isn't that a very expensive and quite slow way to get internet access?

[natbeuk]

Sorry, just to correct myself, the AOL offer is on calls that go with your broadband, not the broadband itself.. you need a contract to take out broadband with AOL, apologies!

With regards to USB modems which are pay as you go, no it's not slow, you can get up to 2Mbps. So it's not lightning fast, but it's about average when you compare it to what most home conventional modem services actually deliver (as opposed to what they promise)!

It's also not that expensive. Taking the 3 network as an example, you pay around £50 to buy your USB modem (although they're getting cheaper every day), and then you can pay anything from £10-£25 per month. For that £10-£25 you get a certain amount of useage, ie a decent amount of hours surfing, a certain number of downloads, etc.

[xylem]

It's also not that expensive. Taking the 3 network as an example, you pay around £50 to buy your USB modem (although they're getting cheaper every day), and then you can pay anything from £10-£25 per month. For that £10-£25 you get a certain amount of useage, ie a decent amount of hours surfing, a certain number of downloads, etc.

But do I have to be a customer/subscriber to Three network for that or can it be done on a pre-paid basis?

[natbeuk]

It's pre-paid, so you don't have to be a customer or sign up to any sort of contract. Both 3 and T Mobile do both - contract, or pre pay. The T Mobile option is called "Web n Walk Plus Daily" and the 3 option is called "Broadband Casual". See http://www.three.co.uk/personal/product ... _/payg.omp or http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/mobile-b ... as-you-go/ (Admin - I hope it's okay for me to post those links??)

[xylem]

Thanks, looks promising.

[Frangipan]

I have a T Mobile 'web n walk' USB modem, but on a 2yr contract. The modem was free and the contract is £15/month. I looked into pre pay but for the level I use it it would be very expensive.

However, the connection speed is slow and unreliable, despite the 'signal' bar being consistently good. I am very disappointed and feel like I am back in the days of dial up dropping off for no reason.

On a good day (like when there were power cuts!!) it's great but in peak times (early evening, weekend afternoons) it's unbearable.

Not sure if other networks are any better?

[natbeuk]

Ah, really? That is disappointing. Were T Mobile cheapest? If so then I would say that is why they're slow, ie just due to demand. It's a new technology, so they may just be overwhelmed by demand and not yet have the infrastructure to cope.

Just going on network reliability in general, I would say that O2 would be the safest bet. Possibly followed by Vodafone. But that's based on my experience of the mobile phone world. T Mobile have always been pretty rubbish in my experience, with O2 at the head of the pack.

On the positive side though, you should expect service to improve with time, these things usually do......

[admin]

The '3' the bundle charges are the same for pre-pay and contract. Which makes it a no-brainer to go pre-pay. Yes, you have to pay £50 for the dongle instead of getting it free. But you will soon save on that. The more varied your pattern of use - the quicker you save.

It also saves you worrying about being inadvertantly hit by heinious out of bundle charging. If you set it up properly pre-pay just stops and gets you to top-up rather than DD your wallet for 10x as much.

Be careful of T-Mobile. I believe the unlimited isn't.

Admin
(A '3' prepay customer)

PS1 At least one pub & cafe have free wi-fi for customers. Ideal for casual use.

PS2 Re transport - If you are finding train/tube expensive (who doesn't) - you can get into central London for 90p (176 bus runs 24/7). You will need a good book to consume the extra time (think 60 mins each way)

[xylem]

The '3' the bundle charges are the same for pre-pay and contract. Which makes it a no-brainer to go pre-pay. Yes, you have to pay £50 for the dongle instead of getting it free. But you will soon save on that. The more varied your pattern of use - the quicker you save.

How do you connect and top-up with a bundle the very first time if your account is empty?
Any place (online) to buy/sell used bundles?

[natbeuk]

Unless Admin has the opportunity to answer, I think everything is explained here: http://www.three.co.uk/personal/product ... _/payg.omp