London fare zones London fare zones Rail service fares in Greater London and the surrounding area are calculated in accordance with the London fare zones system managed by Transport for London. Within London, all London Underground, National Rail, London Overground, TfL Rail and Docklands Light Railway stations are assigned to nine fare zones. Fare zone 1 covers the central area and fare zones 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 form concentric rings around it. Some National Rail stations and all Transport for London served stations outside Greater London in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey are either included in fare zones
London Underground Electronic ticketing in the form of the contactless Oyster card was introduced in 2003. London Underground services on the East London line ceased in 2007 so that it could be extended and converted to London Overground operation, and in December 2009 the Circle line changed from serving a closed loop around the centre of London to a spiral also serving Hammersmith. Since September 2014, passengers have been able to use contactless cards on the Tube. Their use has grown very quickly and now over a million contactless transactions are made on the Underground every day. The Underground serves 270 stations.