Random thoughts about public transport etc

The hotel I stayed is was Premier Inn at Heathrow airport.  It was remarkably cheap although by train and bus about an hour out of London.  Nonetheless still cheaper than staying in London.  They have a great system at Heathrow where you can get on a bus for free if you are in the right zone.  The hotel is just outside the zone but only another bustop walk which takes about 5 mins.  In the end for me I suspect it made little difference as there is a maximum you can spend on an Oyster card for the day.  The Oyster card is similar to the Snapper but it works on all forms of public transport and at the end of the day works out how far you have been and then charges up to a maximum.  A great way to encourage people to use public transport. Congestion charging seems to work as the roads are remarkably unclogged.  The double decker buses are great for seeing things without too much being obscured.