As events continue to come back to life, ensuring clients, delegates, contractors and staff get safely and securely to events is essential. At the QEII Centre, we look at the ways in which you can get to the venue and some top tips for planning your journey.
The QEII Centre is excellently served by all the major transport types, with several tube and train hubs and major bus routes all a short walk from the Centre. For those staying overnight, there are 6,000 hotel beds in walking distance, whilst the Centre is also well served with several Santander bike docking stations in close proximity.
Our location in the heart of Westminster will also enable you to see many of London’s iconic landmarks on your commute such as the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and the London Eye and even Buckingham Palace.
Transport Options
Tube and Train
We are located a short distance from several major transport hubs that cover both tube and national rail services including Charing Cross, Victoria and Waterloo – which are within approximately 15 minutes wall of the Centre. Both Westminster and St James’s Park tube stations are even closer and within a five-minute walk.
Bus Routes
The QEII Centre is well served by bus routes, with three that stop within a stones throw of the Centre either outside Westminster Abbey or in Parliament Square (88, 148 and 211).
For a full list of routes and stops around the QEII Centre, please click here.
Bike Hire & Docking Stations
There are several bike hire companies throughout London, the most common is the Santander Cycles which has 11,500 bikes across 750 docking stations. The nearest docking station to the Centre is at the side of the Centre on Storeys Gate and holds eight cycles. For the full list of docking station, click here. Hire of the bikes costs £2 for unlimited journeys for up to 30 minutes in a 24 hour period. For journeys longer than 30 minutes, you pay £2 for each additional 30 minutes
Safety Measures on Public Transport
Enhanced cleaning measures have been put in place across the transport network in London. These include:
- the use of hospital grade cleaning substances to target viruses and bacteria
- key interchanges cleaned more frequently
- Poles on buses and tubes are other touch surfaces are wiped down daily with strong disinfectant
To find out more about public transport in London including safety measures, please take a look at the following links:
Top Tips for Travel
Plan Your Journey in Advance
Although the service levels are at near normal levels on the tube, this is not the case on other forms of transport such as national rail. We would recommend planning your journey in advance so that you leave plenty of time to get to The Centre.
Travelling Times
Transport for London currently advise that the quietest travelling times are between 08:15 and 16:00 and after 17:30 on weekdays. Please note that this varies from station to station and is subject to change. Currently the night tube and night overground services aren’t running and there is a limited night bus service.
Payment Methods
Some tube and DLR stations may not accept cash, however, there are over 4,000 Oyster ticket stops where you can use cash to top up your oyster card or buy a ticket. To ensure that you can purchase a ticket, we would recommend using an oyster card, which you can top up for free via an app or register the card to set up automatic payments. If you don’t have an oyster card or would prefer to pay by an alternative method, debit and credit card payments are accepted.
Face Coverings
For the whole duration of your journey, you will need to wear a face covering. If you do not, you may be stopped from travelling or fined up to a maximum of £200. Exemptions do apply for age, disability and health reasons.
Hand Sanitisation
1,000 hand sanitisation points have been rolled out across RFL run tube and train stations, DLR, the overground, bus and coach stations.
Although there is an enhanced cleaning regime across the London transport network, the advice is to wash your hands before and after a journey and carry sanitiser if you are unable to access the sanitisation points.