New Deal Railcard for Jobseekers

Sunshine12 · 22 January 2010 at 5:30PM

Not sure if this is on the right thread but wondered if anyone had one of these or any more info about it. Ive never heard of it up till now. Could come in handy for travelling to interviews etc. but not too sure of exact details and this is a bit vague...Has anyone got one of these via Job Centre?

http://www.railsaver.co.uk/railcard-vs-railpass.html#NewDealRailcard

briona · 22 January 2010 at 5:41PM

I haven't come across the railcard before but I knew there was a New Deal Stagecoach bus pass in existence. A quick Google brought up a thread on here. I have quoted it below:

coolnamebob wrote: »

Hello,

To anyone who is currently on JSA 'New Deal' scheme. Something the jobcentre may have omitted to tell you :

You are entitled to A 'New Deal' train and bus pass. These entitle you to half price fares for around 3 months. You just need to ask at the jobcentre and fill in a simple form with 2 passport photos.
When you buy a ticket you show it and get it half price

They have a habit of not mentioning this scheme to you .
But it can save you quite a lot if your travelling a lot on public transport.:T

Hope that helps.

Briona

Sunshine12 · 22 January 2010 at 5:43PM

Thanks Briona.

Ive just phoned Job Centre (in Scotland, England may be different) and they are suggesting it no longer exists. Never sure though - they said they had never heard of it in the first place!!!

briona · 22 January 2010 at 6:00PM

I've just checked a few train websites and interestingly it ISN'T mentioned as a railcard option on Scotrail's site but it is on some of the English train companies' sites...

The link below shows some of the available railcards. If you are under 25 I would recommend the 16-25 Railcard. It costs £26 per year and you save up to 33% on each rail fare.

http://www.scotrail.co.uk/content/railcards.html

Marsupial · 22 January 2010 at 7:52PM

From the Rail Saver page:

There is a separate scheme in Scotland. Photocards are issued for periods of up to six months, but discounts are only available on Seven Day Season Tickets for journeys wholly within Scotland. JobCentres themselves also sell certain Standard Day Return tickets for Scottish journeys, again at a 50% discount.
The scheme is governed by an agreement between ATOC and Jobcentre Plus, which was renewed in 2002 and remains effective until either party proposes to end it.

You may want to check out those tickets you can buy from the Job Centre, if possible. Also, the list of accepted rail cards on a train site, such as Scot Rail may not be exhaustive. There is no mention of the New Deal Railcard on the South West Trains website, as far as I could see from a quick search but they certainly do accept it.

Apolonation · 22 January 2010 at 9:28PM

You can travel on the busses with a discount oyster card. You get a form from post office. Take them benefits letter. They issue you with photocard valid for 6 months. Half price oyster on busses for 6 months, regardless if you go back to work in the 6 months.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/5568.aspx

Also looks like new deal photocard is still in use....

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/1024.aspx

matthewkn · 26 January 2010 at 4:03PM

I've just phoned up my local job centre (Newmarket) and they said the New Deal Railcard doesn't 'kick in' until about 6 months after you've been signing. Given that I've only been signing for a month I guess that means no discounted travel for me lol! Hope this helps clear a few things up for a few people:)

Matt

SheppeyWardenBay · 12 July 2010 at 11:57AM

briona wrote: »

I haven't come across the railcard before but I knew there was a New Deal Stagecoach bus pass in existence. A quick Google brought up a thread on here. I have quoted it below:

Hope that helps.

Briona

Hi, I am due to get a new deal railcard this week. It'll be my 2nd one. My JSA advisor is pretty good. Takes a couple of minutes to get sorted!!!:T:T:T

InDebted2U_2 · 21 July 2010 at 6:09PM

SheppeyWardenBay wrote: »

Hi, I am due to get a new deal railcard this week. It'll be my 2nd one. My JSA advisor is pretty good. Takes a couple of minutes to get sorted!!!:T:T:T

Do they give you the card there and then on the spot if you have your passport photos? I was just looking at getting one of these in time to use next week.

ian_h · 16 January 2011 at 12:30PM

Sorry to retrieve an old thread but i have asked my adviser for one and been blanked as if they dont know what they are - then when I found a link on the national archives they told me it only applies to claimants in London - is there anything I can do to prove they still exist?

MsHoarder · 16 January 2011 at 3:45PM

I don't know about the New Deal Railcard, but I was told at my jobseekers' interview this week to ask the job centre for a pass to travel by train if I'm getting the train to interviews. So if you need to get a train in a hurry they might be able to do that for you.

New Deal Railcard for Jobseekers

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