Season Ticket Questions

AK92_2 · 2 October 2016 at 11:27PM

Hi all,

I got a new job in London I'm starting soon, first time properly commuting so I'll be joining the masses forced to pay inflated train fares

Looking for some advice as I know there's some really savvy and knowledgeable people on this forum. I'll be working in Westminster.

I have several questions, as its all a bit confusing so bear with me.

1: I'll be commuting from Wellingborough and looking at a Season Ticket. I'm assuming a 16-25 Railcard won't provide the same savings as a Season Ticket. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

2: I'm looking at Wellingborough to Saint Pancras Int.
There are 3 options which are a bit confusing.

First one is the cheapest:
Wellingborough(WEL) to London Terminals

Available Standard Class Adult Season Tickets (Travel is allowed via any permitted route.)
With this ticket, using National Rail services you can travel to / from the following London stations: London St Pancras International [STP]

So I'm correct in assuming this is travel from Wellingborough to London overground train stations only, no Tube travel included in the ticket? Which is a bit weird as it says travel allowed via any permitted route.

Second option is more expensive:
Wellingborough(WEL) to London Travelcard Zones 1-6

Available Standard Class Adult Season Tickets (Travel is allowed via any permitted route.)

So this would include travel from Wellingborough to London overground train stations+ unlimited Tube travel in Zones 1-6?

Third option is the between the above 2 in price range, Wellingborough to London Thameslink, which I don't know much about. If anyone knows if there's any Thameslink services that go near walking distance to Westminster that would be great.
Wellingborough(WEL) to London Thameslink

Available Standard Class Adult Season Tickets (Not valid for travel on London Underground services.)

3. I've looked at split ticketing for a Season Ticket.

Wellingborough to Luton Airport Parkway is £353.70 for 1 month.
Luton Airport Parkway to St Pancras (listed as Thameslink is £368.30 for 1 month.
Luton Airport Parkway to Travelcard Zone 1-6 is £474.70 for 1 month

So all in all its £722-£828 if I did split ticketing, surely this should be cheaper than doing a season ticket for Wellingborough to St Pancras or Wellingborough to Travelcard Zone 1-6?? :mad::mad:

4. I'm comparing the cost of a season ticket of Wellingborough to St. Pancras only or Wellingborough to Travelcard Zone 1-6, (I'll only be in Zone 1).

It's more expensive to travel from Wellingborough to St Pancras only and get a monthly Oyster pass than to get a Season Ticket covering Wellingborough to Travelcard Zone 1-6. If I'm wrong or there's a way to make savings on the Tube element of the journey please let me know

Appreciate the help guys :beer:

wealdroam · 2 October 2016 at 11:44PM

AK92 wrote: »

Hi all,

I got a new job in London I'm starting soon, first time properly commuting so I'll be joining the masses forced to pay inflated train fares Looking for some advice as I know there's some really savvy and knowledgeable people on this forum. I'll be working in Westminster.

I have several questions, as its all a bit confusing so bear with me.

1: I'll be commuting from Wellingborough and looking at a Season Ticket. I'm assuming a 16-25 Railcard won't provide the same savings as a Season Ticket. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

2: I'm looking at Wellingborough to Saint Pancras Int.
There are 3 options which are a bit confusing.

First one is the cheapest:
Wellingborough(WEL) to London Terminals

Available Standard Class Adult Season Tickets (Travel is allowed via any permitted route.)
With this ticket, using National Rail services you can travel to / from the following London stations: London St Pancras International [STP]

So I'm correct in assuming this is travel from Wellingborough to London overground train stations only, no Tube travel included in the ticket? Which is a bit weird as it says travel allowed via any permitted route.

Second option is more expensive:
Wellingborough(WEL) to London Travelcard Zones 1-6

Available Standard Class Adult Season Tickets (Travel is allowed via any permitted route.)

So this would include travel from Wellingborough to London overground train stations+ unlimited Tube travel in Zones 1-6?

Third option is the between the above 2 in price range, Wellingborough to London Thameslink, which I don't know much about. If anyone knows if there's any Thameslink services that go near walking distance to Westminster that would be great.
Wellingborough(WEL) to London Thameslink

Available Standard Class Adult Season Tickets (Not valid for travel on London Underground services.)

3. I've looked at split ticketing for a Season Ticket.

Wellingborough to Luton Airport Parkway is £353.70 for 1 month.
Luton Airport Parkway to St Pancras (listed as Thameslink is £368.30 for 1 month.
Luton Airport Parkway to Travelcard Zone 1-6 is £474.70 for 1 month

So all in all its £722-£828 if I did split ticketing, surely this should be cheaper than doing a season ticket for Wellingborough to St Pancras or Wellingborough to Travelcard Zone 1-6?? :mad::mad:

4. I'm comparing the cost of a season ticket of Wellingborough to St. Pancras only or Wellingborough to Travelcard Zone 1-6, (I'll only be in Zone 1).

It's more expensive to travel from Wellingborough to St Pancras only and get a monthly Oyster pass than to get a Season Ticket covering Wellingborough to Travelcard Zone 1-6. If I'm wrong or there's a way to make savings on the Tube element of the journey please let me know

Appreciate the help guys :beer:

Where exactly in London are you travelling to?

AK92_2 · 3 October 2016 at 11:34AM

I work nearby St James Park Tube Station, in Westminster.

elverson · 4 October 2016 at 8:21AM

If you want to get the Underground from Kings Cross St Pancras to St James's Park you'll want a 'with Zones 1-6' ticket.

You might find it easier to get the Victoria line to Victoria and walk the rest of the way, rather than changing twice.

A "London Thameslink" is valid on National Rail trains (but not the Underground) as far south as Elephant & Castle. The nearest station for you is Blackfriars but it's a long walk from there.

The_Groat_Counter · 4 October 2016 at 3:18PM

OP, also consider just buying the Wellingborough to London Terminals (St Pancras) ticket then separately using Oyster or contactless to pay for your Tube travel, rather than buying the more expensive bundled Travelcard from Wellingborough.

A single Tube fare for a journey within zone 1 is currently £2.40 (at any time of the day).

With a valid 16-25 Railcard, you can have a discount loaded onto an Oyster card that would reduce this to £1.60 but only for journeys on weekdays that start either: before 0630; between 0930 and 1600; or after 1900.

The TfL Single Fare Finder shows single fares for Oyster and contactless. To see Railcard discounted fares, change the drop down box from "Adult" to "National Railcards & Gold Cards".

(P.S. You would be entitled to a 'Gold Card' if you bought an annual rail season ticket.)

Ballard · 4 October 2016 at 9:26PM

You should probably consider whether you will want to travel around London after work or during your lunch hour. If you opt not to include the travelcard you'd have to pay every time you move around the capital.

AK92_2 · 5 October 2016 at 7:46PM

Thanks all,

@The Groat Counter

TfL quote £124.50 for a Zone 1 monthly pass. I presume this is Mon-Sun unlimited travel over 4 weeks?

If I didn't get a monthly pass it would amount to £4.80 a day TfL travel x 5 days x 4 weeks= equals £96 per month in tube costs.

I took into consideration your suggestion of paying for tube travel seperately from the season ticket, but by my calculations its cheaper to get the season ticket with the Zone 1-6 travelcard included.

The 16-25 Railcard discount wouldn't be much use for me I'm afraid. I'll be arriving in London around 8am and would be leaving around 5/6pm every day. The 1/3 discount on daily caps would be useful but it only applies if you travel after 9.30am.

My Calculations

WEL to London Terminals only
1 month-573.40
3 months-1720.00
6 months-3439.90
12 months-5972.00

Plus TfL £96.00 per month
1 month-669.4
3 months-2008
6 months-4015.9
12 months-7124

Or with TfL Monthly Travelcard £124.50
1 month-697.9
3 months-2093.5
6 months-4186.9
12 months-7466

WEL-London Travelcard Zone 1-6
1 month-650.20
3 months-1950.40
6 months-3900.70
12 months-6772.00

wealdroam · 5 October 2016 at 9:34PM

AK92 wrote: »

TfL quote £124.50 for a Zone 1 monthly pass. I presume this is Mon-Sun unlimited travel over 4 weeks?

No. A monthly Travelcard can start on any day of the month and ends one month later.
For example, if you were to buy one starting on Wednesday 12th October, it can be used on any day up to and including Friday 11th November.

Having said that, Travelcards can be bought at the monthly rate for any period from one month up to a year.

AK92_2 · 6 October 2016 at 10:33PM

wealdroam wrote: »

No. A monthly Travelcard can start on any day of the month and ends one month later.
For example, if you were to buy one starting on Wednesday 12th October, it can be used on any day up to and including Friday 11th November.

Having said that, Travelcards can be bought at the monthly rate for any period from one month up to a year.

Ah, that makes sense as obviously a calendar month covers more than 4 weeks. Thanks.

Even considering the cost of a daily £4.80 Tube commute using "working days" only per month (as opposed to the Monthly £124.50 Travelcard) works out more expensive per month than the WEL-Zone 1-5 option which covers Mon-Sun travel on the tube, which is strange.

I'll go with the WEL-Zone 1-5 option.

One more question guys, I presume split ticketing doesn't really add value for a season ticket?

Many thanks for the help guys.

martindow · 7 October 2016 at 10:18AM

AK92 wrote: »

Ah, that makes sense as obviously a calendar month covers more than 4 weeks. .

I think what wealdroam had in mind was that you could buy Travelcards for odd lengths of time to finish before you take some leave or before bank holidays and then another one starting to coincide with your return to work.

You then will avoid paying for days when you know you will not be needing to travel.

JP08 · 7 October 2016 at 12:08PM

I'd give serious thought to looking at avoiding TfL season tickets altogether based those prices - depending upon time of travel and mode you chose, and whether you're willing to do a bit of legwork.

Actual example: My other half has a bog standard Oyster card that she tops up automatically every time it gets below a tenner. Gets into Kings X about 7:30 every morning. She works near Borough Market, so gets the bus down to Blackfriars S and takes a stroll along the Bankside. In the evening, back to Blackfriars and up to Kings X on the Thameslink (buses can be very slow getting TO Kings X). Very little travel around London outside of this.

Total Oyster bill last year : £600 (though she did have some time off for an op), this year looks to be coming in closer to £900.

Eg for your route you could try the 91 bus from Kings X St Pancras to Trafalgar Square then a brisk walk across the park.

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