Cheapest way to commute on the tube

Isaac_:) · 18 August 2017 at 12:53PM

Hello everyone, if anybody knows TFL’s pricing system inside out then your help would be much appreciated!

I will soon be moving to London, and plan to commute Monday to Friday, making a return journey at peak times, on the tube, from Ealing Broadway (zone 3) to Embankment (zone 1). Outside of this commute, I’m sure I’ll find myself using the transport network for social purposes at least fairly regularly too.

I’m just trying to work out what would be the cheapest way to buy travel for these journeys. An annual travelcard for zones 1-3 would cost me £1548, and from what I’ve seen, this looks to be the cheapest option, seeing as it’d entitle me to unlimited travel, unlike pay as you go. I also think my employer offers a salary sacrifice scheme for these travelcards, meaning I’d be able to pay in instalments (does anybody know if I’d get tax relief on this, or does it not work like that?).

I also have a National Rail 16-25 Railcard, so I could load this discount onto an Oyster Card, which would entitle me to reduced off-peak fares. However, given that my commute will be entirely at peak times, I don’t think this would be very useful.

Is my instinct that the £1548 annual travelcard is the best option therefore correct? Do let me know if I’m missing anything, such as any price caps when paying by Oyster/Contactless which would make it cheaper than this.

Many thanks for your help.

ctbfc · 18 August 2017 at 2:20PM

the Z1-3 travelcard will be your best option. If you buy an annual ticket you'll also get all the gold card benefits: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46573.aspx

Some companies also give additional benefits for buying through them, for example I buy my z1-4 annual ticket from Chiltern despite not using them for my commute and they give free travel on their netwerk at weekends and bank holidays: https://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/new-customers#special%20benefits

Other companies also offer incentices, SWT gave 6 free weekend tickets too (although their franchise ends on Sunday).

surreysaver · 18 August 2017 at 3:06PM

Unless you spend a significant amount of time commuting off peak, an annual season will work out cheapest. Unless you want to get the bus all the way in!

elverson · 18 August 2017 at 3:17PM

Season ticket schemes are usually set up as interest-free loans, not salary sacrifice - so no tax advantage.

Another option: you could get a decent bike for about a quarter of the £1548. Ealing to Embankment is mostly flat and you can use the Cycle Superhighway for
the eastern end.

https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/cycle-superhighway-east-west

t0rt0ise · 18 August 2017 at 8:04PM

The cost of the annual travel card is the same as travelling twice a day in peak times for 47 weeks of the year. It assumes 5 weeks annual leave. So if you never use the card at any other time you will draw even but if you use it outside commuting that extra travel will be free. Also paying by contactless card has a weekly cap .. zones 1-3 of £38.70 so something else to take into account.

p00hsticks · 19 August 2017 at 11:45PM

If you can't get an interest free loan from your employer, you could look at getting a credit card with either cashback or a 0% on purchases offer (I used to pay for my annual Season ticket withan American Express card to earn cashback).

Isaac_:) · 21 August 2017 at 12:40PM

ctbfc wrote: »

the Z1-3 travelcard will be your best option. If you buy an annual ticket you'll also get all the gold card benefits

Some companies also give additional benefits for buying through them, for example I buy my z1-4 annual ticket from Chiltern despite not using them for my commute and they give free travel on their netwerk at weekends and bank holidays

Other companies also offer incentices, SWT gave 6 free weekend tickets too (although their franchise ends on Sunday).

Thanks to you all for your replies, they were really useful.

Looks like the annual travel card is the way to go.

ctbfc, you mentioned the annual Gold Card which I can see you can load onto your Oyster. Would anybody be able to tell me if it is possible to load more than one discount card onto the same Oyster (i.e. a Gold Card and a 16-25 Railcard), or if you're limited to just one? If the latter is the case, what would give better value?

ctbfc · 21 August 2017 at 1:01PM

Isaac_:) wrote: »

Thanks to you all for your replies, they were really useful.

Looks like the annual travel card is the way to go.

ctbfc, you mentioned the annual Gold Card which I can see you can load onto your Oyster. Would anybody be able to tell me if it is possible to load more than one discount card onto the same Oyster (i.e. a Gold Card and a 16-25 Railcard), or if you're limited to just one? If the latter is the case, what would give better value?

Limited to one but they give exactly the same discount.

elverson · 21 August 2017 at 1:02PM

You can't load the Gold Card discount onto the Oyster - it's a separate paper ticket which you get as a 'freebie' with an annual ticket.

Isaac_:) · 21 August 2017 at 2:39PM

elverson wrote: »

You can't load the Gold Card discount onto the Oyster - it's a separate paper ticket which you get as a 'freebie' with an annual ticket.

I think you can, actually. From the 'Annual Gold Cards' page on the TfL website:

'With the Annual Gold Card discount set on your Oyster card you get 1/3 discount on off-peak pay as you go fares and off-peak daily caps on Tube, DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail and most National Rail services in London.'

elverson · 21 August 2017 at 3:25PM

OK sorry. I was confused by the other page:

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/adult-discounts-and-concessions/railcards?intcmp=1757

Cheapest way to commute on the tube

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