Commuting by train

Furch

I could be starting a new job soon which would mean I would have to commute by train (at least to begin with).

I have asked the price of weekly and monthly tickets at the train station and was quoted:

£55.70 weekly or

£213.90 monthly

As you can see this is not cheap! I am studying a part time course at college but I don't think my student card entitles me to any discount? Does anyone have any tips to reduce this cost? I would be travelling between Preston and Manchester.

tehone

You can get a student railcard which will give you 1/3 off normal fares, you may find that this actually works out cheaper for you

catflea

Theres no such thing as a student rail card - its a 16-25 rail card :rolleyes:

this doesn't entitle you to any discounts of a season ticket - they are intended for "occaisional" use!

As a fellow train commuter (£80 a week season ticket for a run along the south coast!)

I have found the cheapest way to do it is with a 16-25 railcard. Normal Daily fare is just shy of £18 with the railcard I end up hitting the minimum (before 10am) spend of £12 (my train is at 9.56 grrrrr) otherwise it would be £11.35 with the card (formerly £10.95 till the annual price hikes!)

With an offer Southern were doing before Christmas I was able to get it down to under £7 a day - so there are ways and means....

What days of the week and what time of day are you travelling?

laird

Your student card won't normally help with the discount unless you qualify for a Young Persons Railcard (A railcard for those between 16 and 25 years old, also mature students although once over 25 you need to be full time students in order to apply).

The Season ticket is cheapest if you are going to make 4/5 return journeys per week. However if you were able to restrict yourself to a specific train then you could look at purchasing advance single tickets.

Overall for convenience you are probably better off buying the longest period season ticket you can, if you do end your course early you can get a refund less a nominal administration charge for the period you haven't used. If nothing else this will save you having to queue up to collect tickets.

KeithP

An Anytime Return costs £15.70 between Preston and Manchester. You will need this if you are travelling Peak Time.
A 16-25 railcard will reduce that to £12.00.

So we can see that a weekly ticket, far from being 'not cheap', offers excellent value.
If travelling just five days, thats only £11.14 per day.

As catflea says, do your sums and work out the best way for you.

Advance Singles can be had for £5 - £7 most days but times may not suit.

catflea

laird wrote: »

The Season ticket is cheapest if you are going to make 4/5 return journeys per week. However if you were able to restrict yourself to a specific train then you could look at purchasing advance single tickets.

Not Nessecarily so, it costs me £59.35 to get to work each week buying my ticket on the day with a 16-25 railcard or £81.40 with a weekly season ticket. Thats over 25% more expensive! :eek: Even if I didn't have a day off and went to work 7 days a week I would still be better off with daily tickets (£80.70)

Are there any advance tickets on the OPs route?


EDIT: With weekly tickets you will not be eligable for any refunds depending on running conditions. With a monthly season ticket (over 30 days) if service levels fall below a paticular rate you may be eligable for partial refund on the ticket - you need to ask when the ticket expires - the rail co wont approach you.

Over the last week if I'd had a weekly ticket I would be severely out of pocket as trains have not been running where I live (3 days, which I would have paid for on the season ticket and then have to pay again in petrol!)

KeithP

catflea wrote: »

Are there any advance tickets on the OPs route?

Yes there are. Depending on time, £5.00, £6.50 etc.
And of course if op is travelling off peak, knock a third off the Advance Single fare too with a railcard.

catflea

That looks like it could be them most cost effective route then!

Furch

Thanks for the quick replies

catflea

Unfortunately I don't meet the requirements for the 16 - 25 railcard due to being too old

I don't know the exact times or days I could be travelling yet, all I know at the moment is that it will be full time hours over five days including possible weekends, I think there will be both afternoon and morning shifts available. If I do the shifts starting in the morning I think it won't be possible to avoid travelling at the peak times..

KeithP

Furch wrote: »

I don't know the exact times or days I could be travelling yet, all I know at the moment is that it will be full time hours over five days including possible weekends, I think there will be both afternoon and morning shifts available. If I do the shifts starting in the morning I think it won't be possible to avoid travelling at the peak times..

From what you have stated here, clearly a Season Ticket is required.

A monthly ticket is cheaper per journey than a weekly one. A 'monthly' ticket can be bought for any period over one month up to one year. So it is a good idea to try and plan tickets to finish just before breaks (e.g. holidays) and start again afterwards.

KeithP

The Season Ticket Calculator is showing another Season Ticket for your route... at £34.50 per week, £132.50 a month. It apparently has some restrictions and says "ask for details". Might be worth exploring.