Cheaper Commuting

Kitten_Pie

Hi all, I have tried searching for similar threads, but don't think I am very good at this whole search facility - if there is another similar thread feel free to guide me to it.

My husband and I own and live in london spending £74.50 a month each to commute by train to work. We are looking to move out of London but still able to commute into work. The problem we are encountering is that the travel costs are astronomical £400+ per month each:(

We were expecting to have to pay extra to move out and estimated that we could spend £200 each therefore over doubling out monthly travel costs.

We have seen some lovely places which fall within budget for everything else but travel costs which throw everything completely out. We have tried looking at stations we could drive to and then get a train to see if it reduces the cost, but no such luck.

The question i have is, is there a website of a company which does commuter buses, I am looking to see what the prices and timings are so we can put together another list of possible areas.

Any help or suggestions are greatfully received.

dzug1

There's no one company - and very few routes of the type you are asking about anyway. Some of them are once or twice a day affairs - if their times don't suit, tough

www.greenline.co.uk for starters - several routes

Maidstone I think has something http://www.chalkwell.co.uk/commuter.php

Maidenhead too - but finding the TT on line is a nightmare

http://www.rainbowfares.com/timetables/index.htm is another

And generic www.travelinesoutheast.org.uk - will get you anything with a great deal of hunting

Oh and Oxford has good coach links - the Oxford Tube

I suspect when you see some of the timings you may have second thoughts though

Mids_Costcutter

If you can still consider commuting by train there are some ways in which the cost of a season ticket could be reduced:

An annual season ticket will be cheaper over a year. If your employer offers a season ticket loan then this might make it easier to buy one.

It will be cheaper to buy a season ticket to one of the main London termini e.g. Paddington, Liverpool Street and not include a travelcard add-on for onward travel by bus, tube etc. If not too far to your final destination make the last leg of the journey by bicycle or look into buying a separate monthly travelcard for London.

Try splitting the season ticket as others have split single train tickets.

AdrianHi

Taking a bus into London and getting caught up with all the cars doing the same will almost certainly make the journey time much much longer than using the train.
£300 to £400 a month par for the course commuting in from the home counties, I can see how it is a problem with 2 of you doing it.

Problem is the most costly leg of the journey is the last bit into London which is of course most congested.
I pay under £310 Alton, Hampshire to Waterloo on monthy season ticket and personally I don't think the savings you get for an annual ticket are worth it when you start counting the periods you can avoid paying for on the breaks between monthly tickets.
I use Oyster in town.
My local station charges £80 parking a month, I use a private (church) car park very near the station that charges half that :cool:

Kitten_Pie

Thanks for the replies, All the quotes i have got are just to get to a main station as i work at waterloo i can walk form a large number of stations. I currently have a monthly season that i work around the holidays so for December i did't pay any travel whoop!

Long term plan is to find somewhere to live and once settled i will look for a job nearer home while my partner will continue working in london (job needs it) But in the short term we don't want to get into debt travelling to work and can't afford more than the one bedroom we have in London. Which has been great for the time living here but ready to start a family and unless we put little one in the hallway there isn't enough room.

Dzug the websites you gave me were really informative and have helped narrow our search, and realise that although not many there are places we can afford to live, now just have to go see the areas and hope they are half descent.

Thank you for your comments and help

whatmichaelsays

Have you thought about a motorcycle?

There are plenty of learner-legal motorcycles that you can use with L plates and just a standard licence and CBT. They're C charge exempt and most London boroughs (bar City of Westminster) provide free parking for bikes. Unlike a bus/train ticket, you also have something that isn't worthless in 12 months time.

There is currently a campaign running that will also allow you to take a free "taster" course: https://www.geton.co.uk.

If I lived in London, it's something I'd definitely consider.

Kitten_Pie

Its definitely something i have considered and will reconsider when we find a place and add up costs etc however my partner doesn't drive and don't think he would feel very secure being on a bike.

Thanks for the link it is very informative, i hadn't truly looked into the cost before and a year of using it would pay for itself it seems, even where i am at the moment let alone when we move to extortionate travel area - where ever that may be

grey_lady

Have you looked into Essex? tickets on the c2c route for commuters are much cheaper than coming in from say Hertfordshire and housing is a bit cheaper as well.

Kitten_Pie

Were actually both originally from Essex and i have fallen in love with a house ther e but train cost is £476 and if i go southend way near where my parents are it is still over £300.

Have looked more into the bike option, anyone know if you can use a scooter on the motorway? can't remember every having seen one so didn't know if they were allowed.

KeithP

The Highway Code - Motorways

253

Prohibited vehicles. Motorways MUST NOT be used by pedestrians, holders of provisional motorcycle or car licences, riders of motorcycles under 50 cc, cyclists, horse riders, certain slow-moving vehicles and those carrying oversized loads (except by special permission), agricultural vehicles, and powered wheelchairs/powered mobility scooters (see Rules 36-46 incl).

Kitten_Pie

Thank you, should probably already know that. ooops