By Train or by Car to London?

mulmul

Would it be better to drive to London, paid the congestion charge and parking everyday for 3 months

or

Buy a train ticket valid for 3 months?

I am going from Basingstoke to London

wealdroam

mulmul wrote: »

Would it be better to drive to London, paid the congestion charge and parking everyday for 3 months

or

Buy a train ticket valid for 3 months?

I am going from Basingstoke to London

You need to work out the costs of both and compare them, don't you?

Add a little bit in for the convenience/inconvenience of both... only you will know that.

angeltreats

What part of London do you need to get to?

Unless I was working in zone 3 or further out, or a quiet part of zone 2, I'd buy the train ticket even if it was a bit more expensive, purely so I didn't have to spend hours sitting in London traffic.

catflea

Seeing as basingstoke to Waterloo takes approx 1 hour (and I bet you wouldn't even get to the M25 in rush hour in that kind of time) unless its horrifically more expensive (which I doubt) I'd go for the train.

That said, I do HATE commuter trains with a passion....

mulmul

I have never been on a train before:beer:
but If I wanna get from Basingstoke to London, should I buy the ticket at the station or online?

Which is the best website to go on to book it if online option is cheaper ?

Oldernotwiser

mulmul wrote: »

I have never been on a train before:beer:

Bloody Norah!

property.advert

I will be moving to Surrey and my train far is £3600 a year or around £360 a month. That includes tubes in zones 1-6.

Now if I was in the City, near Liverpool Street station, then driving in would be both a nightmare and horrendously expensive. I would expect car parking charges of £15 per day (NCP but perhaps discounted for season tickets) and then pay the £8 congestion charge. Lets say £20 a day plus fuel.

Your best option is to commute on the train, getting an inclusive tube ticket, allowing any route, costs £1160.10 for 3 months (I put in 01/06 to 31/08). https://www.swt.trainsfares.co.uk/season/requirements/st_qtt.asp?sitecode=SWT

The alternative is to move to a short term let in London. They are not cheap, though sharing a flat might cost you £150 to £200 a week around Angel. Going much farther out is pointless as you might as well just go back to Basingstoke.

The real issue is where you go after your train gets into Waterloo.

newcastle123_2

you need to compare the costs. driving in london is nasty too, cylcing is best

property.advert

Where I used to live, before the congestion charge was invented, cars were superfluous. You had to either pay for a permit to park on the street or pay perhaps £30-50k for a parking space in your condo development, as well as fuel, tax and insurance and topped off with massive depreciation ! Few people actually bothered with cars.

diable

It will cost you at least £150pw just for the congestion charge and parking not all zones allow you to pay for 8 hours parking so you might have to park in a car park which pushes up the costs. Where do you need to get to?

property.advert

diable wrote: »

It will cost you at least £150pw just for the congestion charge and parking not all zones allow you to pay for 8 hours parking so you might have to park in a car park which pushes up the costs. Where do you need to get to?

£15 a day NCP car parks, right at Liverpool Street station, bang in the heart of the financial district. Cheaper for sure on a season ticket. I was thinking it might be £25 a day. You can choose your hours, up to 9 hours is £13.10 but I picked the up to 12 hours price of £15 a day.

As I said, I guess a discounted price of around £20 per day including CG plus fuel at around 3 gallons (52 miles each way so say 1.5 gallons each way) which is another near £18 a day, making your total around £35-40 per day in total.