Season tickets - what's the point?

choc_mouse

Here's something I assumed was true but isn't. Season tickets/travel cards are always cheaper if you use it 5 out of 7 days a week. Wrong! :wall:

I feel so stupid because having purchased travelcards for my partner for the last 6 months, I did the calculations just now and found we were paying more than we had to.

Example 1
2 x Zone 1 peak journeys = £3.60 per day on Oyster pre-pay. E.g. go to work in the morning. Come home in the evening.

Assuming I went to work Mon-Fri for the whole year, this would cost £3.60 x 5 days x 52 weeks = £936 using Oyster pre-pay. Of course, ignoring holidays, weekend, social travel.

The annual zone 1/2 oyster fare is £1032 but I live in zone 1.

Example 2
Anytime day return ticket from Zone 1 to a city one hour outside of London costs £18.10 with a Network Railcard (available to practically everyone).

Assuming I have to do this Mon - Fri for the whole year, this would cost £18.10 x 5 days x 52 weeks = £4706.

The equivalent annual season ticket costs £4660. OK, this is cheaper but remember this is the annual ticket where I must stump up over £4.5k and is useless during the 30+ days of annual leave I am entitled to. The monthly/tri-monthly season tickets work out more expensive up front.

The benefits of season tickets/travel cards are that I don't need to buy a ticket, saving time in the mornings. They also allow me to make unlimited journeys on the specified routes should I wish to.

But am I the only one to find season tickets in this country a bit of a rip-off? I expected (significant) savings for daily commuters (e.g. Mon-Fri travel people). I guess it really depends on the route required and the need to travel frequently.

I wish the pricing for the UK's public transport system could be simplified like every other country I have visited. It's just owned by profit hungry investors now.

Keith

My season ticket was £3,380.

My daily ticket would be around £28, £28x5x47=£6580

You also can't use the Railcard before 10am

silvercar

You are comparing oyster season tickets, which give travel anywhere within the zone, to single point to point journeys. apples and pears.

From my station, national rail in zone 6, you can choose a season ticket that is point to point or a season ticket which includes zone 1 or I think one that includes all zones.

olly300

Season tickets are cheaper or more expensive depending what route you do and what transport methods you use.

For example when I use to travel outside of London on the trains, the price of a season ticket was either equal to or more than 5 daily return journeys in peak hours.

However travelling into London on the trains in peak hours it's cheaper to buy a season ticket.

However travelling into London on the tubes only in peak hours it's cheaper to use pay as you go.

However travelling into London using a mixture of transport it's often cheaper to get a season ticket.

choc_mouse

Thanks all for the advice/comments. Commuting on a daily basis by public transport is obviously new to me. Just don't want to spend more than what I really need to...

Thanks also for that vital piece of information about railcards. I thought they all had the same type of restrictions so I'd been checking using my 16-25 railcard, which seems to give discounts during peak! (Yet again, I assumed the network railcard was the same except only covering SE england...me bad.) So in which case, the season tickets would work out a bit cheaper after my "young persons" status has expired.

I need to go back to my spreadsheet...which is kind of my point. Just seems to be too many combinations to consider and what ifs and National Rail/TFL will only tell you what you ask them. Wasn't there an article not so long ago saying that ticketing was overly complicated in this country? I must be over thinking this... :doh:

This statement is probably what misled my way of thinking:
http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/en/s/seasonticket/calculator

If you are making the same journey on 3 or more days within a week a Season ticket is likely to offer better value than daily tickets.

As for Oyster travel, I guess olly is right that pay as you go is cheaper since my partner lives and works within zone 1 and travels by tube only.

wealdroam

choc_mouse wrote: »

Thanks also for that vital piece of information about railcards. I thought they all had the same type of restrictions so I'd been checking using my 16-25 railcard, which seems to give discounts during peak! (Yet again, I assumed the network railcard was the same except only covering SE england...me bad.) So in which case, the season tickets would work out a bit cheaper after my "young persons" status has expired.

Also worth noting there is a minimum fare of £12.00 with a 16-25 railcard before 10am on Monday to Friday.