MY 16 year old sons travel fares HELP

COROCK

Hi to all,

My 16 year old son is starting College in Victoria in London in September this year 2013. We live in Potters Bar Hertfordshire. This means a overground train journey to Finsbury park then change onto the Victoria Line for Victoria. My son will be travelling at different times every month sometimes leaving home at 6am or 7am then maybe the following month 8am and as you see mostly peak times. Could anybody out there please advise me what the cheapest method is for this travel. I would appreciate your suggestions, as we don't get any aid from the Government for this travel.
Also what discounts can we get with a railcard and which one would he require. Many many thanks for your suggestions.

Yours Kenny

Herbalus

As he is 16, the 16-25 railcard would seem like the obvious choice. Have you looked on their website?

You can apply railcards to oyster cards at a ticket office.

Probably a season ticket would be the best value if he's travelling a lot.

If you want to go that little bit extra, I would pay with a 123 credit card from Santander, because they give 3% cashback on trains. Obviously you'd have to pay for it because he's under 18. Don't know if it's worth if to get one for you because there's a £24 yearly fee unless you have the 123 current account. I do, but you might not.

If you're travelling through London at peak times there isn't really a cheap suggestion I have.

bargainbetty

Is there any possibility of him cycling part of the journey? If he could get to the nearest Zone 2 station and then cycle across town, that would save the most (not going into Zone 1, as it charges the most). However, if he wants to do the entire thing by public transport, he will need to look at a travelcard, with whatever discounts he can obtain as a student/16 year old.

Herbalus

bargainbetty wrote: »

Is there any possibility of him cycling part of the journey? If he could get to the nearest Zone 2 station and then cycle across town, that would save the most (not going into Zone 1, as it charges the most). However, if he wants to do the entire thing by public transport, he will need to look at a travelcard, with whatever discounts he can obtain as a student/16 year old.

Isn't there something about bikes on peak trains? I don't have the specifics, but you'll need to check if that's an option. Great idea though. I cycle and don't use trains at all!

CKhalvashi

Herbalus wrote: »

Don't know if it's worth if to get one for you because there's a £24 yearly fee unless you have the 123 current account. I do, but you might not.

And it's something it's worth getting. For £2 a month, we're earning £40 a month in cashback, and the average household could earn £15-20 a month, just through paying their bills through it.

This would need to be in your name, and he needs to know that this is only for train fares, though. It may be worth giving him a letter stating that he has permission to use this, for obvious fraud reasons.

Other than that, London at rush hour is a nightmare!

CK

COROCK

Many thanks to you all for your swift replies. I have got my son a 16+travel card also applied for a Out of town 16+ Oyster card.

dzug1

You'd need to check what combination of the two cards would result in the greatest saving - for instance the 16+ card offers no saving on a rush hour journey Potters bar to Finsbury Park - but does on a through ticket Potters Bar to Victoria. The zip Oyster offers no savings outside zone 6

hannerrbabes

Can your local council help with travel costs at all? Some do if your family is in a certain income bracket or receiving some types of benefits. It can really cut costs. They helped with mine last college year (I live alone so no parental income/support) so my train pass only cost £450 instead of over a thousand.

silvercar

If only you lived within the greater London boundary you would get free fares. We suffered similar, living in Hertsmere. Here is the link to the help you can get:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14308.aspx