London - buying annual season ticket in advance

TrixA

I'm moving to London zone 3 and am planning to buy an annual season ticket for the tube. I'm moving in early December but will be taking an extended overseas trip over Christmas so wouldn't want the ticket to commence until l9 Jan - before then I would just use Oyster PAYG or weekly travelcards. Given that annual price rises are likely to kick in in early Jan, is there any way I can buy the ticket before I go away, but with a start date of 19 Jan? Can't find this info anywhere on the TFL website.

bargainbetty

You can usually buy a little in advance, but I don't think it is three weeks in advance. Call in at a ticket office and ask - they are generally very helpful.

dzug1

If it starts on 19 January you would be charged the new fare

bargainbetty

dzug1 wrote: »

If it starts on 19 January you would be charged the new fare

Not necessarily. I had a season ticket that expired on Jan 4th, after the new fares came in. I bought the replacement on 30th December at the previous year's prices, but had it dated from the 5th Jan.

This is why you need to check with the ticket office about how far in advance you can purchase it.

dzug1

TfL actually say this: (in relation to the 2015 fares increase, which is complicated to say the least and not all details have been published that I can find)


If you usually buy a 7 Day, monthly or longer period Travelcard or Bus & Tram Pass, you can save money by buying it to start before 2 January. (my emphasis)


For some, changes to daily/weekly capping may make a season ticket less worthwhile

TrixA

dzug1 wrote: »

TfL actually say this: (in relation to the 2015 fares increase, which is complicated to say the least and not all details have been published that I can find)


If you usually buy a 7 Day, monthly or longer period Travelcard or Bus & Tram Pass, you can save money by buying it to start before 2 January. (my emphasis)


For some, changes to daily/weekly capping may make a season ticket less worthwhile

Right, so it sounds like the latest it could start would be 1 Jan. I suppose it makes sense to do that even if I won't be using it for a few weeks, particularly if it means I'll be renewing at the lower price in subsequent years.

yorkie2

You can buy a Travelcard from a TfL online account up to one month in advance, and add this to your Oyster card (providing it's registered).

However, as others say, you will need a start date before the fares change to be charged the lower price (except, perhaps, certain ticket issuing systems may charge the lower price if booking clerks don't press the right buttons perhaps, as per bargainbetty's post, assuming that bug hasn't been fixed).