Season tickets into London from Cambridge

zisoregondo

Hi all,


I'm looking to calculate the cost of a season ticket from Cambridge to London Kings Cross with the workplace being in Victoria (also Zone 1). Whats the best way to save money on this route?

Thanks in advance for the help..

Zee

Hutchch0920

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/seasonticket/search

I spent about 4 weeks trying to figure out a cheaper way to buy a season ticket with no luck. What I can recommend is, use a quidco account and buy your ticket through ticketline and you will get cashback (although you may need to apply manually). This was £135 in my case!!

yorkie2

The base rate is £149.30 per week, for a London Zones 1-6 Travelcard from Cambridge. There's a Season ticket calculator here:

http://www.brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=CBG&dest=0035&tkt=7TS

The best value would be an annual, priced at £5,972.

This is effectively a ticket for unlimited travel between Cambridge and the boundary of Zone 6 (on any of the permitted routes towards King's Cross/Moorgate/Liverpool St) plus a Travelcard for unlimited travel within Zones 1-6.

If you can't afford the up-front cost, and your employer doesn't allow you to spread the cost, then I'd buy them in typically 5 week blocks, generally commencing on a Monday and finishing on a Friday (assuming Monday-Friday commuting) but taking into account annual leave and Bank Holidays.

zisoregondo

Is there no way to avoid the Zone 1-6 travelcard which I don't need..?

dzug1

You can buy the ticket to London Terminals and then use Oyster/contactless for the Kings Cross to Victoria leg - or doing that bit by bus if time permits would save a bit more.


Depends on how much other travel in zone 1 that you do

cookie365

Marginally cheaper to get the same season ticket to Kings X (London Terminals) for £117.30 and then £15 a week on bus fares.
http://www.brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=CBG&dest=KGX&grpd=1072&tkt=7DS

But only if your time has no value.

Hutchch0920

zisoregondo wrote: »

Is there no way to avoid the Zone 1-6 travelcard which I don't need..?

Get a fold up bike and cycle was the only other option I came up with.

surreysaver

zisoregondo wrote: »

Is there no way to avoid the Zone 1-6 travelcard which I don't need..?

If you are going to travel to Victoria from Kings Cross via the Underground, then you need a Travelcard.

wealdroam

surreysaver wrote: »

If you are going to travel to Victoria from Kings Cross via the Underground, then you need a Travelcard.

Why is that then?
Can singles not be used on the underground any more?

A single fare, using Oyster or contactless, between Kings Cross and Victoria is £2.40.
Assuming five days a week, that's £24.00 a week .

That will show a weekly saving of £8.00 when combined with a Cambridge to London Terminals weekly season.

Altarf

yorkie2 wrote: »

The best value would be an annual, priced at £5,972.

Season ticket travelcards for most commuters travelling in from outside London are a rip off, as they just want to get in and get out and don't use the ticket in the evening or weekends.

The train ticket price from Cambridge to Kings Cross is £4,692, so you are paying an extra £1,280 per year for the tube/bus.

Most commuters will only use the tube twice a day, so £1,080 per year. Are you really going to use the tube an extra 125 times a year?

Also if you start late and work late, then the cost comes down to £720 per year, so you would have to do an extra 350 journeys a year.

Cornucopia

Season ticket calculator is offering Cambridge-Elephant & Castle via Thameslink at £125pw. There might be some value in checking what the valid routes were for that?