Am I missing out on train savings?

life_nit

Hi all,

I've been reading the information on saving on train fares on this website but I'm not sure if I am missing a trick to save some £££'s.

My daily coommute is from Loughborough > Leicester and back.
I pay monthly for a season ticket which is £102, the same rate applies even if I buy 6 months worth in advance, I can save £160 if I pay 12 months up front but I'm reluctant to do so and I'm wondering if I'm just stuck paying this .

Any help would be massively appreciated. I'm 26 and don't think I qualify for any rail saving card.

HappyMJ

life_nit wrote: »

Hi all,

I've been reading the information on saving on train fares on this website but I'm not sure if I am missing a trick to save some £££'s.

My daily coommute is from Loughborough > Leicester and back.
I pay monthly for a season ticket which is £102, the same rate applies even if I buy 6 months worth in advance, I can save £160 if I pay 12 months up front but I'm reluctant to do so and I'm wondering if I'm just stuck paying this .

Any help would be massively appreciated. I'm 26 and don't think I qualify for any rail saving card.

Switch to the bus. The Skylink Derby will take you there.

You could get a Kinchbus Universe 28 day pass for £90 which will take you not only from Loughborough to Leicester but on to Derby and Nottingham whenever you want during the 28 days as well.

If you just want to limit yourself to Loughborough and Leicester then it's £75.

Later on this year you can get a pass which can gives you access to the whole of TrentBarton land as well for £105 per month but that excludes my bus...the X38 from Derby to Burton-on-Trent and the pronto from Nottingham to Chesterfield via Mansfield. It is still very good value though.

You could go to Bakewell or Matlock on the weekend. Think of the day trips you could have for no extra cost to you.

wealdroam

life_nit wrote: »

Hi all,

I've been reading the information on saving on train fares on this website but I'm not sure if I am missing a trick to save some £££'s.

My daily coommute is from Loughborough > Leicester and back.
I pay monthly for a season ticket which is £102, the same rate applies even if I buy 6 months worth in advance, I can save £160 if I pay 12 months up front but I'm reluctant to do so and I'm wondering if I'm just stuck paying this .

Any help would be massively appreciated. I'm 26 and don't think I qualify for any rail saving card.

As you know, season tickets can be bought at the monthly rate for any period from one month to one year.

One way of making a saving is to buy a ticket for five weeks at a time.

For example, lets assume you work Monday to Friday, and lets start next week.
Buy a season ticket from Monday 6 June to Friday 8 July. Buy your next ticket from Monday 11 July ending on Friday 12 August. And so on skipping a weekend each renewal.
Also factor in planned absences, e.g. annual leave, which may mean buying a five, six or seven week ticket to get the best value. But the shorter period, i.e. five weeks, gives the most number of weekends you aren't paying for.

If you don't work Monday to Friday, you'll have to adjust that theory to your own needs.

Tuesday_Tenor

HappyMJ wrote: »

Switch to the bus. The Skylink Derby will take you there.

You could get a Kinchbus Universe 28 day pass for £90 which will take you not only from Loughborough to Leicester but on to Derby and Nottingham whenever you want during the 28 days as well.

If you just want to limit yourself to Loughborough and Leicester then it's £75.

Later on this year you can get a pass which can gives you access to the whole of TrentBarton land as well for £105 per month but that excludes my bus...the X38 from Derby to Burton-on-Trent and the pronto from Nottingham to Chesterfield via Mansfield. It is still very good value though.

You could go to Bakewell or Matlock on the weekend. Think of the day trips you could have for no extra cost to you.

That is such useful info, MJ, that I felt I had to thank and comment, even though it's not my area ( tho my gran lived in Leicester so I know it well).

Checking on traveline I see that that bus is a frequent, and usually as quick as the train. When it's slower, it's by only a couple of minutes! There aren't many journeys that would be true for! Well worth the ££ savings. But does the bus get stuck in traffic at the peak work times?
The only other consideration is that some people can read/ work on the train, but can't on a bus.

Definitely sound like something OP should try out.