How can you save money on a monthly travelcard in London?

kobracai

Question for anyone living and working in London, What do you use for cheap travel if you live a bit outside the centre and you have to commute daily?


I have been living in Battersea (zone 2) and work in zone 1, I might have to move to East London zone 4 for cheaper rent as Battersea is getting really pricey. I now pay £34 a month for the travelcard zone 1 and 2


I was thinking of using PAYG from Plaistow station or around that area (zone 4) to Warren Street as the travelcard for zones 1 to 4 is really expensive but even with the daily PAYG cap of £6.80, multiplied by 22 working days a month it will be £149 !! no way I can afford it


Those of you who commute from zones 4 and beyond, how do you do it?

Thank you for your help

Another question: is the PAYG cap of £6.80 the same whether you use contactless or Oyster?

elverson

This article might be worth a look.

Cornucopia

If/when you are considering moving, have a good look at the local travel options. Things to consider:-

- Is there a choice of Underground/National Rail routes - point-to-point Rail tickets and seasons can be cheaper than a Travelcard.

- Is there a good bus route that could be used instead (somewhat more likely from Zone 2 than Zone 4).

- All travelcards cover all LRT bus routes irrespective of zones, so see if you can save one or more zone by using bus for part of the journey.

- There are some minor differences between Oyster and Contactless - the most significant being that Contactless has both Daily and Weekly caps.


https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/ways-to-pay

kobracai

Cornucopia wrote: »

If/when you are considering moving, have a good look at the local travel options. Things to consider:-

- Is there a choice of Underground/National Rail routes - point-to-point Rail tickets and seasons can be cheaper than a Travelcard.

- Is there a good bus route that could be used instead (somewhat more likely from Zone 2 than Zone 4).

- All travelcards cover all LRT bus routes irrespective of zones, so see if you can save one or more zone by using bus for part of the journey.

- There are some minor differences between Oyster and Contactless - the most significant being that Contactless has both Daily and Weekly caps.


https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/ways-to-pay

Thank you, I will look into it

cyantist

I live in zone 6 and if it would cost me £228 travelling in at peak time for 22 days a month so I feel your pain.

Are all of your journeys done at peak times? Is there any flexibility in your work that means they don't have to be.

Travelling off peak reduces costs in itself obviously, but when I first moved out here I still had a zone 1-2 yearly travelcard so only paid for the portion of my journey between zones 3 and 6 and I found that I got an extra 1/3rd off those journeys if they were off peak.

kobracai

cyantist wrote: »

I live in zone 6 and if it would cost me £228 travelling in at peak time for 22 days a month so I feel your pain.

Are all of your journeys done at peak times? Is there any flexibility in your work that means they don't have to be.

Travelling off peak reduces costs in itself obviously, but when I first moved out here I still had a zone 1-2 yearly travelcard so only paid for the portion of my journey between zones 3 and 6 and I found that I got an extra 1/3rd off those journeys if they were off peak.

no option for off peak travel sadly, I work 8 to 5 pm

thanks anyway

jon81uk

Does your employer offer season ticket loans? Mine gives me the money for the annual ticket and then takes it from my wages each month over 10 months.

My zone 1/2 card is £1349 a year (so I pay £134.90 a month out my wages for the loan)
Zone 1-2 single is £2.90 peak. So even if all I do is work and back 5 days a week my travelcard pays for itself in 47 weeks, so I get five weeks of "free" travel, plus everything at the weekend or evenings if I break my journey.

Might be worth checking for annual ticket prices and doing the maths (compare to 2x single fares, not caps).

kobracai

thank you all for the advice

peachyprice

There's a 205 bus from Mile End to Warren Street, that would only need a 2-4 travel card, but the bus journey is over an hour.

Otherwise you could take the Ginger line from Stratford to Camden Road and a 27 or 88 bus down to Warren Street, again that would avoid zone 1 and is only 20 mins on the bus.

Either option would save about £80 a month.

t0rt0ise

I used to do it the other way round. Live in zone 1 and worked in zone 4. I travelled by bus. It took an hour but it was cheap.

drspa44

I'm not in this position, but if you're trying to minimise both travel time and rent cost, these are both very useful:


https://www.mapnificent.net/london/

http://www.commutefrom.com/