Other options for a student travelling by rail to London for £5K?

VicHoon

My 21 y/o son will be commuting from Essex to London for a year. He will be taking a post graduate course at a London university, but I can't see any other option than paying the full whack of just over £5K for an annual Gold Card to cover the rail + Tube journey.
Are there any other options e.g. discounts I've missed that would knock this fare down?

KeithP

If your son is going to make that journey every week of the year, then an annual season ticket might well be the best option.

Monthly season tickets can be bought for any period over a month.

Consider buying a 'monthly' ticket lasting for five weeks - starting on a Monday and ending on a Friday. Adjust that five week period to take account of holidays - finishing on the last working day before hols.

tehone

Is it a 5 day a week PG course? A student railcard (aka 16-25 [which is also valid for mature students over 25] will give him a discount on the train fare and this may be cheaper over the whole of the year.

Also depending on where in Essex and where in London, your son will be travelling to/from. It might for example be cheaper to get a rail only ticket valid to Stratford and then using Student Oyster (which is 30% off as well) for the rest of the journey.

I'm happy to try and work out a few things to explore if that helps.

spiro

A key question is where in London and does he actually need the tube or could he get by walking from the station?