Commute costs: how much does it cost you to get to work every month?

EnterUserName

£200-£300

The thing about working in London is that outside of the TFL zones, the rail companies have worked it out so that you have to buy an annual ticket.

If your employer will let you WFH 3 days a week, go for it.

My rail fair is a relatively reasonable £240 per month

annetheman

EnterUserName, that's very true** I found that doing what a lot of people are doing increasingly - working in the SE commuter belt and travelling into London - you are far better off buying an annual ticket if you travel in 5 days a week.

If I didn't have the WFH 3 days option:

**But it's worth checking the daily cost, too!
I just found out I could get a 26-30 railcard (well, for 1 year anyway!). This would mean daily tickets are better, even if I bought one 5 days a week.
E.g.
My station -> Central London, commuting 5 days per week
7-day adult ticket - £83.40
1-month adult ticket - £320.30
Annual adult ticket - £3,336.00
vs
1 Anytime return day ticket 26-30 railcard - £13.35
x5 (weekly commute) - £66.75
x4 (monthly commute) - £267.00
x12 (annual commute) - £3,204.00

Still a lot but the savings buying daily if you do commute and can get a railcard, especially now with e-tickets, are worth it!

I now wonder how much of the commute costs are a factor in making a decision to take a job for most people... Would most people take a pay cut for an easy, walkable commute in a comparable position at a comparable company? How much of a pay cut?

Samsonite1

annetheman wrote: »

EnterUserName, that's very true** I found that doing what a lot of people are doing increasingly - working in the SE commuter belt and travelling into London - you are far better off buying an annual ticket if you travel in 5 days a week.

If I didn't have the WFH 3 days option:

**But it's worth checking the daily cost, too!
I just found out I could get a 26-30 railcard (well, for 1 year anyway!). This would mean daily tickets are better, even if I bought one 5 days a week.
E.g.
My station -> Central London, commuting 5 days per week
7-day adult ticket - £83.40
1-month adult ticket - £320.30
Annual adult ticket - £3,336.00
vs
1 Anytime return day ticket 26-30 railcard - £13.35
x5 (weekly commute) - £66.75
x4 (monthly commute) - £267.00
x12 (annual commute) - £3,204.00

Still a lot but the savings buying daily if you do commute and can get a railcard, especially now with e-tickets, are worth it!

I now wonder how much of the commute costs are a factor in making a decision to take a job for most people... Would most people take a pay cut for an easy, walkable commute in a comparable position at a comparable company? How much of a pay cut?

Although this highlights the advantage of getting into a TfL zone (they extend out pretty far, 12+ miles radius). Main advantages are £60ish for 5 days with unlimited journeys and the fact that if you stay at home, you don't pay anything. As long as the rent or house price is not much different to being outside of these zones (I think they are comparable having moved from Kent to Greater London, about 7 miles!).

Big4_Consultant

Me - £3,600 a year. Just paid off my season ticket loan. Now it's £21.60 a day and I try and work from home at least 2 days a week.

Wife - £4,500 but her ticket includes tube.

Horrible expense but goes with the perks of living in the home counties and working in London.

kmb500

£0-100

About £60 on fuel, i have a 8 mile journey to work.

I think adding extra car costs like some others do (tyres, servicing etc) is a bit daft, completely speculative with no basis in fact. I for one would be keeping a car on the road regardless of whether I use it to commute or not... as i imagine most others people do.

NBLondon

£100-200

ConsumerMatt wrote: »

I pay around £220 per month for train & tube. I live in the South East but I'm in the sweet spot of being far enough from London for property within my means but close enough for pay as you go Oyster.

I live in Zone 3 (SE) but work in Zone 3 (N) so I'm paying £440 a quarter for a Travelcard (train, tube, bus, DLR)

I would probably save a bit by buying an annual version - but I'm not in the office every day. Nor is it a predictable pattern of working from home or visiting clients so I couldn't be arsed to work out whether a day by day on contactless was significantly cheaper.

Planet_Switzerland wrote: »

It's hard to say really as I have an annual travel card so what I spend pays for all my travel round London for other things too.

Ditto - I might not have the cheapest option but there's the convenience of weekend travel being covered as well. Plus - Oystercards are multi-user so if I am at home and m'wife is travelling - there's no issue with lending it to her.

ctbfc

£200-£300

NBLondon wrote: »

I live in Zone 3 (SE) but work in Zone 3 (N) so I'm paying £440 a quarter for a Travelcard (train, tube, bus, DLR)

I would probably save a bit by buying an annual version - but I'm not in the office every day. Nor is it a predictable pattern of working from home or visiting clients so I couldn't be arsed to work out whether a day by day on contactless was significantly cheaper.

Ditto - I might not have the cheapest option but there's the convenience of weekend travel being covered as well. Plus - Oystercards are multi-user so if I am at home and m'wife is travelling - there's no issue with lending it to her.

This is absolutely against the rules, taken from TFL: http://content.tfl.gov.uk/rail-for-london-ticket-and-travel-guide.pdf

If you have a season ticket on your Oyster card, you cannot lend or transfer it to anyone else.

Be careful, if your wife is caught using it she could be fined or prosecuted.

nyermen

Farnborough here (cant afford surrey or london, but all my roots are south west london to hampshire).
So £475 for a monthly normally, due to the strikes this month, i'm having to go via reading/paddington which is £535 monthly. Is there such a thing as commuter poverty?

Herzlos

£100-200

kmb500 wrote: »

I think adding extra car costs like some others do (tyres, servicing etc) is a bit daft, completely speculative with no basis in fact. I for one would be keeping a car on the road regardless of whether I use it to commute or not... as i imagine most others people do.

Not really, your VED would be the same, but if you're commuting to work you're going to be paying more for tyres (more wear) insurance (more mileage) servicing (more often) MOTs (more wear).


I'm sure I'd calculated tyres as adding another ~2p/mile on a previous car with expensive tyres.

pinkduvetdiva

£0-100

I pay £81 every 4 weeks for my tram season ticket. I live in zone 3 and work in zone 1 (central Manchester).