Most cost effective way of travelling between zones 1-3 in london

WagathaChristie

Hi all, grateful for some advice please on the cheapest way to travel around London.

I live in zone 3 and work in zone 1. I’m expected to go into the office between 2-3 days a week and I sometimes travel into zone 1 on other days.

The daily cap for zone 1 to 3 travel is £10 (until March 2025, anyway, as I think current fares are frozen till then).

I’ve currently budgeted £190 per month for travel (so roughly works out daily at £6).

I can’t afford to budget for a potential £10 daily cost, as this would mean me budgeting £300 monthly just for travel.

This is firstly crazy, as I earn £2300 per month and also spend £900 on rent and bills (bills included in my rent). That would mean I’m spending £1200 (52%) just on rent and travel.

I work in the public sector, and am looking for a new job in the public sector which will mean I’ll get a bit more money per month, but it won’t be much more.

Grateful to hear how you all deal with travel costs and to find out if there’s a more cost effective way of travelling! Thanks very much.

SimonSeys

Weekly tube ticket is just over £50.   Do Thu / Fri in week one, and Mon-Wed week two, then Thu / Fri week three, Mon-Wed week four.  Gives travel costs of c, £100 per month. 

Newbie_John

You'd be surprised how many people spend more on just commute and house!

Ways to save:
- commute less
- take buses only
- cycle
- zone 2-3 is much cheaper than 1-3 and then walk, cycle..
- avoid peaks, cheaper after 9:30
- using just trains can be much cheaper than train and tube, or tube itself (rarely, but happens)
- claim all the possible delays (15 minutes delay and your journey is free)
- pay with some cashback card like Chase 1% back

- if you house share - you can always share a ticket with someone - you aren't allowed to share the named travel card, but normal card that's subject to capping is OK 

WagathaChristie

Thanks NewbieJohn and Simon. 

Simon, can I ask about the reasoning for alternating commuting days in different weeks of the month? Does it work out cheaper to alternate days? Or are you suggesting just picking 2 days each week to go into zone 1 and varying them just because? 

Ha John, I’m sure lots of people spend lots more than me on their commute and housing costs, but regardless, I’m feeling the pinch! Thanks for your suggestions - I think the main one that would work well for me is getting a cash back card e.g. Chase, and commuting less e.g. only going into zone 1 on 2-3 days rather than every day. 

I also need to get a higher paying job! 

Newbie_John

You can get weekly travel card for your Oyster that doesn't have Mo-Sun capping - it can be Wed-Tue so could cover your days. You would only need two weekly cards if you worked in such pattern:
Mo,Tu home
WD,Th,Fri,weekend,Mon,Tue commute
WD,Th,Fri home
Repeat again.

SimonSeys

WagathaChristie said:

Thanks NewbieJohn and Simon. 

Simon, can I ask about the reasoning for alternating commuting days in different weeks of the month? Does it work out cheaper to alternate days? Or are you suggesting just picking 2 days each week to go into zone 1 and varying them just because? 

Ha John, I’m sure lots of people spend lots more than me on their commute and housing costs, but regardless, I’m feeling the pinch! Thanks for your suggestions - I think the main one that would work well for me is getting a cash back card e.g. Chase, and commuting less e.g. only going into zone 1 on 2-3 days rather than every day. 

I also need to get a higher paying job! 

John has covered it, but by varying your days you can use 1x seven day travel card to cover two weeks in the office.  (Thu-Wed)

Andy_L

When you travel to work if its just a home to work & return journey (rather than pootling all about London) you aren't going to hit the cap as its £3.70 for a Z3-1 single

Why do you need to budget for travelling Z3-1 30 days a month? 

outtatune

Will your boss allow you to do 2 weeks in the office then 2 weeks out? Would make weekly travelcards more efficient.

martindow

Travelling by bus will be slower but cheaper at £1.75 per journey and if you change within an hour the second bus is not charged (Hopper fare)

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/find-fares/bus-and-tram-fares

Your commute would be £3.50 a day.

MacPingu1986

If you're comfortable or open to the idea of cycling into work then it's pretty hard to beat in terms of a very cheap commute + usually quicker than trains/tubes too.

I live on the Zone 2/3 border and cycle to work on the far side of Zone 1 4-5 days a week year round. Bike is c10 years old and *annual* commuting costs for me are little more than an annual bike service (£200 assuming a couple of components/consumables need replacing) and minimal costs (say £75 a year tops) of occasional new inner tubes and tyres. 

bouicca21

I also suggest considering a bike. I live in zone 4 and it is surprisingly easy to cycle to places in zone 1 safely via back streets and parks. It doesn’t take much longer than public transport.  I’m not sure I’d want to cycle home through some of those parks after dark but  you could easily do half the year or more on the bike.  And if you bought a folding bike you could cycle in and train back.  Good for your fitness, good for the environment.

I’m not sure how the cycle to work scheme works but suggest you explore the possibilities.