New job in London 1st Feb - Train fare query

kylieM_2

bandraoi wrote: »

Can I ask the OP, why not just move into the city?
You'll save yourself an hour a day and the cost of renting won't be that much more than your ticket.

God your joking right?

Have looked into it, I need a one bedroom flat at least as I have a partner I will need to move with me and three cats.

Central I am looking at least £800 per month, going out a bit more north and west London is still a bit pricey, south and east is the pits. (I used to go to college in south London when I lived in Surrey).

I may look into moving to Kent or back to Surrey. At least the travel wont come to as much and renting is about the same as where I am now.

I have also looked into moving to Hemel Hempstead. You can catch a coach to baker street every morning, will take about an hour. and then I can get the tube from there which will take a couple of minutes. It will take about the same amount of time, but I am more interested in saving money than how long it will take.

Keith

I've used the coach service from Hemel and it's very good, normally seats available and they always ran on time, I'm not sure what they would be like now with the M1 roadworks though.

Again from Hemel, I used to ride a 125 scooter along the A41, through Watford, Mill Hill, Hendon and into London, it cost £20 a week and was quicker than the coach and train!

Motorcycle FTW!

bandraoi

kylieM wrote: »

God your joking right?

Have looked into it, I need a one bedroom flat at least as I have a partner I will need to move with me and three cats.

Central I am looking at least £800 per month, going out a bit more north and west London is still a bit pricey, south and east is the pits. (I used to go to college in south London when I lived in Surrey).

I may look into moving to Kent or back to Surrey. At least the travel wont come to as much and renting is about the same as where I am now.

I have also looked into moving to Hemel Hempstead. You can catch a coach to baker street every morning, will take about an hour. and then I can get the tube from there which will take a couple of minutes. It will take about the same amount of time, but I am more interested in saving money than how long it will take.

No, I currently rent a double room in East London, Z2, walking distance of Z1, for £400 a month including the council tax. That is not a huge amount more than you're thinking of paying for your train ticket.

What will your current flat plus the train fare come to?

South and East are not necessarily the pits, it depends on where you go.
Elephant and Castle is about to undergo major refurbishment, and is within walking distance of the city centre. Borough is lovely. If you know where to look West is often not that expensive either.

kylieM_2

bandraoi wrote: »

No, I currently rent a double room in East London, Z2, walking distance of Z1, for £400 a month including the council tax. That is not a huge amount more than you're thinking of paying for your train ticket.

What will your current flat plus the train fare come to?

South and East are not necessarily the pits, it depends on where you go.
Elephant and Castle is about to undergo major refurbishment, and is within walking distance of the city centre. Borough is lovely. If you know where to look West is often not that expensive either.

Sorry, hope I didn't offend, just my opinion on the parts I have been to, family from west ham, When my Dad took me to see West Ham FC once, he took me on a tour to see his old haunts, wasn't impressed lol

Its not going to be possible for me to rent a room, I have three cats, I am a really private person as well.

Its going to total to about £700 at the moment as my partner pays half the rent

bandraoi

kylieM wrote: »

Sorry, hope I didn't offend, just my opinion on the parts I have been to, family from west ham, When my Dad took me to see West Ham FC once, he took me on a tour to see his old haunts, wasn't impressed lol

Its not going to be possible for me to rent a room, I have three cats, I am a really private person as well.

Its going to total to about £700 at the moment as my partner pays half the rent

Offended, why would I be offended?
Why is everyone around here apologising for potentially insulting people all the time. Totally don't get it. People around here need tougher skins and straighter backbones.

Anyway, that's beside the point.
The cats do throw a spanner in the works alright, but you might find somewhere. Don't dismiss the idea of living in London (or parts thereof) based on one brief tour of a small area.

For £700pcm (or £607 if you take out what your Z12 oyster would cost) you'd find a very nice double room in a house share in Zone 2. You could probably find somewhere that you basically have your own loft room and bathroom and with a back garden where the cats could be let out.

If you're partner comes with you, then you have his half of the rent + your £700pcm and finding a nice one bed place though again the cats might be a problem.

Personally, I couldn't countenance spending that much a month on my train fare, to spend nearly 3 hours a day commuting, and having no quality of life during the week, but then that's how I balance things.

Altarf

Altarf wrote: »

If you are only making two tube trips a day within central London (to and from the office), then it may be cheaper to get a 'London Terminals' season ticket and an Oyster PAYG card.

chuckley wrote: »

that would only work if ur starting station was a PAUG station. if not ur stuffed and would need the travelcard... this is why all stations need to be oyster...

Why on earth would you need your starting station to be an Oyster pay as you go station?

You use your National Rail season ticket which is to 'London Terminals' to get you to the main line station in London, in my case Kings Cross, then you use your separate Oyster PAYG once in London. i.e. you use a train ticket on trains and Oyster on the tube/bus.

As I said before, doing this on my line costs £3700 for the National Rail season ticket to 'London Terminals' and £1.50 each way on the tube, which works out about £300 a year cheaper than buying a National Rail R1256 all zones travelcard.

chuckley

Altarf wrote: »

Why on earth would you need your starting station to be an Oyster pay as you go station?

You use your National Rail season ticket which is to 'London Terminals' to get you to the main line station in London, in my case Kings Cross, then you use your separate Oyster PAYG once in London. i.e. you use a train ticket on trains and Oyster on the tube/bus.

As I said before, doing this on my line costs £3700 for the National Rail season ticket to 'London Terminals' and £1.50 each way on the tube, which works out about £300 a year cheaper than buying a National Rail R1256 all zones travelcard.

so i get on at my station which isnt an oyster station and get off at say London bridge, on that journey an inspector asks to see tickets what do i show them?

are u stating that the 'london terminals' ticket is valid on any london train route?

Altarf

chuckley wrote: »

so i get on at my station which isnt an oyster station and get off at say London bridge, on that journey an inspector asks to see tickets what do i show them?

You show them your 'from wherever you live' to London Terminals train ticket. For someone, like the OP, working in central London they only use the Oyster card after they have got off the train and need to get onto the tube, bus, or DLR.

chuckley wrote: »

are u stating that the 'london terminals' ticket is valid on any london train route?

London Terminals is terminology used by the train companies to mean the group of mainline stations in London. So if you buy a 'from wherever you live' to London Terminals ticket it is generally (but not always) valid up to the first London mainline station that you reach on your journey. So for example a Cambridge to London Terminals ticket is valid as far as Kings Cross or Liverpool Street, depending on which route you take.

So if travelling from Cambridge to London, a ticket inspector at Cambridge, London or anywhere between will be perfectly happy with your Cambridge to London Terminals ticket. Once in London you can then use your Oyster PAYG to get from Kings Cross or Liverpool Street to your destination. If you only do two journeys a day (to and from the office) this is usually cheaper than getting a 'from wherever you live' to R1256 all zones Travelcard.

chuckley

right so basically this is for people that travel from outside london into central london and NOT for use for people that live in greater london travelling into CL?

Altarf

Not necessarily, but the maths only works if you only want to use the tube no more than twice a day and not at weekends, which probably does not apply to people living in London.

It is really a question of not assuming that a Travelcard or a Travelcard addon to a railway ticket is automatically going to be cheapest, but to estimate how many journeys you will make and compare it to the PAYG option.

For people living outside London, the only option for an addon to a railway ticket that will get you central London where they work is a R1256 all zones travelcard. Obviously this is valid in all zones, but most people commuting in from outside London will never want to go anywhere than zone 1 or 2, so they are paying for the ability to travel somewhere they won't.