First time posting but long time reader ..... Looking for some advice. My wife commutes from Finsbury Park to Gatwick, previously a couple of days a week, likely to be 4-5 days from the new year. Unable to get a season ticket, and contactless is overpriced compared to split ticketing via East Croydon (via a paper ticket) any pearls of wisdom or advice about how to make this more affordable/ convenient?
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Finsbury Park to Gatwick commute
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Surreytraveller
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Why are you unable to get a season ticket? Gatwick to Zones 1-6 would work
To be fair, the OP probably searched for Finsbury Park to Gatwick which would not show travelcard options. But you are correct, Gatwick to zones 1-6 would work fine, it doesn't matter that it looks the wrong way round.
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What time of day is each journey?
Haywain
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Weekly capping may also be beneficial, either through using contactless or Oyster, or GTR's KeyGo pay as you go smartcard.
I would suggest a Gatwick to London Zones 1-6 Travelcard, routed "Thameslink only". This costs £113.40 per week or £435.50 per month.
The optimal way to buy it would be to get a 'custom period' season ticket for a month and a few days, such that it covers 5 working weeks (i.e. the Monday or other first travel day in one week, to the Friday or other last travel day 5 weeks later).
The additional rate you're charged for the extra days is more or less pro-rata and that way, you avoid paying for a weekend's travel every 5 weeks. You can also time it so that you avoid paying for a season ticket during periods of annual leave.
Whilst KeyGo would charge the same weekly cost as a cap, it doesn't offer monthly or custom period season tickets. Also, KeyGo is only valid on GTR (Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express) services - so your wife would not get the full benefit of the fact she's paying for the cost of a Travelcard.
She would still have to pay on top for any journeys around London on the Tube, bus or on other rail routes - which her Travelcard would otherwise cover, if she buys it in advance rather than using KeyGo capping. Depending on how often those kinds of journeys might take place, that could be a significant factor.
If your wife is eligible for the 16-25 or 26-30 Railcard then the calculations may favour daily tickets instead.
The optimal way to buy it would be to get a 'custom period' season ticket for a month and a few days, such that it covers 5 working weeks (i.e. the Monday or other first travel day in one week, to the Friday or other last travel day 5 weeks later).
The additional rate you're charged for the extra days is more or less pro-rata and that way, you avoid paying for a weekend's travel every 5 weeks. You can also time it so that you avoid paying for a season ticket during periods of annual leave.
Whilst KeyGo would charge the same weekly cost as a cap, it doesn't offer monthly or custom period season tickets. Also, KeyGo is only valid on GTR (Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express) services - so your wife would not get the full benefit of the fact she's paying for the cost of a Travelcard.
She would still have to pay on top for any journeys around London on the Tube, bus or on other rail routes - which her Travelcard would otherwise cover, if she buys it in advance rather than using KeyGo capping. Depending on how often those kinds of journeys might take place, that could be a significant factor.
If your wife is eligible for the 16-25 or 26-30 Railcard then the calculations may favour daily tickets instead.
Thanks this is really helpful! You are right - we had been looking 'finsbury park to gatwick' rather than the other way round, so it kept showing as unavailable.
If she got the Travelcard zones 1-6 would this mean she could also use tfl services in the zones via the smart card?
If not, it seems expensive still compared to split ticket FPK - Croydon / ECR - Gatwick, though there is the added problem that Finsbury Park doesn't have Aztec code scanners, which makes this inconvenient.
Re weekly capping - my understanding was that Gatwick was excluded from this?
Cheers
If she got the Travelcard zones 1-6 would this mean she could also use tfl services in the zones via the smart card?
If not, it seems expensive still compared to split ticket FPK - Croydon / ECR - Gatwick, though there is the added problem that Finsbury Park doesn't have Aztec code scanners, which makes this inconvenient.
Re weekly capping - my understanding was that Gatwick was excluded from this?
Cheers
Yes. All tube, dlr, trams and any bus services operated by TfL (even those that go beyond the zones).
If using paper or e-tickets there is no penalty if there are no scanners at a particular point.
It's not, but for esoteric technical reasons the off-peak day and weekly caps cost more than the equivalent travelcards. The anytime day cap is cheaper than the normal anytime day travelcard, but more expensive than the thameslink only anytime day travelcard.
You didn't answer what time of day the journeys are being made. This may have an effect on the best option, particularly if the morning journey starts before 0630.
I think the point the OP may be referring to is that the only the GTR-managed gateline at the eastern side of the station has barcode scanners. It seems to have become TfL policy, as of the last few months, to refuse entry or exit to people with barcode tickets at the TfL-managed gatelines.
In my view, this amounts to a breach of contract as there is nothing in the NRCoT which says that you can be denied entry or exit because you are using the "wrong" entrance or exit at a station. However, in practice you are not going to get through the barrier at the TfL-managed entrances, and I doubt a complaint is going to get you very far.
If the western entrance is better located for the OP, it would be somewhat of an inconvenience to have to go around to the eastern GTR side every single day just to scan in and out with their eTicket.
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