Ascot Waterloo Season Ticket

[knighta37]

Hi,
Completely new to season tickets and I'll be shortly starting a commute from Ascot to Bond Street.

I live equidistant to Ascot and Maidenhead and I wondered if the following season ticket means I could travel either into Waterloo or using Ascot via Reading to Paddington route, could I board at Maidenhead using the same ticket. Trying to build some flexibility into my journey especially as I will also be spending time in our Slough office which this would cover.

STANDARD Annual
Ascot (Berks) - London Zones 1-6
(1 Adult) Travel is allowed via any permitted route.

The ticket is considerably more expensive than the ticket that mandates travel through Staines so given there are no more options if heading to Waterloo what would be the benefit of the more expensive ticket?

Thanks in advance.

 

[LexyBoy]

The Any Permitted ticket allows travel via Reading; you are allowed to travel between any stations on the route(s) permitted by your ticket with a season so boarding at Maidenhead (or any other station on either route between Reading and London) would be fine.

There is also an Ascot-London ticket AAA Windsor & Eton Riverside which is only slightly more expensive than the Via Staines and would allow you to travel from Windsor to Waterloo as well (not Paddington).

As an alternative to the Ascot-London Any Permitted ticket, you could consider a Basingstoke-London Any Permitted season: this is also valid at all stations Reading-Paddington or -Waterloo, as well as between Reading and Basingstoke and at stations on the Basingstoke-Waterloo route. Probably not useful for commuting purposes but it gives some more flexibility at no extra cost over the Ascot Any Permitted Travelcard.

If you are willing to walk or cycle instead of using the Tube (it may not take much longer, depending how close you work to Bond St station), at least a couple of days a week on average, it will be cheaper to buy a ticket to London Terminals rather than a Travelcard, and use Oyster or contactless for the Tube/bus.

--
edit: It's perhaps also worth mentioning that there is a case to be made that a Travelcard from Maidenhead is valid via Reading and Ascot, as this is a permitted route for Maidenhead-Feltham (at the boundary of Zone 6; outboundary Travelcards allow travel on any permitted route between the origin and the edge of Zone 6, then travel anywhere within the Zones). This will not be trouble-free however and I would advise against using it unless you understand how permitted routes are determined, and are willing to argue your case at the Ascot gateline).

 

[greatkingrat]

Yes, an Ascot-London any permitted ticket is valid via Reading, via Weybridge or via Staines.

It may be easier to just buy a Reading-London season which is the same price as the Ascot any permitted season.

 

[telstarbox]

Cycling from Waterloo to Bond Street isn't that easy or quick - although it's a short distance there isn't a direct route and there are lots of buses all around Oxford Street.

 

[LexyBoy]

True - never been brave enough to cycle in London myself. It's only a mile and a half from either Waterloo or Paddington though.