Ashurst New Forest - Southampton Central

[Oracle]

My son is about to go to college in Southampton (nearest Soton Central). He has a Disabled Adult R/C. Is it cheaper to get a 7-day or longer season than 5 x Anytime Returns per week and use his R/C?

 

[323235]

An Anytime Day Return from Ashurst - Soton Central is £2.45 with a Disabled Railcard.
So 5 Days = £12.25

A 7 Day Season ticket is £15.20.

 

[wintonian]

Short answer no.

The discount offered on season tickets even annual ones seem to be less than the 1/3 of the railcard.

Can you still get academic season tickets through the college, that might work out cheaper - I know I had one when I went to Brock?

 

[yorkie]

A season for 5 weeks, say 6 September to 8 October (1 month 3 days) is £64.30, and would be used for 25 days in this case, at £2.57 per day (assuming it is not used on any of the intermediate weekend days)

I think it would be worth the extra 12p per day to avoid the hassle of individual tickets.

 

[Oracle]

Cheers guys. When I was at Bristol Polytechinc I had a Student R/C...£6.70 return from Bristol Parkway to Feltham via Reading. Oh yes, that was in 1976-77! Now my son and I both have Disabled R/Cs!

I wonder how much the 56/56A bus is to Southampton and if you can get returns? Better not ask as that's another forum!

 

[wintonian]

Return about £4ish I expect - Wilts and Dorset arn't the cheapest bus company.

 

[Oracle]

Train it is then, thanks! 10 minutes versus 35 by bus.

 

[thefab444]

Can you still get academic season tickets through the college, that might work out cheaper - I know I had one when I went to Brock?

They still do, and I imagine most colleges offer them. £550 going through the college vs about £660 for a 12 month season for me (ANF - BCU) - although that would offer the Gold Card benefits, but I don't value those at £110.

 

[Oracle]

I see that SWT's Smartcard is being touted at last. How does one get one and does that mean that you can have a weekly season added to it?

Oh...if my son goes to see his grandparents, and goes from Isleworth to Southampton, is there an easement to allow travel to Waterloo and back when there is no Clapham Junction stopper on the main?

 

[wintonian]

They still do, and I imagine most colleges offer them. £550 going through the college vs about £660 for a 12 month season for me (ANF - BCU) - although that would offer the Gold Card benefits, but I don't value those at £110.

Found one of my old ones POK - BCU 1 month 8 days £132 in 1999 now hugely increased to £135.40!

 

[wibble]

I see that SWT's Smartcard is being touted at last. How does one get one and does that mean that you can have a weekly season added to it?

If you buy an undiscounted season ticket through SWT's customer service centre, you'll be asked if you want it on a smartcard. There were a few issues with discounted season tickets (e.g. Brock College) which they might still be ironing out...

 

[dan_atki]

Oh...if my son goes to see his grandparents, and goes from Isleworth to Southampton, is there an easement to allow travel to Waterloo and back when there is no Clapham Junction stopper on the main?

No, you need the more expensive 'London Not Und' routeing as opposed to the 'Not London' to doubleback between Clapham Junction and Waterloo.

 

[swt_passenger]

If you buy an undiscounted season ticket through SWT's customer service centre, you'll be asked if you want it on a smartcard.

You'll presumably only be asked though if your point to point journey happens to be on the main line between Weymouth and wherever (Basingstoke is it?).

It isn't generally available yet, and I expect won't be in the London zones until the Oyster estate becomes dual Oyster/ITSO capable.

I also see from the instructions that touching in and out is supposedly compulsory with the smartcard seasons. More hassle compared to a paper version - can anyone see why it's needed other than at barriered stations?

 

[wibble]

It isn't generally available yet, and I expect won't be in the London zones until the Oyster estate becomes dual Oyster/ITSO capable.

Sorry, should've mentioned that too! They won't be able to roll it out on routes operated by more than one TOC (e.g. Fareham - Southampton) unless there's an agreement in place for FGW and Southern to accept ITSO. XC will accept them on their services Bournemouth - Basingstoke.

I wouldn't expect Oyster/ITSO compatability any time soon. EMV is being touted as an alternative to Oyster and I can see Oyster dying in the next few years. The outher benefit of EMV is it's ITSO complianance.

 

[swt_passenger]

Sorry, should've mentioned that too! They won't be able to roll it out on routes operated by more than one TOC (e.g. Fareham - Southampton) unless there's an agreement in place for FGW and Southern to accept ITSO. XC will accept them on their services Bournemouth - Basingstoke.

Southern's 2009 franchise required them to deal with smartcards in the SWT overlap area as well, like XC previously. FGW are probably the only problem as their franchise is older than SWT's.