Beckenham Junction to Baker st - No tube

[zeddie]

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice from the experienced members here. Currently i commute to work 5 days a week from Beckenham Junction to Baker st. I do this by taking a train to Victoria from Beckenham and then I take either the number 2 or 82 bus to george st (which is opposite my office in baker st). So basically I have no reason to use the tube.

I am paying for a zones 1-4 yearly oyster card but i was wondering if there is a better way of going about this as i dont use the tube at all? Just trying to save some money as we are not getting a pay rise at work in Jan!

Appreciate your advice.

thanks

 

[Romilly]

I might be tempted to buy a Beckenham Junction to West Hampstead (not underground) season ticket (currently £1244 for a year) and then walk or cycle (or bus if it's raining) to Baker Street from either St Pancras or West Hampstead having got there on Thameslink services.

However, if you end up using a bus each way every day, and assuming 46 working weeks in the year, you'd end up spending 46 x 10 x £1.50 on buses = £690 which, when added to £1244, exceeds the cost of a Zones 1-4 travelcard.

Edit: I've just spotted that the George St/Baker St junction is some way from Baker St station in the wrong direction, probably making the distances too great for walking/cycling.

 

[telstarbox]

Would you consider using Santander Cycles (Boris Bikes) between Victoria and work? You could use the Hyde Park cycle route which runs parallel to Park Lane. If so then you could change to a National Rail only season ticket which costs £1316, plus cycle membership which is £90 - total £1406. The membership allows 'free' cycling for up to 30 minutes at a time.

 

[bb21]

A London Zones 2-4 Travelcard is £1064 a year. This allows you to do Beckenham Junction - Brixton, then Victoria Line Brixton - Vauxhall, then the 2/82 bus from there onwards. Time penalty compared to changing onto the bus at Victoria is likely to be around 20-30 minutes each way. No additional charge for using the bus.

 

[James Wake]

You can't get the 82 from Vauxhall, but the 2 runs from Brixton.

 

[bb21]

Yes, silly me. The 82 finishes at Victoria.

Anyhow the 2 still runs from both Brixton and Vauxhall, but using the Victoria Line between Vauxhall and Brixton will undoubtedly be quicker unless at the extremes of the day.

There will also be plenty of buses that run between Vauxhall and Victoria.

 

[themeone]

Another option, though I suspect it involves too much of a time hit, would be a zones 1-3 travelcard travelling via Tramlink and Wimbledon.

 

[zeddie]

Dear all,

thank you very much for your replies.. one thing i forgot to mention is that i suffer from a chronic illness so its hard for me to walk around too much. Cycles are out of the question. I guess the best option is really to stick with the 1-4 travel card as the best other option of going from Brixton/Vauxhall would add a lot more time to my journey.

thanks all