Best coach & railcard to get my daughter

[theageofthetra]

My daughter is 17 & doing her A levels with a view to going to Oxford subject to grades. I have said I will get her a YP rail card but am unsure what is best for coach travel. She is doing a weeks summer school this year with one of the Oxford colleges so I presume that she will be using the Oxford Tube. Any thoughts on what I can get for cheap coach travel now and when she is at Uni?

 

[sonic2009]

A 16-25 railcard, gives student discount on the Oxford Tube i believe.

 

[unlevel42]

Open an account with Santander for a 16-25 Railcard valid for four years.
NUS extra discount on National Express and Cross Country
NUS stamped school/college/uni ID for Oxford Tube discount

 

[theageofthetra]

Re the Santander account does it have to be opened by her?

 

[unlevel42]

She has to open a Student Account.
She must be 18 and have an unconditional offer or wait until the A level results come out.
Details are here for the railcard and here on how to open or transfer a Santander account

 

[Muzer]

I personally have heard some pretty bad things about Santander, on the other hand. So obviously don't if you don't like the bank - your choice that, but I wouldn't choose to open a bank account solely on the fact that they offer a railcard

(Also check their Ts & Cs - I know NatWest required you to actively use the bank account by making a defined minimum withdrawal every n time periods).


But yeah, I don't know anything about coaches, but 16-25 railcards are very good for rail travel and anyone who does more than a few journeys a year (£88.24 worth without a railcard - £60 with a railcard - to be specific - and this is reduced if you buy the 3-year one which costs less per year) should definitely get one. Obviously if you do decide to open the bank account to get one for free, you're already saving money.

They give you 34% off rail travel for almost every ticket type (not seasons or first-class walk-up tickets). Before 10:00 on weekdays there is a minimum fare of £12 which really only prevents you from using them for short journeys in peak times. This minimum fare is waived in July and August to allow for cheap summer travel.

 

[LexyBoy]

Both of the Oxford-London buses offer a discount for those with Y-P or Student cards - the 12-trip ticket at £60 is a good buy. IME the X90 is faster and more reliable than the Tube, but not as frequent (also it's not Stagecoach, if you find Souter's activities distasteful). The airport buses and X5 also give discounts.

Fortunately OUSU has finally joined NUS so she will be eligible for a NUS card and can benefit from the discounts suggested by unlevel42. I don't know what the discount is on NX, but she can also get a Coachcard which gives a third off for £10 a year. Oxford has decent NX connexions but the train is usually quicker of course.

My experience is that most students default to the Tube/X90 over the train, although the train is often faster even after adding in the walk to the station. A day Travelcard is about £19 so comparable to bus+Oyster.

Congrats due and good luck with the exams!