Cheapest tickets to London

[Tomp94]

My friend is traveling from Worthing to London Bridge next Thursday, with two others (so they are purchasing the group save tickets) ... so three travelers in total.
They will leave Worthing after 9.30, then change at East Croydon for London Bridge.

My friend was complaining that the ticket doesn't allow them to travel home prior to 19.45 from London Bridge.

I presume she has been sold a 1 to 6 zone travel card from Worthing? The ticket works out to be around £18 each.

Is there any cheaper way of doing this trip, maybe without the travel card?

Thank you

 

[Watershed]

My friend is traveling from Worthing to London Bridge next Thursday, with two others (so they are purchasing the group save tickets) ... so three travelers in total.
They will leave Worthing after 9.30, then change at East Croydon for London Bridge.

My friend was complaining that the ticket doesn't allow them to travel home prior to 19.45 from London Bridge.

I presume she has been sold a 1 to 6 zone travel card from Worthing? The ticket works out to be around £18 each.

Is there any cheaper way of doing this trip, maybe without the travel card?

Thank you

Yes, looks like it's this fare, a Super Off-Peak Day Travelcard.

It's valid departing London Terminals from 19:16, in case that helps. And it's valid from 09:30 (with no evening restriction) for travel within the Zones, so you could take a connecting service from London Bridge to East Croydon before 19:16.

A Super Off-Peak Day Travelcard is actually cheaper than the cheapest point to point ticket to London Bridge. An Off-Peak Day Return is available, priced at £24.85, which has no evening restrictions.

I don't think there will be another cheaper option otherwise.

 

[kieron]

Your friend could buy:
1. Worthing-Brighton off peak day return (£4.75 per person with groupsave, restriction B3)
2. Brighton-London Thameslink "not underground" off peak day return (£13.45, restriction C0)

The first ticket is valid on any train from 9am, and the second is valid before then. Neither ticket has an evening restriction.

Your friend would not need to travel via Brighton. Neither ticket prevents you from starting or finishing the journey at an intermediate station, and web sites (such as southernrailway.com) will confirm that the second ticket is valid via Hove.

The second ticket should be a "not underground" ticket to London Thameslink rather than a "Thameslink only" ticket to London Terminals. Both tickets cost the same amount, but the latter is more restrictive.

There is a cheaper option; buy super off peak day returns to London from somewhere west of Worthing. They have the evening restriction you mentioned, and they're only offered from stations which both Southern and SWR serve. The second point means that your friend would arrive at the station with a ticket which doesn't mention Worthing on it, or even anywhere nearby.

 

[Tomp94]

Thank you all.

As it turns out, my friend hasn't actually purchased any tickets yet, so I have advised them to get the day return to brighton and a day return Brighton to London Terminals.

No need for a travel card as underground not needed, and they won't need to hang around in the evening waiting for ticket restrictions to expire.

 

[AlbertBeale]

Thank you all.

As it turns out, my friend hasn't actually purchased any tickets yet, so I have advised them to get the day return to brighton and a day return Brighton to London Terminals.

No need for a travel card as underground not needed, and they won't need to hang around in the evening waiting for ticket restrictions to expire.

The suggestion above was a return from Brighton to London Thameslink, not to London Terminals; the latter will cost more if it's a general Brighton to London Terminals ticket, and has no advantages if you're heading for London Bridge anyway. If on the other hand it's a "Thameslink only" ticket from Brighton to London Terminals, it's the same price as a "to London Thameslink" ticket but limits which trains you can use. (And also would no longer be valid going directly up the London line from Hove without going into Brighton.)