Commute dilemma

[Vincea]

Hi,

Long time reader first time poster! I've been offered a job in Farringdon, London and have been asked for salary demands. I am trying to calculate how much my commute will cost and the cheapest way for me to get there. I would be commuting from St Albans station and I have a 16-25 railcard. I commute to university one day a week (during term time, rest of the time I'm at work 5 days a week) but the station I go to is elephant and castle which is on the same line so I think I can get it covered on a weekly ticket, but this will not take into account my railcard! My research shows that the cheapest way is to purchase a return ticket every day with the rail card. Obviously this would be a pain everyday so I've tried finding a website where I can pre book a ticket simply and include my railcard discount. Then all i have to do is puck my tickets up at the machine. im Struggling to find somewhere that fits the bill, or have I made a mistake thinking this is the cheapest way? Any help is appreciated all the savings soon add up!

 

[Nym]

I won't look into the ticketing detail because there are people much better at this.

But any ticket booking website powered by a particular booking engine ("ATOS Avantix WebTIS" ), eg. London Midland, Red Spotted Hanky, East Coast, Southern; will allow you to book a metric shed tonne of tickets and pick them all up at once, with one order code, just put them all in the same basket.

 

[MKD]

No idea what figures you are working with, but SouthernRailways.com shows:

Origint Albans
Destination:London Zones 1-6
Anytime Day Travelcard
@ £16.85 with 16-25 RailCard

IF that is competitive (no idea whatsoever) then booking via SouthernRailways.com for Ticket On Demand printing gives (a) potential 6% £back if you shop by TopCashBack website (b) their MoneyBack guarantee if you don't need to collect a ticket for any day (do double check for yourself that ticket type is included) though you would need to book ONE ticket per ORDER to be able to not collect & still get a refund.

MKD

 

[wintonian]

you can book a ticket with your railcard from numerous websites, however you will need to make 1 booking per day, although you may be able to include up to 4ish in a single transaction.

What you could do is queue up at the ticket office once a week/ month etc. and ask for a return for every Mon - Fri for the next month bar the 12th and 13th when you are on holiday, for example, however I wouldn't particularly want to be in the queue behind you so it's would be best done at a quite time when the booking clerk has a cuppa tea in front to them.

But hopefully someone will come in and tell us that's a ridiculous suggestion whilst suggesting something far better.

 

[telstarbox]

Whatever you do, never use TheTrainLine as it is never the cheapest website to buy any ticket.

 

[Nym]

Whatever you do, never use TheTrainLine as it is never the cheapest website to buy any ticket.

Someone doesn't like that company...

One thing you might want to look into is a zonal season on an oyster card, to be split with all the single tickets on railcards you're buying, as this *could* be cheaper, but you need to look into it yourself and do the addy ups

 

[cuccir]

You can buy an Anytime return from St Albans to to London Thameslink for £12.35 with your railcard discount. This is valid to either Farringdon or Elephant and Castle.

Unless you're planning to frequently travel for leisure purposes when in London, that's likely to be your best option. Of course if you're buying tickets daily, then you can always buy one with a travelcard when you know that you'll need it.

As for when to buy - I'd suggest that your easiest option might be to go to the ticket office at St Albans one evening a week and buy all your tickets for the next week.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Someone doesn't like that company...

One thing you might want to look into is a zonal season on an oyster card, to be split with all the single tickets on railcards you're buying, as this *could* be cheaper, but you need to look into it yourself and do the addy ups

Vincea will not be able to benefit from their railcard discount on the splits, as there is a £12 minimum fee in the morning (before 09:30 I think). Here, Vincea is quite lucky that the railcard discount brings the St Albans-Thameslink ticket down to £12.35, just above the minimum railcard fee.

 

[Simon11]

What about fcc carnet tickets? Would easily be flexible, have a batch of peak/off-peak and save a lot of hassle buying daily tickets. Can a railcard be applied on top?

 

[maniacmartin]

I know from experience the hassle of commuting using day tickets. I used to buy mine on the day - at least then if I was ill one day or unexpectedly required to do some errand elsewhere for work, I hadn't wasted any money. If your station TVM doesn't have queues, then you get to learn exactly which buttons to press very quickly.

This was before the days of Southern's 6% cashback and ex-Rainy Day Guarantee. I personally don't think 6% of the odd £12.35 ticket is worth the hassle of having to book every ticket seperately online, but that is a personal decision.

 

[34D]

You can buy an Anytime return from St Albans to to London Thameslink for £12.35 with your railcard discount. This is valid to either Farringdon or Elephant and Castle.

Unless you're planning to frequently travel for leisure purposes when in London, that's likely to be your best option. Of course if you're buying tickets daily, then you can always buy one with a travelcard when you know that you'll need it.

As for when to buy - I'd suggest that your easiest option might be to go to the ticket office at St Albans one evening a week and buy all your tickets for the next week.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Vincea will not be able to benefit from their railcard discount on the splits, as there is a £12 minimum fee in the morning (before 09:30 I think). Here, Vincea is quite lucky that the railcard discount brings the St Albans-Thameslink ticket down to £12.35, just above the minimum railcard fee.

A weekly season is £77.80. If I follow correctly, you'll go to Farringdon 5 days a week, Elephant 1 day, and will you travel at all on the 7th day?

 

[maniacmartin]

I read the OPs post as 4 days to Farringdon and 1 to Elephant per week in term time, and 5 days to Farringdon per week in term vacations.

 

[soil]

You can buy an Anytime return from St Albans to to London Thameslink for £12.35 with your railcard discount. This is valid to either Farringdon or Elephant and Castle.

Unless you're planning to frequently travel for leisure purposes when in London, that's likely to be your best option. Of course if you're buying tickets daily, then you can always buy one with a travelcard when you know that you'll need it.

St Albans - Clapham Junction route via West Hampstead is £12 with railcard, and is valid to Elephant & Castle (and as far south as East Croydon)

I believe the intent is that you take the Overground from West Hampstead, but I can't see any reason why you shouldn't go via Thameslink.

 

[yorkie]

Welcome to the forum

St Albans - Clapham Junction route via West Hampstead is £12 with railcard, and is valid to Elephant & Castle (and as far south as East Croydon)

I don't think it's wise to recommend this. I won't delete it, as it's not inaccurate, but it's not something we* would recommend. If you did buy this ticket and used it to travel to/from East Croydon you would almost certainly be threatened with a Penalty Fare and/or prosecution and would enter into a dispute with the appropriate Train Company. Note I am not saying that it's acceptable behaviour from RPIs or the TOCs, but it is predictable. I would advise against it.

(* By "we" I mean forum staff, Fares Advisors, and several other fares experts)

 

[soil]

I wouldn't recommend travel to East Croydon, on any kind of ticket. But that's the validity of the ticket.

 

[telstarbox]

Someone doesn't like that company...

I neither like or dislike TTL, but as far as I know there is no benefit from using their site to buy tickets when the same tickets can be bought without a booking fee elsewhere.

 

[dvboy]

What about fcc carnet tickets? Would easily be flexible, have a batch of peak/off-peak and save a lot of hassle buying daily tickets. Can a railcard be applied on top?

FCC's website seems to suggest so, however the price is £84 for 5x peak returns

Combining a peak carnet and an off peak carnet for the return journey brings it down to 67.50

The OP would be better off buying a railcard discounted anytime return every day when needed.

A 7-day season is 77.80. Yearly would be 3112.00, which breaks down to 8.52/day, used 5/7 days is 11.93a day so not much of a saving on the anytime return if you don't have 3112 .00 to fork out up front, or a corporate scheme run by your employer (worth asking)

 

[Vincea]

Wow, thanks for all the quick responses! I will try and answer your questions, unsure of some of abbreviations used but ill try my best! Your assumptions are correct, during term time (sept-may, with approx 8 weeks off in between) I will be going to elephant and castle one day a week and Farringdon the other 4 days a week, the weekend will not be used to commute to london, which seems to I eradicate the idea of using a weekly ticket. The £16 figure isnt correct that is the price for tubes too which i dont need. I dont think i can use an oyster at st albans, too far out. Can I purchase a young persons daily return ticket from the ticket machines? I always assumed you had to use the counter to show the ID. It seems the cheapest is to buy a ticket every day, just can be busy on machines, maybe I should get in the habit of buying the evening before once I get off the train? Although the "carnet" idea runs close, i havent heard of this before. when my 16-25 card runs out (just over a year) it would seem to be easily the cheapest, that correct? i cant see me ever getting the 3k together for a season ticket. Thanks again for all your comments! ... EDIT: Sorry just re-read that if I can get a discount off "carnet" tickets would this not be the cheapest?

 

[yorkie]

...unsure of some of abbreviations used...

I've clarified the first response, which seems to have been a bit rushed. You don't need to know what "WebTIS" is but one of the examples given as "RSH" is Red Spotted Hanky. Any of those sites will do. Basically you have been advised to avoid TheTrainLine which has also been abbreviated to "TTL".

When people say "OP" that means either "original post" or "original poster", in this context that means your post / you

And just in case you weren't sure of "FCC"; that is the Train Operating Company that you will be travelling with from St Albans. Do be careful to ensure you don't make a mistake with your ticketing arrangements, as there is evidence that FCC have a policy of prosecuting innocent mistakes by customers using Railway Byelaws (which do not require any intent!), unlike for example TfL. They are quite ruthless, and if printing tickets for each day it is possible to get confused, bring the wrong ticket etc. I personally would be prepared to pay a little more for a Season ticket (but not a lot more), but it's your choice. You may not expect a Company you are a customer of to prosecute customers for innocent mistakes, but they do.

I will be going to elephant and castle one day a week and Farringdon the other 4 days a week, the weekend will not be used to commute to london, which seems to I eradicate the idea of using a weekly ticket. ?

You can get a Season ticket for any length of time, it can be arranged to fit in with Bank Holidays, Weekends, and term times. For example a Season could start on a Monday at the start of term, and finish on a Friday at the end of Term.

A Season ticket charged at the "monthly" rate (cheaper than weekly) can be for any period greater than one month.

Season ticket calculator: http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/seasonticket/search
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The £16 figure isnt correct that is the price for tubes too which i dont need.

Agreed, that's for a Travelcard. A ticket to London Thameslink is the appropriate ticket. Soil has suggested a ticket to Clapham Junction is valid and he's probably right, in that it is a permitted route, but you may not have a hassle-free journey with that ticket (but I do know two FCC RPIs if you'd like me to ask them for their views).

I dont think i can use an oyster at st albans, too far out.

Correct, any suggestion to use Oyster would have to include using multiple tickets and, if using Pay As You Go, also a change of train. That may not be convenient.

Can I purchase a young persons daily return ticket from the ticket machines?

Yes

I always assumed you had to use the counter to show the ID.

You do not have to show your Railcard when using a machine - but do be careful to have it with you as if you forget to bring it, it could result in all sorts of problems.

It seems the cheapest is to buy a ticket every day, just can be busy on machines, maybe I should get in the habit of buying the evening before once I get off the train?

You could do this, yes. But if you feel ill the next day you could not get a full refund (it would be subject to a £10 admin fee) and you'd need to be well organised to do this.

Although the "carnet" idea runs close, i havent heard of this before.

I have, I am aware of several people threatened with prosecution because their pen wasn't good enough for the paper! I personally would avoid it.

when my 16-25 card runs out (just over a year) it would seem to be easily the cheapest, that correct?

Possibly, but it depends on travel patterns, the times you require and I've not done all the calculations.

i cant see me ever getting the 3k together for a season ticket. Thanks

You don't need an annual to make good savings, you could purchase on a basis of a period of anything over 1 month, e.g. you could split it into typically 5-week blocks taking into account days you won't need to travel.

For example let's say you wanted tickets up to the Easter break, starting on 21st of Jan:

Mon 21 Jan - Fri 22 Feb (01 Month & 02 Days)
Mon 25 Feb - Thu 28 Mar (01 Month & 04 Days)
Your next Season would start on Tue 2 Apr.

This would be cheaper than Weekly tickets as the monthly rate is cheaper, and you do not need to have your Season ticket on the 23, 24 of Feb, or the 29, 30, 31 Mar or 1 Apr.

Sorry just re-read that if I can get a discount off "carnet" tickets would this not be the cheapest?

I'm not aware of any Railcard discounts applicable to Carnet tickets.

FCC certainly do not offer a Railcard discount for their Carnet tickets

 

[dvboy]

I'm not aware of any Railcard discounts applicable to Carnet tickets.

FCC certainly do not offer a Railcard discount for their Carnet tickets

My bad, misinterpreted what the FCC website was saying.