Whitechapel to Woking for New Job

[teddy2]

I will be starting a new job in July and need some advice on travelcards. I live in Whitechapel and work at Woking.

From July 6 - 17, I will need to travel from Whitechapel to Woking everyday Monday to Friday.

After July 17, I will need to travel from Whitechapel to Woking three days a week.

I am not sure what would be the best way to save on the cost of travel as I am under the impression that I will need to get a travel card on my Oyster to travel from Whitechapel to Waterloo and a train travel card to travel from Waterloo and Woking. Also, I am not sure if I should get a weekly or monthly travelcard as I only need to travel everyday to Woking for the first two weeks of July.

I am under 25 and could apply for the railcard 16-25 to get some discount on fares?

I am really confused on which travelcard to get and if I should apply for the raildcard 16-25 in addition to purchasing the travelcards. On top of that I also need to pay for a bus pass to use in Woking .

It would be really great if anyone could help me out on this!

 

[Romilly]

As regards the 16-25 railcard, it generally gives a 34% discount. But Monday to Friday during September to June, before 10am there is a £12 minimum post-discount fare (so no discount on anything that starts off below £12, and less than a 34% discount on anything that starts off between £12 and £18). So the railcard is most likely to be of value during July and August

 

[teddy2]

Thank you for your reply! So would you suggest getting the railcard 16-25 and add it onto the travelcard for both oyster and train?

 

[themeone]

As regards your first two weeks, you could get a Woking to London Zones 2-6 weekly travelcard for £83.90. Your route would be Overground between Whitechapel and Clapham Junction.

I'm afraid others will have to advise on the 16-25 discounts.

 

[Romilly]

Two obvious routes are: (1) the Overground train from Whitechapel to Clapham Junction, combined with a train from Clapham Junction to Woking; and (2) underground from Whitechapel to Waterloo, combined with a train from Waterloo to Woking.

An advantage of option (1) is that you never stray into Zone 1. There are daily tickets for option (1): an anytime day return with a railcard discount is £12.70. So that fare would be available throughout the year.

To buy a season ticket for option (1), a Woking to London Zones 2 to 6 travelcard would be sufficient: £83.90 for a week, £322.20 for a month, and £3,356 for a year. So the chances are that daily tickets will be cheaper for option (1).

Option (2) will be more expensive, whether in terms of day tickets, or a season ticket, since you would also need validity in Zone 1. I think an anytime day return would be £16.45 with the railcard discount: this is not a travelcard, but just a single journey from Zone 2 to Waterloo, then a return journey from Waterloo to Woking, and a single journey back from Waterloo to Zone 2.

[The National Rail Enquiries journey-planner thinks that for option (1) an offpeak day return (£9.05 in July & August, and after 10am in September to June, but £12 before 10am in September to June) is valid from 7.30am onwards, but this seems inconsistent with the actual restrictions for the offpeak ticket (no departure from a National Rail station in Zones 1 to 6 before 9.30am). These prices are with a railcard discount.]

 

[cuccir]

The cheapest option will be via Overground to Clapham Junction is the cheapest, buying an Anytime return with a 16-25 railcard. This is £12.70 a day, compared to a £83.90 for a weekly ticket from Woking to Zones 2-6.

You'll need to physically buy this ticket everyday - Oyster cards are not valid as far as Woking.

 

[TEW]

You'll need to physically buy this ticket everyday - Oyster cards are not valid as far as Woking.

Alternatively you could buy several days tickets in advance to save queueing to buy a ticket everyday.

 

[teddy2]

The cheapest option will be via Overground to Clapham Junction is the cheapest, buying an Anytime return with a 16-25 railcard. This is £12.70 a day, compared to a £83.90 for a weekly ticket from Woking to Zones 2-6.

You'll need to physically buy this ticket everyday - Oyster cards are not valid as far as Woking.

Thanks for the reply! In regards to £12.70 a day, is that the travel from whitechapel to woking via Clapham Junction? If so, where can I get the physical ticket from whitechapel?

 

[greatkingrat]

You can also get a Woking plusbus ticket for £1.85 per day, added on to the rail ticket. This will probably be cheaper than buying a separate bus pass.

 

[Romilly]

If you want to buy online, not all ticket-retail sites have Whitechapel loaded in their list of stations. But the London Midland site (for one) does, and when you click through to buy your chosen ticket you are then offered the option of adding on Plusbus for Woking as suggested in the previous post. You can then collect from Overground ticket machines at Whitechapel station (I assume there are some: does anybody have local knowledge?).

[NB in July/August, the London Midland site will also offer the £9.05 fare for outward journeys from 0730 onwards, but it may not be hassle-free.]

 

[bicbasher]

If you want to buy online, not all ticket-retail sites have Whitechapel loaded in their list of stations. But the London Midland site (for one) does, and when you click through to buy your chosen ticket you are then offered the option of adding on Plusbus for Woking as suggested in the previous post. You can then collect from Overground ticket machines at Whitechapel station (I assume there are some: does anybody have local knowledge?).

[NB in July/August, the London Midland site will also offer the £9.05 fare for outward journeys from 0730 onwards, but it may not be hassle-free.]

If it's anything like Canada Water, they only have LUL POM's. However he can pick up his tickets from any LOROL managed station nearby, such as Shoreditch High Street or Shadwell.

What the OP could do is buy his tickets in the future a day ahead online and pick up from Woking which will save the hassle of going to the LO stations in London.