Do you commute to work via train?
With railway fares increasing by 4.9% in March commuting by train is more expensive than by car. If this is your choice of travel then you’re probably wondering if you could reduce the cost at all as many people are struggling. The average commuter by train is paying around £100 more than those who drive, especially in select locations.
There are a few ways which you can use to bring down the price of you commute, make sure they work with your journey.
Season Ticket
Buying a season ticket could reduce your overall expense on train tickets. If you have the same journey each day this could work for you as the season ticket will give you an unlimited amount of journeys between selected stations for the period of time paid for. This means the payment is out of the way and this is a great way to get a discount as you won’t be paying for each day when prices change.
Split fare
Buying your train tickets when you have to get multiple trains is made easy when you book one ticket which includes all your necessary journeys. However, by splitting the fare, which means booking the tickets separately you could find cheaper alternatives.
Split my fare reports customers who do this regularly can save up to 26% on tickets.
Booking in advance
Network rail must release their timetable 12 weeks in advance so this is a great time to book your tickets. If you can’t get a season tickets then booking in advance could help you to find the cheapest way to make your journey.
Flexi Season Ticket
If you only have to go into the office a few days a week or month then this might work best for you. This gives you 8 days of travel within a 28 day period at any time without needing to select the days in advance. This ticket type can give you up to a 20% discount of train tickets.
Railcard
With various types of railcards with terms and conditions make sure your specific journey works for this first.
A railcard will last for 1-3 years depending on what you select. For one year they tend to cost £30, for three years this will be £70. So if you are spending more than this a year, which most commuters are, then this will be worth it for you.
With a railcard you will still need to book your tickets but you are given a hefty discount on ticket prices.
