Seeking Insights on Cost, Experience, and Best Travel Options for reading uni

Hey everyone! I'm considering commuting from West Drayton station to Reading University on a daily basis and was wondering if anyone here has experience with this journey. Could you share insights on the cost-effectiveness, the overall experience, and whether it's worth the travel every day? Also, I'm trying to figure out the best option between taking the Elizabeth line or the railway. Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Reply 1

UniofReading

Official Rep

Original post by Mr ?

Hey there @Mr ?,

Great to hear you've chosen Reading! I saw that you posted on another thread too, but I'll just reply once to this one. I'm not sure if you've already seen it or not, but we have a really useful page for commuter students here, including some info on bursaries you may be eligible for so worth checking out! I believe if you meet the criteria you can claim up to £250 for rail travel which is great.

Though I don't have much experience travelling from your specific station, the Elizabeth line is a good option because it's pretty speedy, but it can get quite rammed during peak travel hours, so that's something to bear in mind. Using Trainline's price calculator a monthly season ticket with a student discount (for unlimited travel) looks to be around £355. This is valid via any permitted route, so you can then choose between Elizabeth line or wider services which is good, and of course is cheaper than halls/private renting - the price of this is generally around £500/ month including bills.

I would say it also depends on how intense your course is - commuting can be tiring, but if you're only expecting to be on campus a few days a week it may be a good mechanism for you to dedicate days to studying and keeping some spare time for your personal life. Are you a member of/intending to join any societies also? Often their socials and events will take place in the evening too, so that's something to factor in, but certainly doable if you're taking the Elizabeth line as its fairly regular.

I hope this helps! If you have any questions that we might be able to answer, please let us know!
Kat :smile: