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How to Save on Transport (Kingston University London Student)

Hi everyone,

One of my favourite parts about living in Kingston is being able to easily explore London and the areas around me via public transport. However, the costs can add up so I am here to share with you some of the most cost effective ways I have found to travel around.

Kingston Bus

The university bus is free! This is great for getting from each campus or even for getting from Surbiton to Kingston Town centre.

Buses

In general busses are usually a cheaper way to travel costing £1.75 per trip. This can also be a cheap option when travelling late at night as there are lots of night buses, they are long journeys but it will get you back from central to Kingston.

Bikes

This can be a convenient way to travel. If you have your own bike as many stations have places you can store it safely. Or you can rent/hire the bikes around London through various companies (such as Lime, Forest, Santander) many companies offer you 10 minutes free per day. It is usually through the companies bike apps you can find available bikes near you.

Off peak travelcard

This has become one of my favourite ways to travel into central London as currently it is £11 a day for zones 1-6 if you have 16-25 railcard. This can be used on trains, tubes, buses and DLR services. This can be a great deal as on the weekends it can be used all day as there are no peak times and during the week the peak times you cannot travel are just 6:30-9:30am and 4:00-7:00pm.

You can also get a travelcard where you can travel at any time, but this will cost £23.60 with a railcard for zones 1-6, so it may be cheaper to tap with a student oyster card.

Student oyster card

As I mentioned sometimes it is cheaper to tap with a student oyster card, especially if you will be travelling at peak times. The daily cap for both peak and off peak is £16.30 for zones 1-6. This can also be a good option if you are just traveling a short distance and by one mode of transport like a bus.

It costs £20 to get a student oyster card and lasts for the duration of your studies.

Railcard

As mentioned off peak travelcards are a great price if you have a 16-25 railcard.

You can also connect this to your student oyster card to get 1/3 discount for off peak travel.

This is also a great option if you are traveling out of London and around the UK as you get a 1/3 discount on trains.

This is currently £35 for 1 year or £80 for 3 years. I have already saved much more than I spent on the card as I use it to travel home and with the travelcards.

National express and coaches

Again, if you are travelling out of London and across the UK choosing to travel by coach can be a really cheap way to travel (with companies such as National Express and Flixbus).

This usually takes longer than it would be on a train but can be well worth the price. I once travelled from Liverpool to Falmouth on coaches which took just over 11 hours for around £30 for a return journey.

There are definitely a lot of options to consider when travelling and it’s worth checking all the options, but I hope this helps by making things a little clearer :smile: