How to Save on Transport (London/UK) Add Your Tips!
Hi everyone,
Travelling around London and the UK can start to add up so I thought I would share some cheap ways I have found to travel around
Please share any more you may have!
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.
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 as much as 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.
Again please share any tips and deals you have found!
-Grace (Kingston Rep)
Travelling around London and the UK can start to add up so I thought I would share some cheap ways I have found to travel around
Please share any more you may have!
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.
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 as much as 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.
Again please share any tips and deals you have found!
-Grace (Kingston Rep)
I still meet a surprising number of people reluctant to get a 16-25 railcard, usually saying they don't get trains regularly enough - and i urge you if you have any ability to do so, that it is nearly always worth it. Even one long-haul train in a year (i.e. London to Lancaster) can make a 16-25 railcard worth it as those long trains scale up in price massively and 1/3 is a huge amount off that cost. And if you regularly make shorter journeys, it will still save you money over the span of a full year.
There is a 26-30 railcard which is similarly worth it if you're someone that travels even semi-regularly, in my case I don't live in the same town as either of my parents so i'm always travelling at least semi-regularly, even if I don't have other specific plans. The only difference being you're locked into renewing them every year instead of the option for 3 year-long 16-25 cards (at a discounted price).
And mature students can be eligible for 16-25 railcard while in full-time education (yes, even if you're over 30!)
There is a 26-30 railcard which is similarly worth it if you're someone that travels even semi-regularly, in my case I don't live in the same town as either of my parents so i'm always travelling at least semi-regularly, even if I don't have other specific plans. The only difference being you're locked into renewing them every year instead of the option for 3 year-long 16-25 cards (at a discounted price).
And mature students can be eligible for 16-25 railcard while in full-time education (yes, even if you're over 30!)
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