Need help in commuting costs between London and St Albans

[malinga]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum and need help with my commuting costs.

I need to commute daily between Wood Green/Turnpike in North London, to St Albans City rail station.

I've managed to negotiate with my new job to get arrive later, so I can travel off peak. This takes costs down to 11.50 per day from St Pancras International station.

However, I am still looking for ways to commute that could save money as I have to consider London bus and tube travel costs which is quite pricey on a pay as you go oyster card.


Does anyone have any suggestions? Are there ways to travel into St Albans station from North London without travelling from St Pancras?

Thank you all very much in advance.

 

[oversteer]

So how often would you need to travel on buses or tube in London, outside your normal commute?

 

[bb21]

If you need inclusive travel in London, you can always get the 221 bus to Mill Hill Broadway and change there for your train to St Albans. A St Albans - London Zones 4-6 Travelcard could be suitable, which costs £62.90 per week. This includes unlimited bus travel throughout the whole of London, and rail services in Zones 4-6.

 

[malinga]

So how often would you need to travel on buses or tube in London, outside your normal commute?

pretty much all the time for non work things, as i live in London.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

If you need inclusive travel in London, you can always get the 221 bus to Mill Hill Broadway and change there for your train to St Albans. A St Albans - London Zones 4-6 Travelcard could be suitable, which costs £62.90 per week. This includes unlimited bus travel throughout the whole of London, and rail services in Zones 4-6.

Would that rail travel cover travel up to St Albans?

 

[bb21]

Would that rail travel cover travel up to St Albans?

That would cover you for your travels between St Albans and the edge of Zone 6, everything in Zones 4, 5 and 6, plus unlimited travel throughout Zones 1-6 on London buses and Croydon Tramlink.

That said, the 221 can be a bit slow so someone more local will be able to advise whether it would be a good option.

In fact, an Off-Peak Day Return is only £7.60 between Mill Hill Broadway and St Albans if times suit (see http://www.brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=MIL&dest=SAC&rlc= &rte=0&ldn=0&tkt=CDR). If you are happy to use the 221, that's only an additional £2.70 with Oyster PAYG, so £10.30 a day. You'll have to decide whether the weekly Travelcard is worth it (£241.60 for the monthly version).

 

[malinga]

Ok, that sounds helpful so far. Any there any links online to buy that travelcard? Been googling with no luck.

 

[bb21]

You will need a photocard for season tickets, so you would be better off buying the first one at a station. You can then buy online for subsequent ones, such as www.southernrailway.com. Follow the link to season tickets and use origin St Albans (SAC) and destination London Zones 4-6.

 

[maniacmartin]

Another option that you might want to consider is taking the First Capital Connect service from Alexandra Palace or Hornsey to Hatfield (Herts) (sometiems can be faster changing to a faster train at Finsbury Pk) and then taking one of these buses from Hatfield to St Albans:

• Green Line 724
• Arriva 301
• Arriva 300
• Uno 658

The Arriva services are also quite frequent if I recall and take 25 minutes

The rail part prices can be found here. I am unable to locate bus prices, but expect them to be more costly than TfL buses.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

You will need a photocard for season tickets, so you would be better off buying the first one at a station. You can then buy online for subsequent ones, such as www.southernrailway.com. Follow the link to season tickets and use origin St Albans (SAC) and destination London Zones 4-6.

I thought that season tickets bought from Southern's website can only be collected from Southern TVMs. If so, the OP would have to go to south London to collect, which may be inconvenient. Buying at any ticket office may well be the best bet.

 

[bb21]

I wasn't really thinking of ticket collection tbh. I think she could have it posted for free, or alternatively buy from FCC website. Buying at the station would probably be the easiest.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

There is also route 84 from New Barnet and Potters Bar to St.Albans

http://www.intalink.org.uk/ the Hertfordshire public transport site shouild help you choose the option that suits you best.

 

[malinga]

thanks for the help everyone

 

[Be3G]

There is also route 84 from New Barnet and Potters Bar to St.Albans

…which combined with the 184 from Turnpike Lane to Barnet, means the whole journey can be done by two buses! Would take a while, though.

 

[north]

Another option that you might want to consider is taking the First Capital Connect service from Alexandra Palace or Hornsey to Hatfield (Herts) (sometiems can be faster changing to a faster train at Finsbury Pk) and then taking one of these buses from Hatfield to St Albans:

• Green Line 724
• Arriva 301
• Arriva 300
• Uno 658

You can get an inclusive rail bus ticket from St Albans to Hornsey (or Alexandra Palace). The ticket is routed HATFLD/ALBNS BUS and is marketed as Line2Line. It is valid on the above buses between St Albans station and Hatfield station (there is also the 330, 657, 620, 621 and 602 at off peak times). It's available as a season (prices are to Hornsey) for £54 (7 days), £204 (month) and £2106 (year)