Could you help me write a letter to my MP about the skyrocketing cost of my commute?

[EMRvictim]

Firstly- my apologies if I’m posting incorrectly, in the wrong place, or if I mistakenly don’t include some pertinent information. If you require any further information please do ask.

I commute into St Pancras from Kettering 3x a week, to work as a paediatric nurse. I love my job- it’s a specialist role that doesn’t exist any closer to home. I’m very passionate about it. (I say this as whenever discussing my commute costs, people’s first remark is generally “why don’t you work closer to home”.)

I have done this commute since 2018. Since then my working hours have changed to slightly more peak times, and I now generally book the 06.36 into London and the 18.35 home if I can. I book advance singles as far out as I can with a 26-30 railcard. Often I have to book later trains to bring my costs down.

I wrote to my MP this year on my return from a year of leave, as I was so frustrated and upset by the increased cost of my commute- and not just that, but that it didn’t seem to matter if I booked my advance tickets 1 week or 10 weeks in advance- they are still almost exactly the same price.

The reply from Wendy Morton wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on. Please see attached.

I’m now just looking at booking my post summer holiday rail sale tickets. I looked at booking them at the start of July, but the pricing was insane then, so i wondered if i waited until closer to the time, the price might go down- as now and again this does seem to have happened. Obviously not!

I’m going to be writing to my MP again. It feels quite fruitless, especially in the face of everything going on in the UK at the moment, but I simply cannot tell you how stressful and upsetting this part of my day is. It’s a 57 minute journey there and back, three times a week, that costs altogether more than my monthly mortgage payment. And that’s with a bloody railcard, booking advance tickets.

So as much as this feels pointless, it also seems to be my only option at this point, as there is nothing else within my control I can do about it- and actually it seems to be the only way of effecting any change.

I am by no means (obviously) an expert on the rail system, I don’t understand how tickets are priced, how far in advance they increase advance ticket costs etc- which is where you wonderful community are most genuinely and desperately needed. I am going to draft another letter, and want as much evidence as possible that the way these tickets are priced is inequitable and unfair. I understand sometimes this is purposeful to deter people from travel- but I’m not going for a jolly. I’m going to work at a job I love, helping incredibly sick children and their families. It just doesn’t seem fair.

If you are willing and able to help, I would be so incredibly grateful.

If you need any further information, please just let me know.

Warmest wishes to all of you.

 

[alistairlees]

I’m sorry to hear of this. How much do you pay currently though? And which days of the week do you travel? It will be easier to help if we know these things.

 

[EMRvictim]

I’m sorry to hear of this. How much do you pay currently though? And which days of the week do you travel? It will be easier to help if we know these things.

Tuesday, Thursday and Friday each week. I’ve attached screenshots of tickets upcoming, 4 weeks away, and 8 weeks away.

I very recently used to pay around £30 to return 45 minutes later at 19.15 - but that is now suddenly and inexplicably £40.

 

[miklcct]

Unfortunately my only advice for you is to move closer to London, e.g. to Bedford or Luton, or to rearrange your working hours such that you can travel off-peak both ways. £47 for a 230 km journey works out to be just around £0.20 / km, which is relatively low compared to other peak-hour fares in the country.

This is a bloody long commute (115 km each way) on a proper intercity train (in contrast to a commuter train) and, as Advance fares are not regulated, train companies can price whatever they want according to the expected loading of the train, and the 18:35 service is expected to be busy.

 

[SickyNicky]

You may be able to get the price down by using different trains (I know this is difficult for you) and splitting tickets. For example, if you could take the 05:47 outbound and the 18:17 return, you could buy these tickets (on the 4th October) which reduces the price by about £7. (prices from trainsplit.com).

Price	Description
Kettering to Bedford / Bedford St Johns Anytime Day Return (SDR) (16-25 Railcard)	£13.85	Travel is allowed via any permitted route. Valid at any time - click for details
Bedford to London Terminals Advance Single (2IS) (16-25 Railcard)	£7.25	Only valid on booked East Midlands Railway services Restriction AS applies - click for details
London Terminals to Bedford Advance Single (2NS) (16-25 Railcard)	£14.15	Only valid on booked East Midlands Railway services Restriction AS applies - click for details

 

[Watershed]

Making a long commute at 'peak' times is always going to be expensive, unfortunately. If you have access to a car, you could consider driving to somewhere closer to London and then taking the Tube/train in from there. This may work out cheaper depending on your exact circumstances.

It might also be worthwhile considering railheading to another line into London with cheaper, 'commuter' fares, e.g. Rugby/Northampton/Peterborough. The Midland Main Line north of Bedford has historically long had just an 'intercity' service - and been priced accordingly.

Unfortunately, though it may not feel that way, EMR are in a sense 'doing you a favour' by offering you Advance fares at all. These fares are offered at the sole discretion of the train company and their availability and price can be varied whenever they like, however they like.

When you consider that even a season ticket - which on longer distance commutes is generally reasonably priced on a per-mile basis - costs around £40 a day, assuming a 5 day a week commute, I doubt there's much room to beat what you're currently paying. Not without inconveniencing yourself and making your commute even longer, anyway.

 

[Dai Corner]

Could you stay near your workplace overnight Thursday/Friday, perhaps with a colleague who has a spare room? Or even work three consecutive days and stay two nights.

The railways cost a lot to run and, rightly or wrongly, the Government feels passengers (as opposed to taxpayers) should pay a bigger share of this.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Do you drive? If so consider Northampton, it is a lot cheaper.

To whoever suggested moving from pleasant Kettering to the rathole of Luton...er, wha?

 

[Bertie the bus]

When the OP states they have already written to their MP but the reply was worthless presumably this means they didn’t get what they wanted, i.e. cheaper rail fares. I’m not sure what they expect their MP to do about their lifestyle choice of living so far away from work. If you commute long distances in the peak it costs quite a lot of money.

 

[Gloster]

In general, writing to an MP is rarely going to be of much use: if they are of the governing party they won’t want to rock the boat, while if their party is not in power there is absolutely nothing they can do. At most an MP will say in a debate that some of their constituents have raised the question of rail fares, but that is just as likely to be so that they can claim that they are reflecting their constituents concerns than expecting any useful result.

If the OP lives in the Kettering constituency, then it seems to me that your MP has a fairly safe majority and is inclined to go his own way. Unless he starts to passionately believe in lower rail fares, I would be surprised if he shows much interest.

 

[skyhigh]

When the OP states they have already written to their MP but the reply was worthless presumably this means they didn’t get what they wanted, i.e. cheaper rail fares. I’m not sure what they expect their MP to do about their lifestyle choice of living so far away from work. If you commute long distances in the peak it costs quite a lot of money.

I'd also suggest that painting yourself as a 'victim' of the train company (see the OPs user name) will do much good. For the distance travelled, the fares are not too unreasonable and advances are offered.

 

[AlterEgo]

Unfortunately for the OP the fares they are using aren't (directly) regulated. They're not really intended for commuting, and I'm not entirely surprised at the prices. If you choose to live 80 miles from work it's going to be expensive. Kettering really is the outer limit from London for most regular commuting and I'd be surprised if nurses made up very many of the numbers commuting into London from there.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

I would try to get a similar job near home. The savings in time and money would be significant, you would be less tired after a short trip to work. And you could afford to earn significantly less.

It is quite possible that fares will tend to go up even more rather than down in future.

 

[LowLevel]

I think part of the problem may be that the school holidays draw to a close soon and therefore demand might be higher - around 1900 tends to be very busy out of St Pancras regardless?

You can still achieve £30.30 return on trains around the time you've specified, or within 15-20 mins of it, but not every day.

 

[mrmartin]

As people have said these sort of super commutes (200km) round trip just have to be expensive otherwise there would be so much demand the trains would be absolutely crush loaded, and there isn't the ability for there to be thousands of intercity trains arriving into London in the morning/afternoon peak to deal with it.

FWIW a lot of people pay more than the OP who live way closer to London for an anytime day return.

 

[43066]

I’m going to be writing to my MP again. It feels quite fruitless, especially in the face of everything going on in the UK at the moment, but I simply cannot tell you how stressful and upsetting this part of my day is. It’s a 57 minute journey there and back, three times a week, that costs altogether more than my monthly mortgage payment. And that’s with a bloody railcard, booking advance tickets.

Try moving to London and you’ll suddenly find the cost of commuting pales into insignificance in comparison to the increase in housing costs you’ll experience! You’ll either spend far more money on housing, or pay the same but end up in a far worse property than whatever you’re currently in.

Fares won’t be going down anytime soon. In fact they are guaranteed to continue to increase, so it’s a question of making choices and living with them I’m afraid.

 

[miklcct]

Try moving to London and you’ll suddenly find the cost of commuting pales into insignificance in comparison to the increase in housing costs you’ll experience! You’ll either spend far more money on housing, or pay the same but end up in a far worse property than whatever you’re currently in.

So what is the best way to reduce living and commuting cost if one's job must be in London?

 

[AlterEgo]

So what is the best way to reduce living and commuting cost if one's job must be in London?

You have to find a happy medium. Cycling is now easier than it was, for example. I live in Woolwich which is excellent now Crossrail is open, but that will in turn raise prices here.

 

[43066]

So what is the best way to reduce living and commuting cost if one's job must be in London?

One option is doing what the OP does and living somewhere a long way from London and commuting. If you can do it you’ll almost always be financially better off this way. One hour from London by train covers much of the Home Counties and into the Midlands where housing is *far cheaper* and you’ll benefit even if you’re paying £5k for a season ticket. If you stay in the capital then I suppose you might consider living in a less fashionable district of outer London, living in a flat share rather than alone etc.

Other options, as per @AlterEgo ’s suggestion, include choosing to commute in a way that minimises expense, using whatever railcard discounts you can and I suppose cutting back on eating out and drinking alcohol which is incredibly expensive. The last two options are about as appealing to me as a hole in the head! Unfortunately, whatever one does, costs are only going in one direction at the moment.

I live in Woolwich which is excellent now Crossrail is open, but that will in turn raise prices here.

It’s amazing how the Arsenal end has changed beyond all recognition over the last few years. I’ve certainly had a few very pleasant afternoons in the sunshine at the Dial Arch this summer!

 

[Dai Corner]

Other options, as per @AlterEgo ’s suggestion, include choosing to commute in a way that minimises expense, using whatever railcard discounts you can and I suppose cutting back on eating out and drinking alcohol which is incredibly expensive. The last two options are about as appealing to me as a hole in the head! Unfortunately, whatever one does, costs are only going in one direction at the moment.

Grub & beer are cheaper the further you move from central London too. I pay about three quid a pint and two pints a meal here in an unfashionable City two hours by rail away

 

[Bletchleyite]

So what is the best way to reduce living and commuting cost if one's job must be in London?

Living in the former "Network SouthEast" area (Network Railcard area) where seasons and Anytime Day Returns are regulated and so better value. Kettering is a former InterCity station where the Off Peak is the regulated fare and Anytimes generally eye wateringly expensive. There are cheapish places to live in this area, e.g. Northampton.

If the OP drives they should certainly commute from Northampton instead.

 

[Ken H]

If you work consecutive days a night in a hotel may be cheaper than a return train journey. Less knackering too. Take a packed supper so you dont do expensive eating out, or use the staff canteen at work.
If you can organise a late shift, then hotel night then an early that may keep you off peak trains.

 

[Ken H]

If you work consecutive days a night in a hotel may be cheaper than a return train journey. Less knackering too. Take a packed supper so you dont do expensive eating out, or use the staff canteen at work.
If you can organise a late shift, then hotel night then an early that may keep you off peak trains.

Use chain hotels. Some of the stuff on booking sites can be grim.

 

[miklcct]

One hour from London by train covers much of the Home Counties and into the Midlands where housing is *far cheaper* and you’ll benefit even if you’re paying £5k for a season ticket.

One hour from London towards the coast (I'm saying this because I am a long distance swimmer wanting to train for some sea swimming challenges, which can't be done in London) doesn't get me much cheaper housing (Brighton).

Furthermore, the rail connectivity up in the Midland between towns is very bad unless on the direct line to London, thanks to Dr Beeching. Connectivity within Kent by rail is much better, while Sussex has an extensive bus network in addition to rail as well.

If I have my job in London, and only consider Kent and Sussex as my place of living, where can I benefit the most?

 

[43066]

Grub & beer are cheaper the further you move from central London too. I pay about three quid a pint and two pints a meal here in an unfashionable City two hours by rail away

Sheffield?

Generally I agree. Although I’ve found “London prices” seems to be creeping further and further away from the capital, more’s the pity!

Three quid is bloody cheap, less than half what the standard toasted-double-IPA goes for around my way .

If the OP drives they should certainly commute from Northampton instead.

Not if they enjoy travelling on ropey and very aubergine class 360s.

 

[Dai Corner]

Sheffield?

Generally I agree. Although I’ve found “London prices” seems to be creeping further and further away from the capital, more’s the pity!

Three quid is bloody cheap, less than half what the standard toasted-double-IPA goes for around my way .

West rather than North; Newport South Wales. Actually it's about 97 minutes and you can get a decent non-Wetherspoons pint for three quid within five minutes walk of the station. Cardiff's more like two hours and dearer.

 

[6Gman]

Since the OP has already pointed out that she does a specialist role (which she greatly enjoys and which - I suspect - is quite important) suggestions of finding a similar job nearer home are not really helpful.

There was a lot of talk of season tickets tailored for 2/3 days per week but I don't know if that went anywhere. That might be something she could raise with her M.P.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Since the OP has already pointed out that she does a specialist role (which she greatly enjoys and which - I suspect - is quite important) suggestions of finding a similar job nearer home are not really helpful.

There was a lot of talk of season tickets tailored for 2/3 days per week but I don't know if that went anywhere. That might be something she could raise with her M.P.

That would be the Flexi Season that's been available for a while.

 

[Watershed]

Since the OP has already pointed out that she does a specialist role (which she greatly enjoys and which - I suspect - is quite important) suggestions of finding a similar job nearer home are not really helpful.

There was a lot of talk of season tickets tailored for 2/3 days per week but I don't know if that went anywhere. That might be something she could raise with her M.P.

Flexi Seasons have been on sale for just over a year now, and in theory fit the bill in terms of their flexibility.

However they offer a pathetic discount of just 12.5% compared to buying daily tickets (and even less than that on certain journeys). Therefore, since the OP has a Railcard giving them 34% off daily tickets, they cannot possibly be better off using a Flexi Season.

 

[ivorytoast28]

Since the OP has already pointed out that she does a specialist role (which she greatly enjoys and which - I suspect - is quite important) suggestions of finding a similar job nearer home are not really helpful.

There was a lot of talk of season tickets tailored for 2/3 days per week but I don't know if that went anywhere. That might be something she could raise with her M.P.

Ultimately the OP's job + living area are unusual and unviable. Yes the train may only be 57 minutes but it's because it is a fast train