Frequent travel between Bournemouth and North London - is a 7-day season ticket a good idea?

[miklcct]

My days in Bournemouth are now counted and I'm now in the final stage of arranging a new home in North London. As a result I'll travel for at least 3 days per week there, and probably more. Also, my weekend travel will probably be on a permitted route between Bournemouth and London as well.

I have already grabbed lots of Rail Sale tickets until 27 May for this reason, costing below £9 return between Bournemouth and Clapham Junction before Trainsplit commissions. However, I'll still need tickets after that, for about 1 to 1.5 weeks afterwards.

The destinations I require in London includes Gospel Oak and Cricklewood. All travel will be on trains after 09:52 into London Terminals on weekdays, including possible peak hour travel back to Bournemouth, or at any time on weekends. I don't need any zone 1 validity unless I use the long route via Horsham to save money, where validity through Thameslink core will be required.

I'm happy to give up flexibility to use Advance tickets, or take the long route via Horsham and Farringdon if it is much cheaper (at least £100 saving over a week) than using flexible tickets on the direct route to Clapham Junction and West London Line.

The weekly season with Travelcard validity between zones 2-6 is priced at £195.90, which is about 5 times the 26-30 railcard-discounted through return ticket. But obviously I will be able to travel back and forth in London using a Travelcard season ticket.

I'll be most likely travelling 4-5 days in a single week.

1. Are there any split season tickets, or season tickets for part of the route combined with flexible return tickets / Oyster PAYG, which gives me better value than the through season ticket at £195.90 per week, assuming 4 or 5 days of travel in the week?

2. If I use advance purchase tickets whenever available, can I expect to save £100 compared to flexible tickets over 5 days of travel in a single week?

3. Is a Bournemouth - Cricklewood ticket valid at Gospel Oak? If so, should I travel through a London Terminal or using West London Line?

 

[gabrielhj07]

Hi,

I am assuming you'll need this season ticket for 1 week of travel only?

Given that,

1. If you were to get a weekly season ticket from Bournemouth - Clapham Junction at £180.20, you could then use Oyster PAYG to travel from Clapham - Gospel Oak (Zone 2) at £1.60 per journey. £16 weekly therefore spent on PAYG. Going into Cricklewood from Clapham requires changing, so is £4.70 per journey, £47 weekly. Alternatively, you could buy a season ticket from Bournemouth - East Croydon for £117.30, and use oyster to get to Cricklewood for £38.
2. There are returns (Advance Single both ways) from Bournemouth to Gospel Oak for £30.30, so £151.5. This is ultimatley more expensive than the season tickets so not recommended. A similar situation to Cricklewood works out at £125.5 weekly.
3. If it is a Bournemouth - Cricklewood ticket, then no. It it is a Bournemouth - London Zones 2-6 then yes. It's worth noting that Gospel Oak is in Zone 2, while Cricklewood is in Zone 3, so any season tickets have to be purchased with this in mind.

Ultimately, spltting the season ticket en-route, while it saves you a considerable amount of money, is a bit of a faff, as it would require leaving the gateline and touching in on Oyster.

 

[miklcct]

Hi,

I am assuming you'll need this season ticket for 1 week of travel only?

Given that,

1. If you were to get a weekly season ticket from Bournemouth - Clapham Junction at £180.20, you could then use Oyster PAYG to travel from Clapham - Gospel Oak (Zone 2) at £1.60 per journey. £16 weekly therefore spent on PAYG. Going into Cricklewood from Clapham requires changing, so is £4.70 per journey, £47 weekly. Alternatively, you could buy a season ticket from Bournemouth - East Croydon for £117.30, and use oyster to get to Cricklewood for £38.
2. There are returns (Advance Single both ways) from Bournemouth to Gospel Oak for £30.30, so £151.5. This is ultimatley more expensive than the season tickets so not recommended. A similar situation to Cricklewood works out at £125.5 weekly.
3. If it is a Bournemouth - Cricklewood ticket, then no. It it is a Bournemouth - London Zones 2-6 then yes. It's worth noting that Gospel Oak is in Zone 2, while Cricklewood is in Zone 3, so any season tickets have to be purchased with this in mind.

Ultimately, spltting the season ticket en-route, while it saves you a considerable amount of money, is a bit of a faff, as it would require leaving the gateline and touching in on Oyster.

I will need travel for 1 week only, most likely going to both Gospel Oak and Cricklewood on the same day so I will need more than 2 PAYG trips (and some may be in the evening peak) per day. I have a 26-30 Railcard as well. The through season ticket I mentioned above is issued to London Travelcard zones 2-6.

If I want to go to Cricklewood from Clapham Junction using PAYG, I will avoid zone 1 by changing at West Hampstead, or take a bus at Brondesbury. The gateline under platform 1 at Clapham Junction is handy for switching to/from Oyster since trains to Stratford depart from platform 1 and I usually do this.

 

[Watershed]

Going into Cricklewood from Clapham requires changing, so is £4.70 per journey, £47 weekly.

Unless you go via Willesden Junction and West Hampstead, in which case there is a season ticket available for £19.60 a week.

Alternatively, you could buy a season ticket from Bournemouth - East Croydon for £117.30, and use oyster to get to Cricklewood for £38.

If the OP is up for a very long journey they could do it even cheaper than this by buying the season to Selhurst or Thornton Heath (same price) and using Oyster from there.

I also note that there are cheaper via Barnham season tickets available to other destinations, which would be both valid and reasonable to use via London.

 

[gabrielhj07]

there is a season ticket available for £19.60 a week.

This is extraordinary value for money, would it require a walk between West Hampstead & West Hampstead Thameslink?

 

[miklcct]

If the OP is up for a very long journey they could do it even cheaper than this by buying the season to Selhurst or Thornton Heath (same price) and using Oyster from there.

I also note that there are cheaper via Barnham season tickets available to other destinations, which would be both valid and reasonable to use via London.

It seems that the season ticket from Weymouth is cheaper than the one from Bournemouth on the Barnham route to East Croydon, at £109.90 compared to £117.30 from Bournemouth.

This is extraordinary value for money, would it require a walk between West Hampstead & West Hampstead Thameslink?

It seems that an annual will be a good investment after I move to my new home - the same fare is available to Stratford as well.

Is there a destination from Cricklewood which will cover both sides from West Hampstead on the Overground route with similar value for money? If so, what is the longest distance on the North London Line I can cover on a season ticket at this price?

 

[gabrielhj07]

It seems that the season ticket from Weymouth is cheaper than the one from Bournemouth on the Barnham route to East Croydon, at £109.90 compared to £117.30 from Bournemouth.

Probably something to do with Weymouth being a terminus. I wonder if it would be allowed to buy the Weymouth ticket but board at Bournemouth, or whether the barriers at Bournemouth would have a problem with that.

 

[miklcct]

Probably something to do with Weymouth being a terminus. I wonder if it would be allowed to buy the Weymouth ticket but board at Bournemouth, or whether the barriers at Bournemouth would have a problem with that.

The one from Poole is the same price as Weymouth as well - so it must be an anomaly. As it's a season ticket it is always allowed to board and alight en-route.

 

[Watershed]

This is extraordinary value for money, would it require a walk between West Hampstead & West Hampstead Thameslink?

Yes.

It seems that the season ticket from Weymouth is cheaper than the one from Bournemouth on the Barnham route to East Croydon, at £109.90 compared to £117.30 from Bournemouth.

Yes, that's one example.

It seems that an annual will be a good investment after I move to my new home - the same fare is available to Stratford as well.

Yes. Though consider the fact that a Zones 2-3 or 2-4 Travelcard is not that much more expensive, and offers much more flexibility (including validity on all buses across London). If you add it to an Oyster card, extension fares for times when you want to go to/via Zone 1 will be automatically calculated, provided you touch in and out correctly.

 

[miklcct]

Yes.


Yes, that's one example.


Yes. Though consider the fact that a Zones 2-3 or 2-4 Travelcard is not that much more expensive, and offers much more flexibility (including validity on all buses across London). If you add it to an Oyster card, extension fares for times when you want to go to/via Zone 1 will be automatically calculated, provided you touch in and out correctly.

The longest season ticket I've found at the same fare is Hendon - Manor Park at £784 per year, given that most of my travel on the Overground will be to the east, while a 2-3 annual Travelcard is £1152, which is 47% more expensive, or £368 extra per year.

I'm anticipating most of my peak journeys will be on the North London Line, and I'll probably travel at least 5 days per week, both off-peak or one peak + one off-peak, possibly transferring back home at West Hampstead onto the Thameslink. The extra validity of a 2-3 annual Travelcard, compared to a Hendon - Manor Park, is mainly that I can get to Brondesbury to take a bus home if I miss a Thameslink at West Hampstead, or for my weekend trips to the South West when I can buy a ticket from Clapham Junction instead of from West Hampstead.

I don't think that such travel will cost me over £368 extra, which is 72 days even if I max out my Oyster zone 2 cap every day, in a year. If my off-route travel within zone 2 is just £1.05 per journey, that will be a whopping 350 single off-route journeys in a year!!!

 

[Watershed]

The longest season ticket I've found at the same fare is Hendon - Manor Park at £784 per year, given that most of my travel on the Overground will be to the east, while a 2-3 annual Travelcard is £1152, which is 47% more expensive, or £368 extra per year.

It might help to know that rail-only season tickets in the Zones are priced zonally, but are not necessarily available for every possible flow (particularly in terms of avoiding Zone 1, where there are typically Oyster options even where the route is convoluted). For example there are no rail-only seasons for Willesden Junction to Stratford, but there are for Cricklewood to Stratford. Often it is dictated by whether it is a LO-only flow.

I'm anticipating most of my peak journeys will be on the North London Line, and I'll probably travel at least 5 days per week, both off-peak or one peak + one off-peak, possibly transferring back home at West Hampstead onto the Thameslink. The extra validity of a 2-3 annual Travelcard, compared to a Hendon - Manor Park, is mainly that I can get to Brondesbury to take a bus home if I miss a Thameslink at West Hampstead, or for my weekend trips to the South West when I can buy a ticket from Clapham Junction instead of from West Hampstead.

I don't think that such travel will cost me over £368 extra, which is 72 days even if I max out my Oyster zone 2 cap every day, in a year. If my off-route travel within zone 2 is just £1.05 per journey, that will be a whopping 350 single off-route journeys in a year!!!

Fair enough - personally I'd count the extra validity worthwhile the (relatively) small cost, particularly as there is no mechanism for adding a rail-only season ticket to Oyster and having it charge you extension fares. But it's up to you.

Remember that an annual season ticket or Travelcard will entitle you to a Gold Card (or, if issued on a smartcard, a Gold Record Card). This discount can be added to an Oyster card and offers a discount on walkup First Class tickets as well.

 

[Jason12]

The longest season ticket I've found at the same fare is Hendon - Manor Park at £784 per year, given that most of my travel on the Overground will be to the east, while a 2-3 annual Travelcard is £1152, which is 47% more expensive, or £368 extra per year.

How certain are you about the annual number of journeys you will make with that season? Even though it's the cheaper option and a good deal if you can make full use of it, £784 is still a sizeable outlay. It may be worth spending a month in your new place travelling on PAYG and see what journeys you are actaully making before committing to a particular annual season or Travelcard.

 

[miklcct]

Remember that an annual season ticket or Travelcard will entitle you to a Gold Card (or, if issued on a smartcard, a Gold Record Card). This discount can be added to an Oyster card and offers a discount on walkup First Class tickets as well.

My 26-30 Railcard is expiring next week, which will be just days before I move to my new home and, comparing the benefit of a Gold Card and a 26-30 Railcard, will it still be worthwhile for me to renew my Railcard or shall I just buy the annual season ticket earlier and use the Gold Card benefit.

Note that I won't take any first class trains unless it is cheaper than the cheapest applicable standard fare.

How certain are you about the annual number of journeys you will make with that season? Even though it's the cheaper option and a good deal if you can make full use of it, £784 is still a sizeable outlay. It may be worth spending a month in your new place travelling on PAYG and see what journeys you are actaully making before committing to a particular annual season or Travelcard.

I'm certain that I'll travel to Gospel Oak for at least 4 days per week, possibly multiple times a day (depending on my schedule) at least until the end of October, no matter if / where I will have my next job, barring any extended holidays out. I'm not sure for winter yet but Hackney Central is a high possibility. It will mostly likely be off-peak both ways, or peak + off-peak.

Anyone who personally knows me will know what I'm doing and why I am getting to Gospel Oak, and why I'm moving home. I'm finding my new home based on where I actually want to get to but, unfortunately no availability within my budget exists near Kentish Town, and I have found a place which is far below my budget at Cricklewood, close to the train station with good amenities including pizza shops and convenience stores under the flat, and a Lidl within a km.

 

[Watershed]

My 26-30 Railcard is expiring next week, which will be just days before I move to my new home and, comparing the benefit of a Gold Card and a 26-30 Railcard, will it still be worthwhile for me to renew my Railcard or shall I just buy the annual season ticket earlier and use the Gold Card benefit.

That mostly depends on how many journeys you will be doing outside the Gold Card area (or before 09:30, which are outwith your proposed season ticket). If the cost of those journeys is more than £90, then the Railcard is still going to be worthwhile and so there is little benefit to delaying your renewal.

 

[miklcct]

That mostly depends on how many journeys you will be doing outside the Gold Card area (or before 09:30, which are outwith your proposed season ticket). If the cost of those journeys is more than £90, then the Railcard is still going to be worthwhile and so there is little benefit to delaying your renewal.

The only known journeys I'm doing in the following year outside the zone are to Leeds on 2022-06-11, returning 2022-06-12, and to Windermere mid-September. Also, as the 26-30 Railcard has a minimum fare before 10:00, morning peak journeys can't be discounted anyway unless there are Advance ticket available (which can be discounted with 26-30 but not a Gold Card - another major difference but I will still need to see from London to where inside the zone having Advance available - for the SWR network which is beyond Winchester or Haslemere and I doubt if I will travel that far - the VERY reason I'm moving out of Bournemouth is that there is absolutely nothing worthwhile there for me to visit) which will make a difference.

 

[Hadders]

The 26-30 railcard might well pay for itself just on the journeys from London to Leeds and London to Windermere.