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Help needed for planning daily commute the most cost effective way.

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crawlingman

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I'll be traveling from Three Bridges, Crawley to my university Queen Mary, London between Mile End Station and Stephney Green to and back 5 days mostly peak

I went to thamselink website and calculated season ticket quotes for Three bridges to London Blackfrairs. I will have to switch trains to get to Mile End.

Am I allowed to switch trains using my season ticket? I was thinking that okay I can travel from any station in London to Three Bridges but thats it and I can't move from station to station in London.

I was going to cycle from blackfrairs to mile end but then got around to realizing that j can't take the bike with me to the tube...

Brand new to this country PLEASE HELP!!
 
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Watershed

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I'll be traveling from Three Bridges, Crawley to my university Queen Mary, London between Mile End Station and Stephney Green to and back 5 days mostly peak

I went to thamselink website and calculated season ticket quotes for Three bridges to London Blackfrairs. I will have to switch trains to get to Mile End.

Am I allowed to switch trains using my season ticket? I was thinking that okay I can travel from any station in London to Three Bridges but thats it and I can't move from station to station in London.

I was going to cycle from blackfrairs to mile end but then got around to realizing that j can't take the bike with me to the tube...

Brand new to this country PLEASE HELP!!
Changing trains is fine - season tickets are valid for unlimited travel, including stopping off or changing trains, on any train along the route.

The issue is that a normal season ticket from Three Bridges to London Terminals is only valid on National Rail services (Thameslink, Southern etc.) - not the London Underground (Tube). And it would only be valid to London Terminals, not to Mile End.

If you want to get a season ticket that covers the Tube to Mile End or Stepney Green, you can get a Three Bridges to London Zones 1-6 Travelcard. This is valid for unlimited travel on virtually all forms of public transport within London (up to Zone 6), in addition to your journey to get to London.

You could pay for your Tube journey separately (contactless or Oyster would be best if so), but this would cost you more than buying a combined Travelcard. So it's unlikely to be worthwhile.

On a side-note - that's a pretty long commute to do 5 days a week. It's not the most expensive but I do hope you've considered living somewhere a little bit closer to London!
 

crawlingman

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Changing trains is fine - season tickets are valid for unlimited travel, including stopping off or changing trains, on any train along the route.

The issue is that a normal season ticket from Three Bridges to London Terminals is only valid on National Rail services (Thameslink, Southern etc.) - not the London Underground (Tube). And it would only be valid to London Terminals, not to Mile End.

If you want to get a season ticket that covers the Tube to Mile End or Stepney Green, you can get a Three Bridges to London Zones 1-6 Travelcard. This is valid for unlimited travel on virtually all forms of public transport within London (up to Zone 6), in addition to your journey to get to London.

You could pay for your Tube journey separately (contactless or Oyster would be best if so), but this would cost you more than buying a combined Travelcard. So it's unlikely to be worthwhile.

On a side-note - that's a pretty long commute to do 5 days a week. It's not the most expensive but I do hope you've considered living somewhere a little bit closer to London!
Thanks a lot for your reply it really cleared things up. So the combined Travelcard wouldn't be purchased from thameslink's website right? And the tfl travelcard wouldn't cover Three Bridges. Where could I purchase the combined travelcard?

I'll also be getting the 16-25 for when I travel elsewhere.

Yeah I know it's going to ill be traveling 3 hrs a day. As long as it's smooth sailing, not having to constantly keep switching, waiting, looking out, I think I'll actually enjoy it haha.
 

Watershed

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Thanks a lot for your reply it really cleared things up. So the combined Travelcard wouldn't be purchased from thameslink's website right? And the tfl travelcard wouldn't cover Three Bridges. Where could I purchase the combined travelcard?

I'll also be getting the 16-25 for when I travel elsewhere.

Yeah I know it's going to ill be traveling 3 hrs a day. As long as it's smooth sailing, not having to constantly keep switching, waiting, looking out, I think I'll actually enjoy it haha.
No, you can get the combined Travelcard from Thameslink's website or at a ticket office. If it's just a weekly you're after, and you have a photocard already, you can get it at a ticket machine instead.

On the combined Travelcard, the National Rail element covers you between Three Bridges and the boundary of Zone 6, and the Travelcard element covers you for all journeys within Zones 1-6, regardless of whether they're by National Rail, Tube or bus etc.

If you won't usually use the season ticket on a weekend, one useful tip is that you can buy seasons for a week, a month, a year, or any period between a month and a year.

So if you buy a season for a month and a few days (so that it covers 5 weeks of commuting, from the Monday of the first week till the Friday of the fifth week), you effectively avoid paying for the weekend every 5th week. This makes it slightly cheaper than a monthly season on average.

Also with your 16-25 Railcard, you can go to any Tube station to get it put on an Oyster card. It will then give you a 1/3 discount on Off-Peak Oyster fares.

Unfortunately with one or two changes, I couldn't guarantee it's going to be a smooth commute by any means. But another little tip - the First Class compartment in the last carriage of every Thameslink train is declassified, so you can at least get a table and plug socket!
 

30907

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You are saving a good deal by buying a Thameslink Only season from TBD, you just need to make sure you use one of their trains.

Remember that you can use ANY train within Zones 1-6 (effectively from East Croydon) and that you can travel anywhere within those Zones (so the whole of Greater London) when you don't need to commute - useful for social life, because you will meet people from all over London (and beyond).

PS welcome to the forum! Come back if you have questions....
 

[.n]

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Also as you're at Queen Mary, you will (probably) be eligible for the Student (18+) Oystercard which gives you 30% discount on Travelcards, so consider a season ticket from Three Bridges (to wherever Zone 6 starts on that route) and using the travelcard for the rest of your travel (giving complete flexibility within the zones)
 

Mcr Warrior

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... so consider a season ticket from Three Bridges (to wherever Zone 6 starts on that route) and using the travelcard for the rest of your travel (giving complete flexibility within the zones)
So a season between Three Bridges and Coulsdon South? (7 day standard season, route any permitted = £68.20 per week, longer periods of one month and above also possible).
 

Doctor Fegg

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Get a Brompton folding bike - you can take them on the tube or indeed any train. Absolutely ubiquitous around London.
 

Watershed

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So a season between Three Bridges and Coulsdon South? (7 day standard season, route any permitted = £68.20 per week, longer periods of one month and above also possible).
A standalone Zones 1-6 Travelcard is £67.70, so £46.70 with 18+ Student Oyster card. £46.70 + £68.20 = £114.90, which is quite a bit more than a Three Bridges to Zones 1-6 "Thameslink only" Travelcard at £93.90.
 

[.n]

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A standalone Zones 1-6 Travelcard is £67.70, so £46.70 with 18+ Student Oyster card. £46.70 + £68.20 = £114.90, which is quite a bit more than a Three Bridges to Zones 1-6 "Thameslink only" Travelcard at £93.90.

I think an Anytime Day Return (Three Bridges-Coulsdon South) is £18.30 so with a 16-25 railcard is £12.05 (so 5 days is £60.25)

so overall £60.25+£46.70 = £106.95 - so still not cheaper than the travelcard option

It would be cheaper if the timings worked for a Cheap Day Return at £7.15
 
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