Help Swindon to Cambridge best fare

[bkhtele]

Friend needs to go Swindon to Cambridge 17/4/12 for job interview he is not sure of time yet.
Best I can find is off peak day return £31.75 didcot to cambridge plus £9.90 Swindon return to Didcot with Network rail card from Didcot. Total £41.65 (leaving Swindon about 9.45ish.) Not sure about restrictions coming back. Assume he will need to avoid peak in & out of London in evening (2.30pm and 17.45pm departure from Cambridge is ok)

If he has to go at peak he could get an advance on 5.23am from Swindon £30 plus return on 18.45 £18 total £48

Can anyone save a few more £'s?

 

[yorkie]

Best I can find is off peak day return £31.75 didcot to cambridge plus £9.90 Swindon return to Didcot with Network rail card from Didcot. Total £41.65 (leaving Swindon about 9.45ish.) Not sure about restrictions coming back.

The restrictions can be found on the National Rail website.

Swindon-Didcot CDR:
Restriction : W2

OUTWARD TRAVEL

By any train except those
timed to depart Mondays to
Fridays before 0915

RETURN TRAVEL

By any train except those
timed to depart Mondays to
Fridays before 0915

Didcot - Cambridge CDR
Restriction : C4

Restriction applies: Monday to
Friday only. No travel
restrictions on other days.

OUTWARD TRAVEL

By any train scheduled to
arrive London Terminals or
Kensington Olympia at or after
1000.

RETURN TRAVEL

By any train

Assume he will need to avoid peak in & out of London in evening (2.30pm and 17.45pm departure from Cambridge is ok)

There are no peak restrictions on the return portion, if returning the same day, on these particular tickets.

 

[bb21]

It would appear that there is no evening time restriction on the combination of tickets you suggested. However please remember that the train must call at Didcot Parkway where the passenger changes from one ticket to the other.

Selected restriction text for the tickets you mentioned are:

off peak day return £31.75 didcot to cambridge

Restriction : C4
Restriction applies: Monday to
Friday only. No travel
restrictions on other days.

OUTWARD TRAVEL

By any train scheduled to
arrive London Terminals or
Kensington Olympia at or after
1000.

RETURN TRAVEL

By any train

...

£9.90 Swindon return to Didcot

Restriction : W2
OUTWARD TRAVEL

By any train except those
timed to depart Mondays to
Fridays before 0915

RETURN TRAVEL

By any train except those
timed to depart Mondays to
Fridays before 0915

...

 

[Mutant Lemming]

If time is less relevant than cost then a Stagecoach East Dayrider Gold can be purchased on the day for £12 and is valid on Stagecoach Gold 66 Swindon-Oxford and X5 Oxford-Cambridge. It will take about 2 hours longer than the train each way but it does allow travel on Cambridge City services as well. The 66 has wifi and the X5's now have a toilet as well.

 

[W-on-Sea]

If time is less relevant than cost then a Stagecoach East Dayrider Gold can be purchased on the day for £12 and is valid on Stagecoach Gold 66 Swindon-Oxford and X5 Oxford-Cambridge. It will take about 2 hours longer than the train each way but it does allow travel on Cambridge City services as well. The 66 has wifi and the X5's now have a toilet as well.

Probably worth noting that the evening service on the 66 is *extremely* limited. I'd definitely be inclined to stick to the train for this journey, even if it does cost a bit more.

(I was also going to ask: are you certain that Stagecoach East tickets are valid on the 66? Dayriders might be different, but I am almost certain that the only period Megariders accepted on it are the Stagecoach West and Stagecoach Oxfordshire ones.)

 

[Mutant Lemming]

http://www.stagecoachx5.com/.aspx

the £12 dayrider is valid on the 66 to Swindon.

The service is half hourly during the day and the last bus from Oxford is later than it used to be.

http://www.stagecoachbus.com/PdfUploads/Timetable_19995_66 Swindon.pdf

 

[W-on-Sea]

Thanks, that's most useful to know about the changes to the dayriders.

It was the two-and-a-half-hour gap in the 66 service if you miss the 2050 that I thought was worth pointing out. The daytime service is rather good now, but after dark....less so.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Still not so bad and at least there is a late evening service. Many moons ago when I used to reside in Swindon the 66 to Oxford was pretty poor with nothing on a Sunday and last bus around 6pm.

 

[bkhtele]

Thanks for all your help the coach looks like good value & good to know evening restrictions do not apply out of Paddington