I'm a few weeks into a new freelance job in London, two days a week for now. I live in Bath, very close to Oldfield Park station and approx 25mins walk from Bath Spa station.
The agreed plan was for the company to pay the £67 off-peak train fare once a week, and I would travel up the night before, stay for two nights at a friends and then return to Bath. As I understood it they would also pay underground travel costs, which it turns out amounts to around £22.90 each week.
Now they seem to be worrying about the cost of this arrangement & asking me whether it would be cheaper to come in each day! I am on a low daily rate that makes it impossible for me to afford the £22.90 out of my own pocket, but I feel it is being implied that I am trying to pull the wool over their eyes & therefore it is less likely I will be kept on beyond the trial period.
I've explained that peak tickets from Bath are incredibly expensive (I believe £175 for Anytime Return).
I have found a split arrangement at Didcot for £94.30 as shown below:
anytime single bath to didcot £24.80
anytime return from didcot to paddington £56.40
off-peak single from didcot to bath £13.10
Is there anything I'm missing? Would a Network Railcard make any difference if journey was split into more singles? (ie. 1/3 discount between paddington and didcot)
My requirements are as follows:
Bath Spa (or possibly Oldfield Park which is right next to my house!) to London Paddington
Thursday and Friday each week, return each day.
Need to be at Paddington by 8.25am (20 min walk to work - start at 8.45am)
Need to leave Paddington after 6.20pm
I can't imagine there is any way that I could bring the weekly cost for two return peak time trips under the current £89.90 p/w I am paying (£67 off-peak return + £22.90 TFL total) - but I need to prove to them I have done all the research I possibly can to find something cheaper. Finding a peak return from Bath to London for £44.95 seems highly unlikely to me knowing how much trains cost nowadays. Believe me, I would *much* rather sleep in my own bed at night, and avoid the extra travel time (it takes 1.5 hours to get to work from the friends house in greater london anyway, a similar time as if I came straight from Bath each day! On the night before, it takes the 1.5 hours into paddington, then another 1.5 hours out to my friends house)
How anyone is supposed to find jobs that pay enough to cover their travel costs to work and still allow money for food and shelter is beyond me. Its quite demoralising realising you have a good education, a degree and still can't find a job that pays its way let alone is satisfying, enjoyable or allows for the slightest luxury. I have been recently diagnosed with aspergers, and I am aware that some with this issue have the disabled persons railcard, but I can't imagine there is any way I would qualify for DLA (which is what I believe is required as a criteria for obtaining the railcard).
Anyway - any creative suggestions welcome. Sorry for the verbose nature of the post - being concise isn't my forte.
The agreed plan was for the company to pay the £67 off-peak train fare once a week, and I would travel up the night before, stay for two nights at a friends and then return to Bath. As I understood it they would also pay underground travel costs, which it turns out amounts to around £22.90 each week.
Now they seem to be worrying about the cost of this arrangement & asking me whether it would be cheaper to come in each day! I am on a low daily rate that makes it impossible for me to afford the £22.90 out of my own pocket, but I feel it is being implied that I am trying to pull the wool over their eyes & therefore it is less likely I will be kept on beyond the trial period.
I've explained that peak tickets from Bath are incredibly expensive (I believe £175 for Anytime Return).
I have found a split arrangement at Didcot for £94.30 as shown below:
anytime single bath to didcot £24.80
anytime return from didcot to paddington £56.40
off-peak single from didcot to bath £13.10
Is there anything I'm missing? Would a Network Railcard make any difference if journey was split into more singles? (ie. 1/3 discount between paddington and didcot)
My requirements are as follows:
Bath Spa (or possibly Oldfield Park which is right next to my house!) to London Paddington
Thursday and Friday each week, return each day.
Need to be at Paddington by 8.25am (20 min walk to work - start at 8.45am)
Need to leave Paddington after 6.20pm
I can't imagine there is any way that I could bring the weekly cost for two return peak time trips under the current £89.90 p/w I am paying (£67 off-peak return + £22.90 TFL total) - but I need to prove to them I have done all the research I possibly can to find something cheaper. Finding a peak return from Bath to London for £44.95 seems highly unlikely to me knowing how much trains cost nowadays. Believe me, I would *much* rather sleep in my own bed at night, and avoid the extra travel time (it takes 1.5 hours to get to work from the friends house in greater london anyway, a similar time as if I came straight from Bath each day! On the night before, it takes the 1.5 hours into paddington, then another 1.5 hours out to my friends house)
How anyone is supposed to find jobs that pay enough to cover their travel costs to work and still allow money for food and shelter is beyond me. Its quite demoralising realising you have a good education, a degree and still can't find a job that pays its way let alone is satisfying, enjoyable or allows for the slightest luxury. I have been recently diagnosed with aspergers, and I am aware that some with this issue have the disabled persons railcard, but I can't imagine there is any way I would qualify for DLA (which is what I believe is required as a criteria for obtaining the railcard).
Anyway - any creative suggestions welcome. Sorry for the verbose nature of the post - being concise isn't my forte.
<<< *is female* ...but that's not a good excuse. 
