What is the cheapest season ticket in the UK on a pence per mile basis?

[7ransport]

One contender has got to be Ashford International-Southampton Central (Route via Barnham) at an astonishingly low price of £2932 a year, working out at just over £8 a day to go from Kent to Hampshire!

 

[Alfonso]

One contender has got to be AFK-SOU (Route via BAA) at an astonishingly low price of £2932 a year, working out at just over £8 a day to go from Kent to Hampshire!

I haven't checked but I'd imagine there are longer versions of the same fare, like Weymouth to Canterbury? Ramsgate? Dover? Via barnham. Not that anyone would use them for a return journey every day as the service is only marginally faster than walking.

 

[7ransport]

I haven't checked but I'd imagine there are longer versions of the same fare, like Weymouth to Canterbury? Ramsgate? Dover? Via barnham. Not that anyone would use them for a return journey every day as the service is only marginally faster than walking.

Weymouth - Canterbury (via Barnham) = £3896/year
Weymouth - Ramsgate (via Barnham) = £3896/year
Weymouth - Dover (via Barnham) = £3896/year
Southampton Central - Ramsgate (via Barnham) Not Available
Weymouth - Ashford International (via Barnham) = £3896/year

There seems to be a flat fare pattern as you head east of Ashford.

It's quite bizarre how Southampton - Ramsgate isn't available?

 

[30907]

Weymouth - Canterbury (via Barnham) = £3896/year
Weymouth - Ramsgate (via Barnham) = £3896/year
Weymouth - Dover (via Barnham) = £3896/year
Southampton Central - Ramsgate (via Barnham) Not Available
Weymouth - Ashford International (via Barnham) = £3896/year

There seems to be a flat fare pattern as you head east of Ashford.

...as far as Birchington - and from Brockenhurst westward.

It's quite bizarre how Southampton - Ramsgate isn't available?

...nor SOU to anywhere East of Ashford.

 

[Haywain]

So, on a pence per mile basis…?

 

[Watershed]

Those Southern ones will be pretty difficult to beat, although I can't imagine they will ever have sold any of the longer distance ones, at least not as an annual. It takes so long (via Barnham or otherwise!) it would be completely infeasible as any sort of commute, even if only done once or twice a week. So I'm going to stick to journeys that could realistically be commuted on some sort of regular basis.

I suppose it's possible someone clued up might have bought a weekly as a means of relatively cheaply and flexibly 'bashing' particular lines or unit numbers/classes.


In terms of some of the good value PTE fares out there, Walsden to South Elmsall (WYPTE priced) at £39.10 a week / £1564 a year has to be pretty high up there. 34 miles as the crow flies, 53mi15ch by rail (via Bradford Interchange and Leeds). Assuming you used an annual season as often as a stereotypical office worker (260 weekdays a year less 28 days' holiday = 232 return trips a year) that would average out at £6.74 a day or 6.3p per mile. Such a season would entitle you to take 'detours', via Castleford for example, but I'm just considering the quickest and most likely routes.

Strines to Appley Bridge (GMPTE priced, despite the latter station being just outside Greater Manchester) is nearly as far as the crow flies (32 miles), and costs slightly less at £31.10 a week / £1234 a year. Although in this case the unusually direct route (via Reddish and Atherton is shortest, and fastest most of the time) comes out at just 34mi46ch, so rail distance wise not quite as impressive. Admittedly you could also travel via Golborne Jn to extend the distance by 3mi35ch. Assuming that extension, an annual season works out at £5.32 a day or 7.0p per mile. Notably this season is also valid on the Metrolink around the city centre (in zone 1).

Around London, there are certainly some decent fares priced to avoid Zone 1, but even the plain zonal-priced National Rail-only seasons can be good value when crossing London. For example Crews Hill to Caterham, a distance of 28 miles as the crow flies, is £52.10 a week / £2084 a year. Distance wise it's 32mi50ch via the quickest route, i.e. using Thameslink between Finsbury Park and East Croydon via London Bridge. That's £8.98 a day or 13.8p per mile. By London standards that's pretty reasonable.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

So, on a pence per mile basis…?

Using Southampton Central -> Ashford International (via Barnham), that's 123 miles 59 chains each way, as per RailMiles.

Standard weekly season ticket between Southampton Central and Ashford International (route via Barnham) is £73.30, as per BR Fares.

If we assume (a rather mad) five return trips per week, that's £7.33 per single journey.

Or very slightly less than 6 pence per mile. Roughly.

 

[JB_B]

Just had a quick look at approx straight line distances for weekly standard seasons (7DS) - the route:Barnham fares from Dorset to Kent (as per post #3 ) are hard to beat - probably Weymouth-Broadstairs is the best of those.

However, Strathcarron to Tain was the best I could find - it's just a fraction cheaper.

If you're looking at rail miles then it's a much more complicated question ( especially considering the extremely circuitous routes which are valid for certain station pairs and routings.)

 

[Dai Corner]

How about Ebbw Vale Town to Maesteg at £26.50 a week (£1060 a year) for 58m 23ch?

Fares on the Cardiff Valley Lines are capped at this amount.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

How about Ebbw Vale Town to Maesteg at £26.50 a week (£1060 a year) for 58m 23ch?

Fares on the Cardiff Valley Lines are capped at this amount.

I make that around 4.5p per mile if ten single journeys are made on a weekly season ticket.

 

[jha4ceb]

I did some work recently looking at a small selection of commuter routes (in the grand scheme of things...) and a few that stuck out were:

Bridgend to Cardiff
Doncaster to Sheffield
Ely to Cambridge

 

[Haywain]

I make that around 4.5p per mile if ten single journeys are made on a weekly season ticket.

Not much different to Berwick upon Tweed to Kings Cross - that's 4.8p/mile. Wrong!!!!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Not much different to Berwick upon Tweed to Kings Cross - that's 4.8p/mile.

What's your workings? I have the base weekly rate of a Berwick upon Tweed to London Kings Cross season ticket as £625.90 as per BR Fares and the mileage between the two stations as 335 miles 9 chains as per RailMiles. So maybe £62.59 per single journey assuming ten single journeys a week (i.e. 5 round trips). Make that around 18.6p per mile.

Where have you got 4.8p per mile from?

 

[Haywain]

What's your workings? I have the base weekly rate of a Berwick upon Tweed to London Kings Cross season ticket as £625.90 as per BR Fares and the mileage between the two stations as 335 miles 9 chains as per RailMiles. So maybe £62.59 per single journey assuming ten single journeys a week (i.e. 5 round trips). Make that around 18.6p per mile.

Where have you got 4.8p per mile from?

Good point. Too many distractions leading to miscalculation on a grand scale!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Don't think you'd get much below 6p per mile even if using the price of the very cheapest flat fare advance ticket sometimes available between Berwick upon Tweed and London Kings Cross (= £20).

 

[Haywain]

Don't think you'd get much below 6p per mile even if using the price of the very cheapest flat fare advance ticket sometimes available between Berwick upon Tweed and London Kings Cross (= £20).

OK, I'm wounded. No need to rub salt in...!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

OK, I'm wounded. No need to rub salt in...!

Fair enough.

Any other cheap ST fares out there, maybe one end of a PTE area to the other?

 

[Nunners]

I haven't checked but I'd imagine there are longer versions of the same fare, like Weymouth to Canterbury? Ramsgate? Dover? Via barnham. Not that anyone would use them for a return journey every day as the service is only marginally faster than walking.

Beaulieu Road to Wye via Barnham is slightly longer than Southampton to Ashford and is the same price

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Beaulieu Road to Wye via Barnham is slightly longer than Southampton to Ashford and is the same price

I concur. 136 miles 69 chains via Barnham. Seven day season is £73.30. So maybe 5.4p per mile assuming that ten single journeys are made over a week. Not quite as cheap as the Valley lines example upthread, but almost.

 

[Nunners]

Best I can do without using any areas already mentioned is Bristol TM to Severn Beach - 13m 37ch for £9 a week comes out as 6.7p/mile

 

[JB_B]

For rail distance, using 10 x the railmiles.me distance against seven day standard season as above, Strathcarron - Tain works out at around 4.3p/mile - (10 x 71m38ch = 714.75 miles) for £31.00 a week.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@JB_B. Think we have a new frontrunner on the leader board!

Strathcarron -> Tain season tickets seem incredibly cheap in comparison with day singles.

 

[Tester]

Weymouth - Canterbury (via Barnham) = £3896/year
Weymouth - Ramsgate (via Barnham) = £3896/year
Weymouth - Dover (via Barnham) = £3896/year
Southampton Central - Ramsgate (via Barnham) Not Available
Weymouth - Ashford International (via Barnham) = £3896/year

There seems to be a flat fare pattern as you head east of Ashford.

It's quite bizarre how Southampton - Ramsgate isn't available?

I know it's not entirely on topic but the figure of 3,896 caught my eye.

For 3,860 Swiss francs a year (currently about £3,080) you get virtually the entire Swiss public transport system!

Apples and oranges of course, but it's sobering to see what can be done, particularly considering the significantly higher cost of living. Where do you even start in calculating pence per mile!

 

[Llandudno]

@JB_B. Think we have a new frontrunner on the leader board!

Strathcarron -> Tain season tickets seem incredibly cheap in comparison with day singles.

I wonder if anyone has ever bought one?

 

[cool110]

If we're counting PTE tickets as well as point-to-point, then the Merseytravel All Zone Railpass has to be up there at £1220.90 a year.

 

[miklcct]

How do you calculate the distance of a zonal ticket?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

If we're counting PTE tickets as well as point-to-point, then the Merseytravel All Zone Railpass has to be up there at £1220.90 a year.

What's the furthest you could go, point-to-point, using that? Chester -> Southport, perhaps? Which is how far?

 

[kieron]

Using the distances from the NRG data feed, it's 35.24 miles northbound and 35.96 south. If you assume 5 round trips per week, 40 weeks per year, then that's 8.57p/mi.

 

[geoffk]

Ca you still buy a Season Ticket Holder's railcard? I think it was also called a Gold Card. I remember some years ago sales of the cheapest possible annual season ticket went up considerably once savvy passengers realised this was a way to get cheap travel. Many of these did not live in the area served by the season ticket, but I forget the details now.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Ca you still buy a Season Ticket Holder's railcard? I think it was also called a Gold Card. I remember some years ago sales of the cheapest possible annual season ticket went up considerably once savvy passengers realised this was a way to get cheap travel. Many of these did not live in the area served by the season ticket, but I forget the details now.

If I rightly recall, any Annual Gold Season Ticket enabled the holder to purchase a separate Network Card for a partner for a nominal £1. Not sure if this offer is still available, but is that what you were thinking of?