Hi everyone
I recently moved to the UK and started a job near Gatwick Airport and I am looking for advice on purchasing an annual season ticket. It will need to cover my travel to and from work (zone 1 to Gatwick) which will also cover travel on my days off around greater London.
I haven't had much luck with advice from Southern or TfL and am really struggling with this one.
Is the advice from Southern/GX correct that I can't get a ticket to cover all my transport needs because where I work is just outside zone 6?
Here are the details of my travels:
Travelling From:
I live on the border of zone 1 and 2 - a tube or bus ride from Victoria station.
Travelling To:
Gatwick Airport station.
Time of Day:
My hours of work are 0700-1900 4 days on, 4 days off.
Discounts:
None that I am aware off. I have a EASIT card but it won't provide a discount to/from Central London. It covers other travel on Southern with a 15% discount.
What I am currently paying:
On advice from the ticket office at Southern, I have been buying a monthly season from VIC to GTW for £286 then using my Oyster card to get to/from VIC costing £96 for the month (approx. 20 shifts)
TOTAL: £382 per month/£4202 per year if you minus time off for leave.
What I need help with:
As I travel quite a lot in greater London (zones 1-5) on my 4 days off and considering my monthly season ticket almost covers zone 1-6 - what are my options of an all inclusive annual season ticket? I currently feel like I am paying twice.
I also travel to and from work in what I consider off peak (I leave home at 5am and leave work at 7pm) but get no financial benefit from this.
I was looking at getting a zone 1-6 yearly Travelcard and another season ticket from the boarder of zone 6 to Gatwick (which I can get the EASIT 15% discount on), but reading the NRCoC 19 it looks like this isn't an option as I will have 2 x season tickets and only 1 is zonal.
I don't have time to buy a ticket each day at VIC to get me from zone 6 to Gatwick as there is little time between when when I arrive at VIC before my first train.
The other catch is I need the flexibility of being able to travel on the Gatwick Express as the only Southern service that will get me to work on time is not reliable enough. I currently give myself a 3 train buffer (1 SN, 2 x GX) to get to work on time.
Thanks for any help you can provide. I am seriouly considering buying a car to reduce my transport costs and time getting to work which seems insane!
I recently moved to the UK and started a job near Gatwick Airport and I am looking for advice on purchasing an annual season ticket. It will need to cover my travel to and from work (zone 1 to Gatwick) which will also cover travel on my days off around greater London.
I haven't had much luck with advice from Southern or TfL and am really struggling with this one.
Is the advice from Southern/GX correct that I can't get a ticket to cover all my transport needs because where I work is just outside zone 6?
Here are the details of my travels:
Travelling From:
I live on the border of zone 1 and 2 - a tube or bus ride from Victoria station.
Travelling To:
Gatwick Airport station.
Time of Day:
My hours of work are 0700-1900 4 days on, 4 days off.
Discounts:
None that I am aware off. I have a EASIT card but it won't provide a discount to/from Central London. It covers other travel on Southern with a 15% discount.
What I am currently paying:
On advice from the ticket office at Southern, I have been buying a monthly season from VIC to GTW for £286 then using my Oyster card to get to/from VIC costing £96 for the month (approx. 20 shifts)
TOTAL: £382 per month/£4202 per year if you minus time off for leave.
What I need help with:
As I travel quite a lot in greater London (zones 1-5) on my 4 days off and considering my monthly season ticket almost covers zone 1-6 - what are my options of an all inclusive annual season ticket? I currently feel like I am paying twice.
I also travel to and from work in what I consider off peak (I leave home at 5am and leave work at 7pm) but get no financial benefit from this.
I was looking at getting a zone 1-6 yearly Travelcard and another season ticket from the boarder of zone 6 to Gatwick (which I can get the EASIT 15% discount on), but reading the NRCoC 19 it looks like this isn't an option as I will have 2 x season tickets and only 1 is zonal.
I don't have time to buy a ticket each day at VIC to get me from zone 6 to Gatwick as there is little time between when when I arrive at VIC before my first train.
The other catch is I need the flexibility of being able to travel on the Gatwick Express as the only Southern service that will get me to work on time is not reliable enough. I currently give myself a 3 train buffer (1 SN, 2 x GX) to get to work on time.
Thanks for any help you can provide. I am seriouly considering buying a car to reduce my transport costs and time getting to work which seems insane!