How To Save Money When Commuting To Work Via Train

A few years back the idea of working from home for long periods of time was unheard of. And even having one day a week at home was quite a good perk. But after the past 18 months many of us have been used to working exclusively from home. It’s been a great way to save money when commuting. But the loss of social interaction and certain face-to-face conversations hasn’t always been ideal.

For a lot of people the idea of going back into a office full-time isn’t going to be a reality. Many businesses and companies are moving towards hybrid working blending working from home with being in the office.

But how does this work when it comes to commuting on the train and travel cards?

Pre-pandemic commuting by train

According to Network Rail, four million people travelled by train every single day before the pandemic. And for a lot of people who work in big cities or towns trains provided the best option for commuting. Especially if you lived in London where driving just isn’t an option.

While trains weren’t always on-time and could be massively busy it was still the go-to solution for a lot of people. And while train travel is expensive a monthly or annual season ticket would provide the best value for money.

Save money when commuting with the new flexi season tickets

The nature of work has changed forever and that’s also changed commuting. Even as restrictions have eased and places have opened up many people are still working all or part of their weeks from home. And it’s unlikely full-time returns to the office will happen for everyone.

But that can make commuting via train more expensive as a monthly or annual season ticket is no longer cost effective. Thankfully a new flexible season ticket has been introduced to suit this new way of working. The ticket is aimed at people travelling 2-3 days a week and it allows travel on any eight days within a 28-day period.

Flexible season tickets can be used during peak and off-peak periods. And you don’t need to select the days of travel in advance.  This is a great way to save money when commuting rather than buying daily tickets each time you go in.

Is the flexi season ticket best for me?

If you’re only commuting by train once a week then it will be cheaper to buy a daily card. And if you’re travelling more than four days a week then a conventional season ticket is likely to be better value.

If you do have to buy a season ticket plan when you’re going to buy it. The prices usually go up on the first working day of the year so try and get yours before 2nd January! By purchasing early you’ll pay 2021 prices and not the increased prices.

The cost of a yearly season ticket is usually quite high so see if your workplace offers a Season Ticket Loan. This means your workplace will purchase an annual season ticket for you and you pay it back in instalments out of your net salary. Usually these will be interest free so work out at a good price.

Save money when commuting through flexible working

If your company is looking to bring people back to the office full-time after working from home over the pandemic now is the best time to ask about flexible working. If the pandemic has taught businesses anything it’s that people can work from home.

By asking for a flexible working option you should be able to save money when commuting by not going in as much. You’ll likely develop a better work-life balance as well, especially if your commute is quite a timely one.

Or even if you’re still working in the office flexible working could allow you to work different times to allow you to get the train during off-peak times. If you travel during off-peak you can use your railcard and save even more money.