Flexi Rail Ticket - Will you be returning?

Begbie said:
+ tyres, + servicing, +repairs. I'd imagine most people probably break even when you include all the bills, but I agree it's insane it should be cheaper overall to use public transport than to own a car and drive it. The big advantage is there is less chance of getting stuck in traffic, which is probably caused by the expensive public transport costs...
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Servicing is yearly based, so doesn't matter, no cost. I understand wear and tear, but even then, you are talking about 250miles, which is a negligible amount to a car.. Tyres, similarly, I probably change tyres due to age not mileage. Repairs in case of accident would be the only consideration, even then insurance covers most.

dLockers said:
It can often be more economical to drive if you are unable to "game the system" and find the right tickets. It is very often more economical to drive if there is more than 1 of you.

Going to Wimbledon? I'd get the train. No way I'm faffing with designated drivers and what not. The journey is half the fun :p

At £140 you've presumably ticked open return? Or live a mission away.
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Same day return, from South Wales. I'm not gonna have more than 1 drink, so no issue with designated drivers etc. It seems there's a car park 10 min walk from the courts, which is less faff than 4-5 train changes (note the price doesn't include the underground) and probably doing a 3 hours journey standing up, and wearing a mask, and surrounded by drunks.


Public transport is an inconvenience so until it is significantly cheaper than driving, I will not be using it.
 
Just checked mine:

Stowmarket to Stratford:
Full season ticket: £6988
Monthly season: £670.90
Flexi Season for 2 days a week: £536.70

Average journey cost for a full season based on 2 days a week (valid for every day): £67.08
Average flexi journey cost: £67.24

If you went 5 days per week it would cost £26.90 a day…

I’d need between 11 and 12 flexi tickets so it’s basically a £500-£700 or 10% saving on £7k to get a considerably less flexible ticket. That also only works if you time your annual leave perfectly with the ticket ending…

LOL WHAT?

Edit: you can get a refund for unused days but the refund amount is based on the anytime ticket price so it works out that if you use 3/4 of the ticket (often less), you get nothing back.

So if you need to unexpectedly take a weeks leave in that ticket cycle, it’s wasted and you get no refund.

The same applies for a regular season ticket, once you use it for 9 months, you get nothing back if you refund the last 3.
 
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dLockers said:
Excluding cost of car of course :p
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Ah but that is only a factor if I could live without a car full stop, which I can't of course. ;)

If you mean tyres, servicing, wear and tyre etc then my car is leased and works out at 16p per mile for any extra, which these two trips certainly put me over my allowance so to be fair I should add £144 for each of the two 900 mile round trips.
 
Minusorange said:
Pay £4,000 to go into work to waste anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours a day stuck on a cramped train

or pay £0 to work from home

I know which one I'd be choosing
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Technically pay negative 300 odd quid as you can claim the tax benefit :D
 
Im in the office 3 days a week and the advertisement says suitable for those commuting 2-3 days a week but i used the calculator and its more expensive than payg.
 
Minusorange said:
Claim the tax on the ticket ? I guess it depends if 20 hours a week in horrible conditions is worth the £300, that's about £6.25 a week, far below minimum wage I'd still choose WFH
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No, I mean claim the tax benefit on WFH. HMRC have said you can claim a certain amount back which is equivalent to about £125** quid a year.

Edit: If you haven't done it, do it; and do it yourself (don't let some scalper take a cut). HMRC have even built a wizard to make it as simple as possible.


** fixed, more like £125 if you're higher rate, £60 odd if you are a lower rate.
 
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Minusorange said:
Pay £4,000 to go into work to waste anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours a day stuck on a cramped train

or pay £0 to work from home

I know which one I'd be choosing
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Depends on the money.

£50k to sit at home, £100k to get the train. I know which one I'd be choosing.

Also, we should be wary. If you can do all your work from home then so can somebody in a foreign country with a far cheaper workforce.
 
200sols said:
Depends on the money.

£50k to sit at home, £100k to get the train. I know which one I'd be choosing.

Also, we should be wary. If you can do all your work from home then so can somebody in a foreign country with a far cheaper workforce.
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I can assure you the world has moved on from thinking folk need to be present to do their job. Almost everyone of the seniors I work with is delivering a lot more value (measurable in the income statement, not just surveys) whilst being a lot happier at 1) ditching the commute/time associated, 2) being able to see their family. If the seniors are doing it then who is telling them to commute?

Your latter point makes sense but mainly from an inverse perspective. Who do I pay tax to if I decide to WFH for 6 months in the Bahamas? :p
 
Used to burn £2500 annually on train tickets. Insane thinking about it now.

200sols said:
Depends on the money.

£50k to sit at home, £100k to get the train. I know which one I'd be choosing.

Also, we should be wary. If you can do all your work from home then so can somebody in a foreign country with a far cheaper workforce.
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Depends on the person, it's not £50k difference, it's more like £30k difference after tax, then take off £4k, so £25k difference.

Now I would think about how much do I treasure my time and what is my life style is like at £50k. If you are happy with a £50k life style, and that includes more time, which means pay cut and be at home.

Perhaps I would do it for a bit, load up the pension but not LONG term.
 
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dLockers said:
No, I mean claim the tax benefit on WFH. HMRC have said you can claim a certain amount back which is equivalent to about £300 quid a year.

Edit: If you haven't done it, do it; and do it yourself (don't let some scalper take a cut). HMRC have even built a wizard to make it as simple as possible.
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Didn't know this existed thanks for the tip!

200sols said:
Also, we should be wary. If you can do all your work from home then so can somebody in a foreign country with a far cheaper workforce.
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If the company could do that, do you not think they already would have though ?
 
200sols said:
Depends on the money.

£50k to sit at home, £100k to get the train. I know which one I'd be choosing.

Also, we should be wary. If you can do all your work from home then so can somebody in a foreign country with a far cheaper workforce.
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Also depends on where you're sat at home. I'd happily take the £50k to sit home in a nice 4 bedroom house in the countryside a couple of miles from the beach over £100k to have to live in a shoebox flat in some grimy city and spend 2 hours a day in a sweatbox to work in an office
 
Frankly no. I'm going to push to work only 2 or 3 days in the office. But at those prices I think I'll use my little 125 to commute instead. I've been learning to ride a motorcycle and rather than sell it when I get my full license I think I might just keep it for commuting instead. It costs almost nothing to run, I already have it and all the kit I need to wear even in bad weather. It comes with the added benefit of not being subject to twice weekly train delays too. I guess the only issue is where to park it at work but I might be able to rent a parking space in our secure underground carpark.
 
I'm not a rail commuter (thankfully), but using the figures in the OP as an example, a 60% reduction in commuting equates to a ~12.5% discount on a season ticket.

And this is being spun by the media and train companies as positive change/train companies doing commuters a favour?

Yip. Sounds good!
 
Haggisman said:
Also depends on where you're sat at home. I'd happily take the £50k to sit home in a nice 4 bedroom house in the countryside a couple of miles from the beach over £100k to have to live in a shoebox flat in some grimy city and spend 2 hours a day in a sweatbox to work in an office
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Catch 22.

You probably couldn't afford a lovely 4 bed house in the country on 50k.
 
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