Another Oyster -v- Travel Card question

[smurfchops]

Further to the thread below .... Hubbie and I both have bus passes, but not freedom passes because we don't live near enough to London. When we go from our local station to Waterloo it costs us £8 each for a travelcard. We go to London roughly once a month. Would it be cheaper for us to get Oyster cards purely for trains to London, and the underground? We can use our bus passes (or walk) when we get there.

[Postdog]

The answer was in the other one. You will never pay more or less whatever you use. It's whatever is most convenient to you

[Buenchico]

If (as you should have) you've both got Senior Railcards (and you're travelling outside of the Mon-Fri morning peak into Waterloo), you should purchase rail tickets which include the Travelcard built into them. That way you get one third off the Travelcard element of your travel, as well as off the National Rail fare. (You can't get a discount when solely purchasing a Travelcard or Oyster Card):
http://www.senior-railcard.co.uk/

The foregoing also applies to Network Cards except that only one of you would need to purchase a Network Card (as up to 4 adults can travel on one card):
http://www.railcard.co.uk/network

Chris

[dzug2]

You can register your senior railcards onto PAYG Oyster which will reduce both individual off peak fares and the off peak cap for the Oyster - that probably would make the Oyster cheaper

For example zone 6 to Waterloo is £2.10 each way discounted.


Even without a railcard the Oyster fare is £2.70 each way off peak - so still cheaper than your £8 railcard if you use your bus passes/walk once you are there.

[smurfchops]

We have worked out its not worth buying a Senior Railcard, it would cost us £40 a year, I believe, and we would get just over £5 off between us, each time we go to London. That means we have to go over eight times a year to break even.

[SeaJayPea]

A senior railcard costs £28 for a year or £65 for a three year card and, as Chris says, it gives you a discount of one third of the fare on any rail journey. I'd never be without one. I occasionally go to Scotland from London and I save the annual cost on just one journey.