Page 2 | To have not reasoned how expensive travel within London is!

Flippingflamingo · 2024-10-04T05:59:41+00:00

Niece started uni in London a few weeks ago and I offered to pay to keep her Oyster card topped up as my contribution. However I have just discovered she has spent £27 on it from Monday to Thursday this week!! I really want to be able to pay it for her, but it’s not sustainable for me to keep topping it up constantly. I didn’t realise it was this much and thought there were daily caps on travel!

Nannyoggapple · 04/10/2024 21:13

marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 04/10/2024 21:09

@Nannyoggapple this post.

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What are you even on about. I said that no one paid for me to go through college.

Thats fact.

How is that "unfair" to anyone?

Do you even know what youre on about?

If you want to clarify what you meant, write more than two words next time.

So far you've written

"Thats unfair"

and

"This post"

In total.

marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 04/10/2024 21:09

Nannyoggapple · 04/10/2024 12:16

My parents also didnt give me a penny to go to Uni either. My dad wasn't around. And my mum wasn't bothered.

I worked to pay for myself all through Univeristy.

Looking back, I'm very proud of myself.

I never realised that anyone got anything paid for them, until I came on mumsnet

Edited

@Nannyoggapple this post.

Nannyoggapple · 04/10/2024 15:18

marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 04/10/2024 13:34

@Nannyoggapple That's unfair. It was no doubt a very long time ago, and the real value of the student loan has eroded over years.

What's unfair?

I said that she was a very nice aunty.

maverickfox · 04/10/2024 14:59

FurierTransform · 04/10/2024 09:42

Yes it's expensive, but there are alternatives:

Bike
e-bike
Classic car, cheap and ULEZ free. Driving in London is actually pretty easy (because nobody does it)

What do you mean nobody does it? That is simply not true. Traffic is often at standstill, low traffic neighbourhoods have pushed a lot of traffic onto main roads in some areas so longer sitting in traffic. Harder to park, more expensive to park, including council parking fees. She’d be better off with a bike.

marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 04/10/2024 13:34

@Nannyoggapple That's unfair. It was no doubt a very long time ago, and the real value of the student loan has eroded over years.

wavyleaf · 04/10/2024 13:31

You’re a lovely auntie.

I don’t live in London, I live in a much smaller city and the price of a daily bus ticket is a set price of £4.70 per day, even if you just want to go a couple of short stops! Trains are much more expensive! So the price doesn’t seem unreasonable to me.

crazycatladie · 04/10/2024 13:16

I've not got any advice, but I just wanted to say, what a lovely thing to do for your niece.

Allfur · 04/10/2024 13:05

Ursulla · 04/10/2024 12:27

It's not just 50 quid a week though is it. That's your minimum cost. What about all the times when you visit people out of town, have trips away etc? What about when you can't get to a place within an hour (and you need to) because the public transport options don't allow it, so you call an Uber? Relying on public transport is really not cheap.

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It is if you combine with cycling and walking

Allfur · 04/10/2024 13:04

That information was given to me by someone who commutes on one daily as it worked out cheaper than the tube, but yes i may not have all the right numbers

Elphamouche · 04/10/2024 12:49

Please include zone 1.

Ursulla · 04/10/2024 12:27

DannSindWirHelden · 04/10/2024 10:52

You'd have trouble running a car on 50 quid a week, even before depreciation.

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It's not just 50 quid a week though is it. That's your minimum cost. What about all the times when you visit people out of town, have trips away etc? What about when you can't get to a place within an hour (and you need to) because the public transport options don't allow it, so you call an Uber? Relying on public transport is really not cheap.

cestlavielife · 04/10/2024 12:23

There are caps and she needs to get a student discount applied

Ursulla · 04/10/2024 12:22

Flippingflamingo · 04/10/2024 10:32

Thank you everyone for your help! Looks like there are a few options for us to consider to make it a little cheaper.

Niece had a very rough start to life and has had to overcome so many hurdles to get to uni, I am so proud of her. Sadly her DM hasn’t even wished her good luck, never mind contributed anything financially so I try to do my bit where I can.

I did the 6 hour round trip to drive her there the other weekend and got to look around.

She sounds like a very determined young woman who has already achieved a great deal and you sound like a lovely auntie.

Agree that public transport in London is probably safer and more predictable than a bike or walking especially when she's navigating the whole new independent living/studying thing. Hope it goes well for her OP and that you find a way to get it to work financially.

Nannyoggapple · 04/10/2024 12:16

My parents also didnt give me a penny to go to Uni either. My dad wasn't around. And my mum wasn't bothered.

I worked to pay for myself all through Univeristy.

Looking back, I'm very proud of myself.

I never realised that anyone got anything paid for them, until I came on mumsnet

Nannyoggapple · 04/10/2024 12:14

Wow you're a very nice aunty.

I have six aunties.

None of them gave me a penny when I went to college.

They never even rang me to ask me how I was getting on once.

That you are paying her transport fees all through University is absolutely amazing.

She's very lucky.

Needmorelego · 04/10/2024 11:49

@OldieButBaddie I wanna know what hack the kids at the local academy do to use the lime bikes for free (if the bike is beeping like a dalek it's been hacked).......

OldieButBaddie · 04/10/2024 11:47

Flippingflamingo · 04/10/2024 11:31

So if I have done my research correctly I am best to:

Get a student oyster
But a monthly travel card with the 30% discount for her zone 2-3 uni commute.
Add her young person rail card and keep some money on the oyster to cover additional travel to zone 1 off peak with a 1/3 off?

Does this seem right? One card can cover all options if I buy the monthly pass plus keep some money on there as well?

I would just get the one that includes z1
it will save her and you a lot of money in the long run as she will inevitably go through z1 a lot

OldieButBaddie · 04/10/2024 11:45

Allfur · 04/10/2024 11:21

A lime bike pass is £8.99 per month

Unfortunately this is not true, Lime Bikes are £££
30 mins to use in 1 day is £3,99
60 mins to use in 3 days is £6.99
200 mins to use in a week is £18.99
400 mins to use in 30 days is £36.99

If I use one to go about 12 mins and don't get a pass it's about £7!!

MistyMountainTop · 04/10/2024 11:35

You need to buy a monthly pass for all months that she'll be there - for instance, if she'll only be there for a week from say 5th December, it's pointless getting a pass to cover the whole month.

A month isn't a calendar month btw, it's, for example, the 11th of one month to the 11th of the next month.

And investigate if she really needs it to cover the tube, a monthly bus pass is much cheaper

Original poster

Flippingflamingo · 04/10/2024 11:31

So if I have done my research correctly I am best to:

Get a student oyster
But a monthly travel card with the 30% discount for her zone 2-3 uni commute.
Add her young person rail card and keep some money on the oyster to cover additional travel to zone 1 off peak with a 1/3 off?

Does this seem right? One card can cover all options if I buy the monthly pass plus keep some money on there as well?

OP posts:

BlondeFool · 04/10/2024 11:24

Flippingflamingo · 04/10/2024 10:32

Thank you everyone for your help! Looks like there are a few options for us to consider to make it a little cheaper.

Niece had a very rough start to life and has had to overcome so many hurdles to get to uni, I am so proud of her. Sadly her DM hasn’t even wished her good luck, never mind contributed anything financially so I try to do my bit where I can.

I did the 6 hour round trip to drive her there the other weekend and got to look around.

You're a lovely aunt and well done to your niece.

Allfur · 04/10/2024 11:21

A lime bike pass is £8.99 per month

zoemum2006 · 04/10/2024 11:19

The Oyster 18+ card discount is only valid on travelcards.

You're much better off paying for a weekly/ monthly travel card for her. Much cheaper.

Alternatively attach a discount rail pass to her Oyster card for off-peak PAYG tickets.

Elphamouche · 04/10/2024 11:17

MrsSunshine2b · 04/10/2024 10:01

Exactly- it's doable to live car-free within the Greater London area, even on the London edges of the home counties, but it's completely impossible to do it outside of the big cities up North. Even when one of us does get the train somewhere, we need to drive to the nearest station in a different village.

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Not just up north!

Aimtodobetter · 04/10/2024 11:16

Flippingflamingo · 04/10/2024 07:05

Wow!! I travel to London quite a bit and had never realised noticed as we often walk places and don’t use the tube!

I’ve just done some reading and discovered the weekly cap is £32 so if I budget for that hopefully it will cover it!

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I am not sure there is a weekly "cap" but with a student card she can get a heavily discounted weekly, monthly or annual travelcard. https://content.tfl.gov.uk/18-plus-student-oyster-photocard-fares.pdf

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/18-plus-student-oyster-photocard-fares.pdf