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Original poster

Cost of commuting

141 replies

Asosbabe · 19/10/2025 22:16

Do other countries pay these commuting costs? We're 25 miles from central London and flexible ticket is over £23 a day. Car park is £12.90 a day , no bus to get to station. Parking restrictions for about a mile around the station and people that park just over a mile away get their cars keyed by pissed off locals. Is this the same in other capital cities?

OP posts:
GCAcademic · 20/10/2025 00:13

Asosbabe · 19/10/2025 23:14

Wow! How I that OK? Unless you're commuting by private helicopter!

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It’s shocking but that’s a pretty standard fare. I live under an hour’s train journey from London and the fare is £105. People I know who commute regularly from here drive about an hour up the line so that their train fare is less.

The fares seem to have gone up massively in the last few years. It wasn’t that long ago that it was £75..

Blackbookofsmiles1 · 19/10/2025 23:31

That’s just nuts! No way does London weighting cover even half the costs, you couldn’t drag me back down South! Live in the North now and the salary is lighter but probably works out a lot more anyway, once transport has been paid for down South.

Original poster
Asosbabe · 19/10/2025 23:26

Mydadsbirthday · 19/10/2025 23:13

Ok but surely you're living in a far cheaper area so your housing costs are far less than what they would be closer to London? It's a trade-off?

I live in a London suburb but lucky enough to live near the tube. Costs me £15 to commute into town and if I had to park at the station would cost £10 a day.

You think it's reasonable then? I don't think £15 a go is OK if you're so close

OP posts:
Original poster
Asosbabe · 19/10/2025 23:21

Mydadsbirthday · 19/10/2025 23:13

Ok but surely you're living in a far cheaper area so your housing costs are far less than what they would be closer to London? It's a trade-off?

I live in a London suburb but lucky enough to live near the tube. Costs me £15 to commute into town and if I had to park at the station would cost £10 a day.

Maybe but it still isn't cheap to rent here.

OP posts:
Original poster
Asosbabe · 19/10/2025 23:14

Fruitbatdancer · 19/10/2025 23:09

Kent. I kid you not. Bloody outrageous.

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Wow! How I that OK? Unless you're commuting by private helicopter!

OP posts:
RebeccaDecember · 19/10/2025 23:14

£39 per day train, £11 a day parking or £6 a day on the bus. I could cry when I see how much I spend commuting - and I only do it twice a week, wfh the other days.

Mydadsbirthday · 19/10/2025 23:13

Ok but surely you're living in a far cheaper area so your housing costs are far less than what they would be closer to London? It's a trade-off?

I live in a London suburb but lucky enough to live near the tube. Costs me £15 to commute into town and if I had to park at the station would cost £10 a day.

Fruitbatdancer · 19/10/2025 23:09

Asosbabe · 19/10/2025 22:53

Where from? I mean, from Scotland to London or something?

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Kent. I kid you not. Bloody outrageous.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 19/10/2025 23:02

Fruitbatdancer · 19/10/2025 22:40

Don’t get me started. £95 a day return plus £10 parking. Wild.

It costs you £105 per day to work?😲

Thats just……unreal.

Original poster
Asosbabe · 19/10/2025 22:55

Havanananana · 19/10/2025 22:38

Some countries have excellent public transport services for commuters.

Where I live (in Europe) I can buy a 365-ticket which covers all public transport in and around the city for a year for €365 - i.e. one Euro per day. The ticket actually covers the entire State, so I can effectively travel up to about 80km (50 miles) from the city centre and still be covered. Trains and buses are run by one publicly-owned company and timetables are integrated so that the different transport options are timed to connect with each other or to minimise waiting times.

In Luxembourg all public transport is free.

I worked for a while in a couple of former Eastern European countries, where public transport was the norm in the past simply because nobody could obtain or afford a car. That legacy continues to a large extent today, with many cities still having excellent and cheap trams, metro trains and buses.

This is surely what we should be doing here

OP posts:
LovelyTurtle · 19/10/2025 22:54

That's what a London weighting is for, isn't it?

That said, you can negotiate for your company to pay commute costs. Last year I moved sites and increased my commute from 20 minutes to around 44-60 minutes. I got a pay rise as well as a travel supplement of around 4k which more than covers my fuel costs. This was well outside London.

coronafiona · 19/10/2025 22:54

£240 return to London for me 🙄 it puts so much out of reach

mamagogo1 · 19/10/2025 22:53

Costs vary a lot by country but most charge a fair amount outside of the main conurbation which 25 miles is

Original poster
Asosbabe · 19/10/2025 22:53

Fruitbatdancer · 19/10/2025 22:40

Don’t get me started. £95 a day return plus £10 parking. Wild.

Where from? I mean, from Scotland to London or something?

OP posts:
Fruitbatdancer · 19/10/2025 22:40

Don’t get me started. £95 a day return plus £10 parking. Wild.

Havanananana · 19/10/2025 22:38

Some countries have excellent public transport services for commuters.

Where I live (in Europe) I can buy a 365-ticket which covers all public transport in and around the city for a year for €365 - i.e. one Euro per day. The ticket actually covers the entire State, so I can effectively travel up to about 80km (50 miles) from the city centre and still be covered. Trains and buses are run by one publicly-owned company and timetables are integrated so that the different transport options are timed to connect with each other or to minimise waiting times.

In Luxembourg all public transport is free.

I worked for a while in a couple of former Eastern European countries, where public transport was the norm in the past simply because nobody could obtain or afford a car. That legacy continues to a large extent today, with many cities still having excellent and cheap trams, metro trains and buses.