Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Flexi Season Ticket Disappointment

69 replies

chuffachoo · 21/06/2021 07:08

Completely pathetic post, but I'm feeling let down and angry after getting my hopes up,

AIBU to be disappointed that the gov have complete ignored PT workers, who are mainly women, in there new flexi ticket scheme?

So I was pretty excited that today is the day that National Rail released it's new part-time season ticket for people who don't travel 5days a week.

I currently work 4 days, 3 days in the office and one day at home. But have been stuck paying for a 5 day season tickets (this is cheaper and less hassle than getting a daily ticket 3 days a week). Having to pay for 5 days travel on top of nursery fees means I barely take a penny home.

So today I was expecting to be able to buy a monthly ticket that entitled me to travel 3 times each week for a % discount. Meaning this month I'd potentially take a meaningful amount of my wages home.

However that's not the case. Instead the flexi ticket is purely aimed at people that are allowed to WFH most days and just have to pop into the office occasionally. It entitles you to 8 days travel in 28days - two days a week. Travel 3 or more days a week and it works out more expensive.

Since returning to work I've been wishing there was a part time season ticket and it's make a huge difference to my finances. I really got my hopes up, but it turns out that yet again as a working mum I've been forgotten.

This really could have been an opportunity for the government to make it possible for more women (who want to) to be able to afford to return to work after children. Instead it's a policy to line the pockets of full time workers (who as a general rule haven't lost 20-40% of their wages) and can now work from home most days.

OP posts:

MikeWozniaksMohawk · 21/06/2021 09:22

Are you sure that buying a 5 day ticket is cheaper than 3 individual daily returns? A weekly season ticket where I am is only worth it if you’re using it 4 days or more in the week.

Go on to nationalrail.com and use their new updated season ticket calculator and it should tell you the cheapest way to buy your tickets for the number of days you are travelling.

Bigtruth · 21/06/2021 09:25

@NakedAttraction have I run the numbers? Yes. Currently we spend £0 because it's uneconomical, with reasonable fares we'd spend £some which means it makes sense to do it.
Not that any of that matters, this is about getting people onto trains and out of cars more than it's about company profits, it's a government initiative bit don't let the facts get in the way of trying to look smart eh.

DynamoKev · 21/06/2021 09:32

@newnortherner111

I think you should ask for 2 days at home, 2 in the office.

I thought that was announced as part of the rail review by Grant Shapps a few weeks ago. Regardless of the way any part-time season ticket is structured, sadly it will not suit anyone. It is a pity you cannot have Oyster with the daily capping that is available in London, throughout the country.

Putting Shapps (or is he actually Michael Green, Corinne Stockheath or Sebastian Fox this week) in charge of anything is always an error.

Ceara · 21/06/2021 09:40

OP I work p/t 4 days/week and I do only go into the office 1 or 2 days/week (since pre-Covid). The new flexi season ticket will save me exactly 12p/month compared to the £6k+ cost of an annual season ticket. Not even enough for a coffee once a year. It's all a sleight of hand. The saving looks better against a weekly or monthly season, of course.
Employer making noises about not needing to reflect the cost of a London commute in our salaries any more, as we will be saving so much by WFH.
I am considering going down to 1 day/week and booking day tickets, getting advance fares where poss. It will be a huge faff though, and what if I miss my train due to work over-running.

Ceara · 21/06/2021 09:41

*1 day/week in the office

AllTheCakes · 21/06/2021 10:11

@MikeWozniaksMohawk
“Are you sure that buying a 5 day ticket is cheaper than 3 individual daily returns? A weekly season ticket where I am is only worth it if you’re using it 4 days or more in the week.”

If I buy a peak daily return 3 times a week, the cost is £2115 more than buying a season ticket per year. It is £40 per day for me to get to the office on daily tickets.

The problem is the extortionate prices in the first place.

Jizzle · 21/06/2021 10:14

I think you are being unfair bringing sexism in to this, those that work 2/3 days in the office can be either men or women, it is clear it doesn't discriminate against either.

You say these new tickets don't work for PT workers, but that is exactly what they are aimed at, it just doesn't quite work in your specific circumstances. You can talk to your HR and see if you can go down to 2 days in the office and then you can get the saving the same as anyone else can.

looptheloopinahulahoop · 21/06/2021 10:18

@MikeWozniaksMohawk

Are you sure that buying a 5 day ticket is cheaper than 3 individual daily returns? A weekly season ticket where I am is only worth it if you’re using it 4 days or more in the week.

Go on to nationalrail.com and use their new updated season ticket calculator and it should tell you the cheapest way to buy your tickets for the number of days you are travelling.

Where I am, yes, it's 3 days. If you go in 2 days a week it's cheaper to buy two day returns but if you go in 3 days a week you may as well buy a FT season ticket.

Hence why it makes much more sense for a hybrid set-up to be 3 days at home and 2 in the office. But clearly as you've pointed out, it depends on location and how the ticket prices compare.

looptheloopinahulahoop · 21/06/2021 10:20

It really isn't unfair to bring sexism into it. People had been asking for part-time season tickets for years and nothing was done.

Now men want to work part-time in the office too, hey presto something (even though inadequate) has been done.

Dollywilde · 21/06/2021 10:27

I’ve run the maths on it today for my own commute (a day ticket is £18, a monthly season ticket is £240, flexi is £115). I’m in the office 2 days a week and DH is in 3 days a week. At first I was calculating it to be more expensive for DH as I was topping up the flexi ticket with day tickets for the month but as PPs note it’s still cheapest if he just buys a new flexi as soon as he’s used up the 8.

One bonus is that it works out better when we take annual leave - no buying a monthly season ticket if you have a week off and wasting that money on a week of journeys you don’t make. If you factor that in on the basis of 25 days annual leave it means it’s definitely cheapest to use the flexi tickets.

Dollywilde · 21/06/2021 10:28

@looptheloopinahulahoop

It really isn't unfair to bring sexism into it. People had been asking for part-time season tickets for years and nothing was done.

Now men want to work part-time in the office too, hey presto something (even though inadequate) has been done.

I agree with this btw, I don’t think the season ticket pricing is sexist but introducing it when suddenly men want it too definitely is.

PattyPan · 21/06/2021 10:35

To be fair it looks like the flexi season ticket doesn’t cover London zones, only terminals, which makes it rather pointless for most people commuting into London. Going in 2 days it will be cheaper for me to get a railcard and then buy a day travelcard - £38 a day rather than £50 with the flexi season ticket plus tube fare.

Jayceewhy · 21/06/2021 10:37

“ Instead it's a policy to line the pockets of full time workers”

Unfortunately many people have to work full time because they can’t afford to work part time. Hardy lining their pockets when they’re paying more all round.

MikeWozniaksMohawk · 21/06/2021 10:39

[quote AllTheCakes]@MikeWozniaksMohawk
“Are you sure that buying a 5 day ticket is cheaper than 3 individual daily returns? A weekly season ticket where I am is only worth it if you’re using it 4 days or more in the week.”

If I buy a peak daily return 3 times a week, the cost is £2115 more than buying a season ticket per year. It is £40 per day for me to get to the office on daily tickets.

The problem is the extortionate prices in the first place.[/quote]
I hadn’t factored in annual season tickets (and OP didn’t mention them tbf). Agree that rail prices are extortionate though. I live in the NW and peak fares to London are priced to exclude anyone not travelling on business and therefore having their employer cover the cost of their ticket. It’s madness.

NakedAttraction · 21/06/2021 11:48

@Bigtruth eh? Our railway companies aren’t nationalised. So of course they need to at least break even, whether that’s by passenger ticket receipts or government subsidy.

Ceara · 21/06/2021 12:09

The flexible season tickets are supposed to cost at least 20% less than a monthly season. On my route it's exactly 20% less.

But...there are 52 weeks in a year. That 13 flexible season tickets, not 12, to cover the same period as 12 monthly tickets. Yes you can try to juggle annual leave but realistically, your leave is unlikely to dovetail nicely with the end dates of your 28 day flexible season tickets so you will waste some of your season ticket, same as always.

On my route, 13 flexible season tickets will cost a princely 52p less than an annual season over the course of the year.

If I can stretch out the dates for buying my next ticket, with the odd week's well-timed holiday, I might save say £200 or so over the course of a year.

VanGoghsDog · 21/06/2021 12:16

@Youngatheart00

As others have said, buy the flexi ticket and either;

speak to your work about doing 2 days wfh and 2 days in the office
if that’s not a goer, buy up advance tickets for the 3rd day as soon as they become available

Most commuter routes don't have cheap advance tickets.

I have the same problem as the OP, I intend to go in one day a week so I can't get any saving. The carnet offers a 10% saving I think but the tickets are a pain to use as they don't go through the barriers so if you're in a hurry it's a real nuisance.

VanGoghsDog · 21/06/2021 12:19

The flexible season tickets are supposed to cost at least 20% less than a monthly season. On my route it's exactly 20% less.

It's 12% on my route.

OP - I used to work my days at the end of one week and the start of the next so I could buy a weekly ticket every two weeks. It did mean my days on the office were not set but it saved me loads of money!

JagerPlease · 21/06/2021 17:54

Where I live a weekly season ticket is cheaper than two daily return fares, which is utterly ridiculous. And the Flexi season ticket is only £20 cheaper than the annual season ticket divided by 12

Flip

1 2 3