New to London, some advice needed with regard to transport!

Sam V Smith

Hi there,

I'm a 23 year old actor, I'm originally from Dublin and previously lived in Manchester for about 3-4 years for Uni.

I am living in Streatham and will be traveling into Old Street for work.

I've been sort of shocked as to how expensive traveling on the tube has been. I have not yet taken the busses as I don't know the routes very well, but the tube is costing me 4 quid each way and 7 pounds for a day pass which seems a bit steep for me. Weekly passes at 30 + and a month for 100 odd...

It's a vague question, but if anybody knows what the best way would be to save money on tube fares / highlight any special tickets, or cheaper options (bus etc) please do reply.

Thanks in advance.

Sam

Victor

I'm not certain, but I think there is a scheme similar to our taxsaver scheme. It would mean you pay for your ticket out of gross (pre-taxed) income.

Get away from paying cash fares. Even with an Oyster card, you are paying £2.50-2.90 instead of £4.00 cash. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14416.aspx Bus is £2.20 cash or £1.30 with and Oyster card. However, you would need to take several buses. I don't know if each would be €1.30. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14415.aspx

Another option would be walking cycling to Herne Hill or Clampham as you would only then be using zones 1-2, not 1-3.

Fancy a 12km cycle? http://maps.google.ie/maps?saddr=Streatham,+United+Kingdom&daddr=Old+Street+Station,+Saint+Agnes+Well,+London,+United+Kingdom&hl=en&ll=51.47732,-0.108833&spn=0.111619,0.308647&sll=51.478603,-0.075874&sspn=0.111616,0.308647&geocode=FYO_EAMd3v_9_ymHADlCgQZ2SDHx4plqTL8tIw%3BFSY4EgMd9qn-_yl54gP5pRx2SDGdGdfvxmsUTA&vpsrc=0&dirflg=w&doflg=ptk&mra=ltm&t=m&z=12

who the fug

Sam Get a 133 bus to Liverpool street, you can walk to Old street from there or get another bus

+1 on the Oyster


Streatham Bus Map here

Sam V Smith

who the fug wrote: »

Sam Get a 133 bus to Liverpool street, you can walk to Old street from there or get another bus

+1 on the Oyster


Streatham Bus Map here

Cheers for that, and thanks to Victor. Great help.

I'm just finding my feet for the moment - I'm staying in Ealing until I'm able to move to the new place in Streatham this Saturday.

It's looking like the bus will be the best bet. I'll get the usual Oyster cards and travel passes sorted out within the next week.

As long as it's doesn't take too much longer I think I'd prefer to take the bus anyway. I get no real sense of where I am and where I'm going with taking the tube - not a great way to learn the city... I just emerge in various areas with no real idea how I got there.

I checked again about a monthly pass for the tube today. 120-something quid it cost.

LadyMayBelle

If you have time, take the bus for a bit, it is a good way to get to know your bearings. But the tube is so much faster and no traffic..

BuffyBot

Cash fares are expensive to discourage you using cash

Get your Oyster ASAP from any tube station and the savings begin.

Fysh

BuffyBot wrote: »

Cash fares are expensive to discourage you using cash

That excuse, along with the "it's mainly tourists using cash fares and tourism is good for the UK economy so ripping them off is allowed" excuse, are frequently used as a reason for TFL to charge stupid amounts of money for single fares.

It's useful to be aware of, certainly, but TFL can go and jump if they expect any of us to believe that they aren't also just setting cash fares that high because they think they can get away with it...

exiledelbows

Sam V Smith wrote: »

As long as it's doesn't take too much longer I think I'd prefer to take the bus anyway. I get no real sense of where I am and where I'm going with taking the tube - not a great way to learn the city... I just emerge in various areas with no real idea how I got there.

I checked again about a monthly pass for the tube today. 120-something quid it cost.

An unlimited travel 7 day bus travelcard is only 16.80 and a monthly is 64.80 which is a bit more reasonable. Also getting on random buses is a great way to get your bearings. You'll need to pay extra for one-off tube journeys but its still good value

who the fug

A very quick and direct route for you is from Streatham Station (The one by the Ice Rink)to Farrington and walk down the Clerkenwell Road to Old Street

djpbarry

Sam V Smith wrote: »

I am living in Streatham and will be traveling into Old Street for work.
...
It's a vague question, but if anybody knows what the best way would be to save money on tube fares / highlight any special tickets, or cheaper options (bus etc) please do reply.

It might not be an option right now as you're only just moving to Streatham (which is quite a nice area by the way, despite it's dodgy reputation), but I was going to suggest that you consider moving closer to your place of work. You might have to pay more in rent, but this may well be offset by what you save in transport costs.