If like many others you don’t have a luxury of a car at university it can be a bit of a pain to travel home, you’ve been told that by using public transport you’ll save money but you end up spending a fortune in travel. The cost of a journey home can cost upwards of £30/£40 depending on which train line you choose and your destination and that’s just for one trip. By planning ahead, looking around for offers and considering different methods of transportation you can often save a lot of money.
Trains
Book train tickets early! Train operators release train tickets 12 weeks before travel date. If you can book this early you can often pick up some great fares on advance fares. If you are flexible on the time you travel try to avoid rush hour, as it will be cheaper.
16 – 25 or a full time student?
Buy a Young Persons rail card (£30). This will give you a third off ‘off peak’ train tickets, it can also be added onto an oyster card for travelling around London.
Shop at Tesco?
By converting Tesco Clubcard points into Tesco Rewards, every £5 is worth £10 on rail site RedSpottedHanky.
On a CrossCountry route?
Students who have an “NUS Extra, “Graduate Extra” or “Apprentice Extra” card can get an extra 10% off certain CrossCountry advance tickets.
Check the train operators site as well as your normal booking websites as often they run promotions which you can’t pick up through a general booking site.
Coaches
Similar with train tickets, by planning in advance when you want travel you’ll save money over a last minute purchase.
16 – 26?
You can save a third off National Express coach fares with a Young Persons Coachcard. These cost £11.50 a year and can be used on and off peak.
Shop at Tesco?
Grab Megabus tickets using Tesco Clubcard vouchers. Every £5 in vouchers gets you £10 worth of rewards, in the form of four £2.50 token codes. Valid on all routes, including trips to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Boulogne and Megatrain routes. There’s a 50p booking fee payable by card.
Megabus £1 fares
Go to the Megabus site, choose where you’re travelling from and to and select “all” under “travelling by” to show results for both bus and train. £1 fares are available on several routes including Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Sheffield & more.
Check the coach operators site as well as your normal booking websites as often they run promotions which you can’t pick up through a general booking site.