Saving money on rail Travel - worked example from Trowbridge (to Stansted)

[whole diary]

[grahame]

The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) has listed 5 ways of saving money on your rail fare - and I have listed 15 more.  A great theory, but how about some practical examples?

Let's say I want to travel by train from Trowbridge to Stansted Airport on 23rd March 2023, priced on 7th March 2023 - perhaps meeting someone who's flying in?

If I turn up at Trowbridge station and ask for a return to Stansted, what will I get?
Anytime Return - £266.80 (Standard Class) or £381.60 (First Class)
(Actually the staff at Trowbridge are good and may check if I can travel off peak)

So that £266.80 fare may come down:
Off Peak Return - £109.50
Super Off Peak Return - £82.80

If I'm going one way in "the peak" and the other way offpeak, I can mix and match:
Anytime Single - £133.40
Off Peak Single - £108.50
Super Off Peak Single - £81.80

And there are some even lower fares if you book for a specific train in advance:
Advance Singles - from £28.00 up to £111.00
examples
- 09:52 from Trowbridge, 13:14 at Stansted (£28)
- 20:42 from Stansted, 00:25 at Trowbridge (£28)
- 07:11 from Trowbridge, 10:14 at Stansted (£111, but that would be a £133.40 train otherwise)

Still with me? - you may be able to do better than the £81.80 and retain some flexibility

With Network card ... split at Didcot (card will cost £30 per annum)
Off Peak Day return Didcot to Stansted - £39.50
PLUS Super off peak return Trowbridge to Didcot - £35.40
(Must travel on a train that calls at Didcot)
Total fare £74.90

or
Off Peak Day return Didcot to Stansted - £39.50
PLUS Super off peak return Melksham to Didcot - £27.20
PLUS Off peak return Trowbridge to Melksham - £5.20
(Must travel on a train that calls at Didcot, and one that calls at Melksham)
Total fare £71.90

Are you over 60 years of age?

With senior railcard at £30 per annum ... a third off most of the above fares. Some examples
Super off peak return £54.60; advance singles from £18.45

Here's a reminder - the BBC article at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64827711

The BBC suggest
1. Buy in Advance
2. Split your fare
3. Use a Railcard
4. Travel in Groups
5. Take advantage of Flexible Commuting

I also suggest:
6. Travel off peak (have a drink before coming home!)
7. Use Rover tickets
8. Use cheaper routes
9. Claim using delay/repay if you're held up
10. Overshoot / undershoot
11. Buy a return not 2 singles ... or two singles and not a return
12. If visiting two places, used break of journey
13. For International travel, look at ferry and rail combos
14. Buy tickets ahead before the prices go up
15. Use season tickets

And remember the wider picture:
16. Don't travel at all - meet via Zoom or teams
17. Get your entertainment locally
18. Use the bus or coach, drive, get a lift, cycle, fly or walk
19. Stay in a hotel rather than travelling back and forth
20. Take your own food and drink

21. Ask for advice on the Coffee Shop Forum

[GBM]

I've been watching this site recently
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/introducing-railuk-tickets-support-the-forum-when-booking-your-rail-tickets.236796/
We're delighted to announce the launch of RailUK Tickets! This is our new RailUK branded ticketing engine that supports the forum whenever you book a ticket, at no extra cost compared to using Trainsplit (who are powering the booking engine) directly.

Unlike the previous affiliate site we used a few years back, we've been able to much more extensively tailor the colour scheme of the site to the forum colours (and it looks very smart in its dark red guise in my opinion!) and the UI is much improved. Any feedback is appreciated, either on the booking engine functionality (which we'll pass onto Trainsplit) or the look and feel - just reply to this thread.

Not needed to purchase anything since they started up in September 2022, but watching with interest