Is a 7-day travelcard worth buying?

[whole diary]

[Hal]

I^ve been reading the Coffee Shop as a ^lurker^ for some time, and I must say how much I admire the civilised tone of your discussions, as well as the expertise and professionalism of many participants.

I^m a regular (two days per week) traveller from Reading to central London, usually with off-peak Travelcard.
However, in the next few days I have to go to London on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and again Monday the following week. At least two of these four round trips will have to be Peak-time outward journeys.
My questions ^ Is it worth buying a 7-day Tavelcard that will let me use any train?
Can I in fact buy one of these to start on a Tuesday, or are they only available starting on Mondays?

Your advice appreciated.

[paul7575]

You can definitely buy a seven day season to commence on any day of the week, IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly) the only limitation is that you cannot buy it in advance to stop you sneaking any extra use in.

Paul

[Brucey]

Welcome to the forum Hal.  An anytime one-day travelcard from Reading to Zones 1-6 costs ^43.00 (compared to ^37.50 for a anytime return without travelcard).  7 day tickets from Reading don't appear to be available (according to NFM08).

An off-peak travelcard ^20.50, ^16.00 for a day return without travelcard.

In London, it all depends which zones you'll be travelling in and how many journeys you need to make.  I'll assume Zone 1 only:
Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) Single - ^1.90
Peak Daily Price Cap - ^8.00
Off-Peak Daily Price Cap - ^6.60
7 day Travelcard - ^27.60

So (excluding advance tickets):
2x Anytime Returns to London, 2x Off-Peak Returns + 1x 7-day travelcard = ^134.60
2x Anytime Travelcards + 2x Off-Peak Travelcards from Reading = ^116.00
2x Anytime Returns to London, 2x Off-Peak Returns + 8x Single Zone 1 journeys on an Oyster card = ^122.20

Travelcards run for 7 days from the start date, which can be any day of the week.

Edited to add: the Southern website is allowing the purchase of 7 day seasons from Reading: ^109.00 for a 7-day travelcard from Reading.  Also available to buy in advance.

[JayMac]

Welcome to the Coffee Shop forum Hal! 

I'd go for the 7 day Travelcard season priced at ^109 as mentioned in Brucey's post. Just one point to add, you will need a photocard, so whilst you can buy the season ticket online, you'll need to go to a station with a passport sized photo to obtain your photocard.