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Student life-after you start

Saving money on travel

Getting to and from university can be expensive. To help you bag a bargain we've put together some top tips for saving on travel.

Paddington station

CONTENTS

  1. Trains

  2. Bus

  3. Bikes

  4. Cars

  5. Motorbikes and Scooters

Trains

Trains are probably the quickest way to get around the country, with direct links between UK cities and several smaller towns in between. Finding low-cost train tickets can be time-consuming so here’s our advice: 

  • Book as early as possible - you can usually buy tickets up to 12 weeks before the date of travel. The discount will decrease the closer you get to your travel date. 
  • Get a railcard - available for all 18-25 year olds and mature students in full time education. The initial outlay is £30 a year, or £70 for three years, and can save you up to a third on fares. Some student bank accounts include a free railcard and for students in London, railcards can be linked to your Oyster card to help save money on your city journeys. 
  • Be flexible - booking tickets for off-peak times can be a real money-saver. Most train companies have off-peak and super off-peak options. Generally, you’ll get the cheapest fares between 10am and 3.30pm and after 7.15pm Most weekends and bank holidays are also classed as off-peak travel.  
  • Split your tickets without changing - buying individual tickets for different points of your journey can work out much cheaper than a single ticket for the entire trip and you don’t even have to change trains. Raileasy has a handy split ticketing search tool that calculates the cheapest route and does the hard work for you. 
  • Buy two singles instead of a return - buying two single tickets for a journey can sometimes be cheaper than buying a return. Try entering this into the system before you go straight for the return ticket option. 
  • Use discount websites - sites like Trainline, Raileasy and Megatrain all either offer cheap tickets themselves or have a search function to help you calculate the cheapest route. 

Bus

Although it’s not usually as fast as travelling by train, bus and coach tickets are far cheaper and can be a great money-saving alternative especially if you: 

  • Buy a Young Persons Coachcard - offers a third off National Express coach fares for those aged 16-26. The card costs £12.50 a year or £30 for three years – a one year card could pay for itself after just one trip. 
  • Travel off-peak - coach fares are cheaper if you go at a less desirable time. In many ways, this is almost a blessing with coach travel, as going outside of peak hours could help you avoid rush hour traffic. 
  • Take budget buses - Megabus famously offer coach travel from as little as £1 on some routes and even offer free seats (with a 50p booking fee) at certain times of the year However, the number of these is limited and they can be snapped up very quickly.  

Bikes

Cycling is increasingly popular in the UK and in student cities like Oxford, Cambridge, York and Norwich, it’s often the quickest and cheapest ways to get around. As well as helping you save time and money, bikes are environmentally friendly and an excellent way to stay fit. Here are our top five reasons to get a bike: 

  • Bikes are relatively cheap to buy - a basic bike can cost as little as £20 if bought second hand and a new one between £200 and £400. A new, good quality bike may only cost slightly more than a zone 1–4 monthly travel card in London and a top-of-the-range bike will still be cheaper than buying a car, motorbike, or scooter. Remember that you get what you pay for and if the offer seems too good to be true it could be stolen. 
  • The added extras are cheap – for example safety helmets cost £15-30, lights as little as £5 and pumps cost between £10-20. Bike locks will vary more in price. Generally, you should spend 10% of the cost of your bike on a lock. The better the bike lock, the less likely you are to end up spending money replacing a stolen bike. It’s also worth factoring in maintenance costs and getting insurance. You could also invest in an ImmobiTag Electronic Cycle Protection (£15), to help find your bike if it does get stolen. 
  • Cycling will save you money - if you were to use the bus to go to and from university every week you could spend anywhere from £10–20 a week. That’s £80 a month, not including other journeys you make. If you drive, parking in city and town centres can be very expensive – cycling in and around your university town or city could save you hundreds of pounds on parking fares.   
  • Cycling will save you time - bikes can be a quicker way to get around than cars, motorbikes, or public transport. With a bike you can take the most direct route, you don’t have to worry about timetables, and you can avoid traffic by using bike lanes. 
  • You can earn extra money - owning a bike opens new avenues for part-time work. Many food delivery and courier companies like to employ students who own a bike. Plus having a bike increases the number of workplaces for you, as you won’t have to limit yourself to somewhere convenient to get to by foot or public transport. 

Cycling to university in a bike lane

Cars 

You should be aware that many universities do not recommend bringing a car due to the lack and cost of parking, as well as congestion charges. However, if you do own a car and want to get your money's worth from it, remember to:  

  • Avoid busy hours - as with most means of transport you’ll save money if you avoid travelling during peak times. If the motorway is busy, your fuel efficiency will be much worse, and you'll have to buy more fuel sooner. 
  • Car share with a friend - there's a good chance you'll know somebody who lives somewhere you pass on your journey when driving to and from your university town. Having an extra person on board means you can split the fuel cost, and it also gives you some company.  
  • Car share with others - car-sharing websites help you to find people who are looking to do a similar journey to you. Websites like National Carshare and Student Carshare allow you to contact other people and organise journeys, with the latter holding links with many universities and colleges around the UK. When car sharing with strangers do think about your personal safety. National Carshare and Student Carshare both have sensible suggestions to help ensure that everything goes smoothly, such as showing your IDs and giving family members/friends details of the journey beforehand. 
  • Car clubs - if you don't own a car, but you can drive, then maybe a car club is the way for you. If you're at a campus university or live near it, there's a good chance that the only time you will need a car is when you drive back home. Car clubs offer you the chance to rent a car at an hourly rate. As insurance is often included in these rates, car clubs provide a very cost-effective way to travel around the country by car.

Motorbikes and scooters

If you ride a motorbike or scooter, it's worth considering using one during your time at university as it can save you money. 

  • There are cheap models available - If you need a new bike or scooter there are plenty of good quality, cheap options. The Bike Market is a good place to start and also has a handy bike chooser tool to help you narrow your search.  
  • Tax is often cheaper than a car - in 2022, the road tax for a bike or scooter with an engine of 150cc or less was £22 a year. Compared to the road tax for a car, this a bargain.  
  • Fuel costs can be lower than a car - depending on which bike you buy and which car you are comparing it to, motorbikes and scooters are often cheaper to run than cars as they tend to achieve more miles per gallon.  
  • You can earn extra money - an added perk of owning a motorbike or scooter is the opportunity for getting a part-time job. Major cities are full of companies needing people to deliver their products and services. These companies often allow for flexible working hours – which is ideal for students. 

Learning to ride and maintenance costs

If you can’t ride a motorbike or scooter but want to learn, there are some initial costs to consider.

  • Lessons cost around £20–30 depending on which training school you use
  • Provisional licenses cost at least £34, but you won’t need one if you already have a full car license
  • Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) costs on average £120
  • DSA tests have three parts to it and will cost just over £100 for all three
  • MOTs for a motorbike cost a maximum of £29.65, cheaper than the £54.85 maximum for a car

Other things to weigh up  

  • Maintenance - in general this can cost more as it is common to need work done on your bike. Some of this can be avoided by going for a scooter where the engine and drive are more self-contained. 
  • Safety – essential safety gear such as a helmet, protective gloves, trousers, jacket and boots can cost a few hundred pounds. Remember to wear ‘All the Gear All the Time’ (ATGATT). Most safety gear is designed to look normal when you get to your destination as well. The armour in the jacket/trousers is often removable and many are designed to look just like normal jeans or leather jackets. 
  • Protect from thieves - carry a cover to hide your bike when it’s parked and, if your budget stretches far enough, make sure you have a decent chain and a disc lock. It's worth taking these precautions, as the average thief won’t bother looking under a cover and will be put off if the lock looks hard to break. 

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