Flexible rail tickets: What are they and how much money could you save?
All aboard.
Working from home has become the default for millions of people in the UK, and that doesn’t look set to change any time soon.
If you’re heading back to the office on a part time basis, transport season tickets can be expensive.
But new flexible rail tickets in England will make train travel slightly cheaper.
Find out everything we know so far here.
What are flexible rail tickets and how do you buy them?
Flexible rail tickets allow unlimited travel on eight separate days between two stations, within a 28 day period.
Robert Nisbet of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents operators, said they ‘give commuters the freedom and flexibility to divide their time between home and the office’.
A season ticket calculator at nationalrail.co.uk details which ticket to buy based on routes and working patterns.
The move is coming into effect immediately, but it’s the start of a large shake-up of transport services.
From 2023 a new state-owned body, Great British Railways (GBR), will set rail timetables, ticket prices, and manage infrastructure across the UK.
How much money can you save with a flexible rail ticket?
Two-days-a-week commuters using the flexible tickets could save more than £260 from Woking to London, £230 from Liverpool to Manchester, and £170 from Stafford to Birmingham annually.
Those travelling three days per week from Chelmsford to Stratford, east London, could save more than £350 a year.
Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, told the BBC that the changes would help encourage people to travel by rail.
‘Our research with passengers showed us there was strong demand for a new ticket that suited people who expected to commute less frequently in future,’ he said.
He went on to say that travellers should research the offer before buying, however.
‘If you are definitely going to travel two days a week to work and no more, then these probably will be a good thing for you,’ he said.
‘If you think you are going to travel three days a week, you’d be very careful, and if you think your work will summon you randomly to pop in for extra days during the month, you need to be really careful because you will be using up that credit.’
MORE : Brit dad facing six months in Singapore prison for not wearing mask on train
MORE : A Victorian railway signal box with planning permission is going on sale at auction
Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Share your views in the comments below