sashinka | observation orientated, with a twist of lime | a blog

I am Angry of Kilburn when it comes to this year's round of fare rises.

In fact, I went out to lunch on new year's day, and think I bored a (potentially new) friend rigid with my mini-rant on fare rises and poor transport infrastructure. Frankly, the woman couldn't gather her handbag quickly enough and jump into her 4x4 (this is dramatic licence: I don't know what car she drove, or even if she drove a car.

But it's crap that they made us get Oyster cards because they're "cheaper" and now bus fares have risen 20% (£1 from 80p) and we're now the most expensive place to travel in the world.

Great.

Which is why I love this entertaining piece in the Guardian; An insider's guide to cheap railwaty tickets. Especiall this bit:

The most stylish and ridiculously brilliant fare-saving tactic, however, is this: do you travel around the country reasonably regularly after 10am but don't qualify for any discount cards? Wherever you live, march into your nearest station and demand a season ticket for the three-minute journey from Ryde St Johns Road to Ryde Esplanade on the Isle of Wight.

This, the cheapest season ticket in the UK, will set you back £116. Buying a season ticket automatically gives you a "Gold Card" - which entitles you to a third off almost all off-peak UK fares. You can also upgrade to first class for £5 return on most of your journeys if you want to give yourself a treat.

I am so thinking about getting an electric car. There's even an electric car hire company, although their pricing seems a little.... well, unclear. Anyway, here's TfL's green-y stuff. All well and good, but soon we'll all be spending so much on our travelcards we won't have a penny left for anything else anyway. Not even, say, Green & Blacks chocolate. Or Boden clothes. Darling.