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Life

How To Make Public Transport More Affordable

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Lancaster chapter.

Being reliant on public transport to get you from A to B is often a major expense of student living. However, there a few changes you can make to your journeys that may save you some money.

  • Invest in a bus pass.

Image from Manki Kim on Unsplash

It might seem expensive to pay all at once but buying a Lancaster bus pass equates to about £1 a day per travel which is extremely cost effective in the long run. You can get these from the Student’s Union or the Stagecoach office at Lancaster Bus station.

  • Split ticketing

Split ticketing for trains involves buying a ticket for each stop on your journey. Thankfully, you don’t have to work out all the logistics yourself and there are several apps and websites that will do it for you. The one that I have used in the past is https://splitticketing.trainsplit.com/ This can save a significant amount for each journey.

Image from Raileasy

  • Remember your student status

Photo by Becca Tapert on Unsplash

Whilst it remains pricey to use public transport, you may be pleasantly surprised at how many student discounts companies do offer. For coach travel, buy a National Express Young Person’s Coachcard and don’t forget your 16-25 railcard for trains.

Although it is often difficult to know when you will be travelling, booking in advance can save you a lot of money. In relation to trains, you can secure advance, cheaper tickets up to 12 weeks before your journey.

If you sign up to mailing lists for coach companies and train websites, they will often email you exclusive discount codes to save you money on the fare. Virgin Trains Seat Sale is not to be missed- this is where the price of train tickets is reduced within a certain window and customers are informed via their emailing service.

 

Helen Jordan

Lancaster '19

Helen is a third year English Language student and will graduate in 2019. Her favourite topics to write about include cooking and tips for uni life. This is Helen's second year writing for Her Campus and she is looking forward to her role as Chapter Correspondent for Lancaster in the 2018/2019 academic year.