Saving Money Travelling Home
By Lucy Pimlott
It’s nearly the end of assessment season and that means one thing- summer is fast approaching. For many students, the summer break starts as soon as they move out of their university accommodation and head back home for the summer. This guide of how to save money on travelling home will cover money-saving tips for four main modes of transportation: car, train, coach and plane.
Travelling by car
- Drive at a slower, more consistent speed- constantly decelerating and accelerating will consume more fuel than driving at a slower, more consistent speed.
- Avoid filling up on petrol/ diesel at service stations or main road petrol stations, they have higher prices for the convenience of getting fuel whilst you take a break from driving.
- Similarly, try to bring your own snacks or drinks for the journey as opposed to buying them at service stations. Food outlets such as Greggs charge more for a product bought from a service station store than in regular stores.
Travelling by train
- Use a 16-25 railcard to get discounted tickets on rail travel. These are often included as a perk for student bank accounts.
- Travel at off-peak times. Off-peak times are outside of peak commuting times during weekdays (typically early to mid-morning and then late afternoon to early evening) and all day on weekends.
- Book tickets in advance
Travelling by coach
- Use a Young Person’s Coachcard if you’re a frequent traveller on National Express. You can get ⅓ off standard and fully flexible fares.
- If you’re travelling on National Express with more luggage than your allowance (typically a 20kg hold bag and a piece of hand luggage), add additional luggage (up to 3 additional bags to go into the hold) to your ticket online as opposed to in person. Each additional bag costs £10 for a single journey, £20 for a return journey if booked online whilst if you pay for additional luggage in person, it’s £15 per piece of luggage for a single journey and £30 per piece of luggage for a return journey.
Travelling by plane
- Book in advance. The less full the flight is when you book your ticket, the cheaper it will be.
- Use an incognito browser when booking flights. If your browsing history shows you have been looking at prices for a particular flight, airlines may increase the price of the ticket as they want to get as much money as possible out of customers who have previously shown interest in buying a ticket for that flight.
- Look into what makes your fare so “cheap”. Eye-catchingly cheap flights tend to not include hold luggage or seat selection and adding these to your booking suddenly bumps up the price significantly. Be careful of what your “cheap” flight includes.
Student Funding Support wishes you a happy and healthy summer break.
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For additional money-related support, please contact Student Funding Support, located in Senate House.
Phone: 024 7615 0096 (8:30am-5pm, Monday-Thursday; 8:30am-4pm Friday)
In-person support hours: 10am-3pm, Monday-Friday
