Thursday 03-11-2022 - 15:51

Your student officers are coming up with monthly articles for you. All designed to focus on a different theme with the best tips, tricks, and hacks to save you time, money and make your student experience even better.

This month’s guide is brought to you by Shazeaa, your Societies and Development Officer.

If you’re a commuting student, or one of our locals that travels a lot – keep reading.

 

 

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Travelling by Train

 

Firstly, we know you’ll already know this, but there are 3 main train stations in Manchester:

+ Manchester Picadilly

+ Manchester Oxford Road

+ Manchester Victoria

 

Knowing in advance which one of these stations is closest both to home and where you need to be for Uni, will save you time and money.

Also, if your lesson timetable allows, travelling during off-peak times will save you some pennies, too. Off-peak times for trains are usually 09:30 until 16:00 and 18:30 onwards.

It goes without saying, but peak times trains are busier because you’re amongst thousands of others trying to be on time for those 9am starts.

If you’re coming into Manchester every day for Uni (or work), it’s worth getting yourself a monthly train ticket. It covers you for 30 days and you don’t have to worry about forgetting to buy your tickets or trying to get them for the best price.

As well as this, a Railcard is a must for any commuting student, they’ll save you up to 1/3 on your train fare.

You’re most likely going to be eligible either for the 16 – 25 Railcard, or the 26 - 30 one. There’re loads of other options though, so check them out before getting one to make sure you’re making the right choice.

Purchasing your train tickets in advance too is an easy way to save money. Advance tickets are cheaper, but non-refundable and you can only travel on the route and time you’ve paid for. Doing this, on top of having your Railcard is a guarantee to keep your pockets as full as possible.

For example:

 

A standard train ticket from Rochdale to Manchester Victoria (non-advance), that allows you to travel at different times and routes, would cost you £5.70. With a Rail Card, this would cost £3.75.

If you were to purchase an advance ticket for this journey, the price would reduce to £3.10. That price would be cut even further with a Rail Card, to £2.

If you plan ahead with train journeys, and follow the tips in this guide, the savings will be endless.

 

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Travelling by Bus

 

If you didn’t know (which you should, we’ve told you enough), The Union’s Finance Office is the best place to get yourself a bus pass.

Bus passes can be bought on the Met Card too, and cover weekly, monthly, term time, or yearly travel access. There’re also a few different options for bus companies – each pass gives you unlimited travel (for the time you’ve paid for) with the specified company.

Don’t forget to take your phone charger along with you, too – most busses have free charging ports.

For one last bus tip, fairs in Greater Manchester have decreased to £2 for an adult. So, it’s currently cheaper to get two singles than a day rider if you’re only doing two trips.

If you’re unsure which one to get, the guys in Finance will be happy to chat through it with you.

 

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Travelling by Tram

 

Manchester’s got itself an impressive tram system, on top of having the busiest bus route in Europe, too.

Like the train, travelling during off peak hours on a tram will save you some coins. Peak hours for trams are anything after 09:30.

Did you also know that if you’re travelling from outside Manchester, your can use your train ticket to travel on the tram for free? This only works though if you’re travelling with a valid train ticket to a Manchester City station and staying in zone 1 of the tram system.