3 Tips to help you save on your travel costs

This is a guest blog written by Brighton based student Stephanie who was voted by fellow students as best top tips winner Money Week 2023. Over to Stephanie……

Plan ahead

The act of planning ahead has proven many times to be a good way to solve situations. Whether your outing includes classes in the university, day out in the city or out of the city; knowing the days, time and planning ahead will help you save money on your travel costs.

• Check that the university shuttle bus will suffice throughout your university day journey
• Check valuable offers available for days out in the city. If your journey is in the route between Old Steine and Falmer which is the same route for the free shuttle bus, you can choose to use this or combine with paid bus services.
• Check valuable offers available for out of Brighton travel. Plan month(s), week(s) or days apart

Compare discounts and rewards

• Brighton and Hove buses have several offers which includes £2 single journey ticket, £4 24hrs student savers and more; visit website for more info. The £4 24hrs ticket is more of a bargain than a weekly, monthly or yearly ticket for several journeys as it gives one a choice and can be used between 2 days if you plan the right time to get the ticket and maybe incorporate the free UB1 bus as cover.
• Train railcards and National Express Coachcards come in handy for frequent travellers of those services. If you use it once in a year, there is no need, especially for coach cards with not much difference in discounts depending on the locations, just book your tickets in advance. Booking coaches in advance can be cheaper than booking trains with a railcard in advance, again depending on locations.

N.B: Banks such as Santander offer free railcards after you open a student account.

Choose mode of transport wisely, depending on your travel needs

If you do not have a personal mode of transport i.e. your car or friend’s car; here are modes of public transportation available for travel in and out of Brighton. As always think price, convenience, time and more when choosing.

UB1 Free shuttle bus (In Brighton)

University of Brighton students can make use of the free shuttle bus provided by the university as a convenient means of travel to their place of study. Although, it is just one bus which means it can sometimes be fully occupied or delayed; it does come equipped with wi-fi, smart seats with charging points, useful for a faster and straighter journey to the university, and only requires your unicard. The bus runs from 7:30am – 7:30pm weekdays during standard term time. Get the app and/or check online for timetable.

Buses (in Brighton)

Brighton and Hove have a wide range of buses for every route in Brighton and further afield which are always available to get people to their various destinations in and around Brighton. It is affordable especially with offers included and have ticket options for day(s), month(s), year and more.

Trains (In and Out of Brighton) 

The train serves as a fast mode of transportation to get around some parts of Brighton and out of Brighton. It conveniently has stops, close to some university locations. A student railcard offers discounted deals which can be useful for frequent train travellers.

Coaches (Out of Brighton)

Coaches can be the most convenient, straight and cheap mode of transportation out of Brighton for long road trips. Coaches have comfortable smart seats with charging points, easy to reach toilets at the back of the coach and Wi-Fi. A coach card offers discounted deals which can be useful for frequent coach travellers, visit their website for more info.

Travel tips at its best…

Acknowledgement once again to Stephanie for this post