C2C launch first part-time flexible season train ticket

Motoring and Travel

Updated on 02 June 2016 | 2 Comments

First part-time season ticket for rail passengers could save Essex commuters £135.

The first Flexi-Season ticket for part-time workers has been launched by National Express train operator c2c.

It gives part-time workers, who don’t need to travel every day, similar discount benefits as commuters who buy a regular season ticket.

The new tickets could save some workers travelling from Essex into London £135 a year.

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How it works

The Flexi-Season ticket is available to buy online as a digital carnet of 10 individual tickets.

These are loaded onto a c2c smartcard and can be used for trips whenever you need to travel by tapping at the ticket gate.

Each ticket comes with a 5% discount on the normal peak-time cost of daily travel and there’s an extra 10% reward on offer is the ticket it used to travel off-peak.

The tickets can be used anytime over the next six months once purchased.

 

Julian Drury, managing director at c2c, said: “We are really excited to launch the UK’s first season ticket specifically designed for part-time workers.

“We know that flexible working is increasingly popular and provides the work-life balance that so many commuters crave.

“This new ticket means that part-time commuters can now get full-time value from their rail ticket, saving themselves time, money and hassle in future.”

How much can you save?

Until now part-time workers who travel two or three times a week would have to pay for expensive daily tickets. This put them at a disadvantage compared to season ticket holders who make the most savings by buying weekly, monthly or annual tickets.

Passengers travelling to London from Southend three times a week will be able to save £135 a year with the new Flexi-Season ticket.

Meanwhile those travelling from Benfleet three times a week will be able to save almost £125 a year and those coming from Basildon will save over £100.

You can use the c2c online calculator to work out if Flexi-Season tickets can save you money.

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Will there be a wider roll out?

The new Flexi-Season tickets are exclusively available to c2c customers who travel from stations in Essex outside the Oystercard area, but more train companies could launch them.

The Government has pledged to encourage more flexible travel through things like smart ticketing and ministers have been pushing for part-time tickets since 2012.

Last year the Government announced in the Autumn Statement that flexible season tickets would also soon be available on other lines across England including the Great Northern Route on Thameslink.

Rail Minister Claire Perry said: “The launch of the c2c flexible season ticket is great news for passengers. We are providing record levels of investment to build a modern railway that provides better journeys for all and simpler, smarter ticketing is a vital part of that.

 “People across the south east are already benefitting from the ease and convenience of smart ticketing provided through the South East Flexible Ticket programme. I am delighted to see C2C have built on this success and have taken up our challenge to develop innovative ideas that meet customers’ needs, saving them money.”

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