Are you a smart commuter?

With the onset of winter, the daily commute can get tricky. The combination of dark nights and bad weather mean that commuting by car can be a risky endeavour - road accidents peak during the winter months, in particular during the hours of 4pm and 6pm. Smart commuters know train travel is definitely the savvier move. Why not follow our tips on how to commute clever this winter?

Make it e-asy

E-tickets for train travel are a commuter’s best friend. Spend less time in the ticket queues on a freezing station and more time in the warmth of the train. And as they’re stored on your phone, you’re less likely to lose them. When buying your train tickets online, choose e-ticket as your delivery option. Your digital train tickets will be stored in the Grand Central app on your phone ready to scan at the ticket barrier or show to a member of staff.

Flex your hours

How flexible is your place of work when it comes to you being in the office? Do they insist on 9 to 5, or are they open to or even already implementing flexible working hours; perhaps letting you come in and leave an hour earlier or later? If you can travel outside of peak hours, not only will you enjoy a quieter journey, with cheaper Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak fares, you’ll save money on your train tickets too.

Work remotely

Many businesses understand the grind of the daily commute and allow their staff to work one or two days a week from home or serviced offices closer to home. But if your company hasn’t yet introduced any flexible working measures, why not book some time in with HR or your line manager and explain your reasons why being able to work from home occasionally would improve your productivity and increase your job satisfaction. A win-win situation! If your home Wi-Fi isn’t up to scratch, or you prefer not to work alone, there are many free places that welcome remote workers – from galleries and hotels to purpose-built places like the Santander Work Café in Leeds.

Buy your tickets in advance

It’s always good to be prepared. If you have a meeting or conference coming up, buying your train tickets in advance mean you get much cheaper fares against buying them on the day. Our Advance train tickets can save you up to 84% and can be bought up to 12 weeks ahead of when you want to travel.

Celebrate your commute

It’s estimated that the British public spend 492 days commuting in a lifetime. That’s 1.3 years – a pretty hefty toll on our time. Rather than sitting behind a wheel, the beauty of commuting by train is that you’re free to make the most of this time, whether that’s catching up on some work emails before you get into the office, learning conversational Spanish on a language app or doing some knitting. The important point to remember is that in our busy lives, we don’t often get much time to ourselves. So, don’t think of it as 492 days of wasted time, think of it as 492 days of you time!