is the student travel card worth buying?

pseudo_23

it cost like 13 euros, but is it worth it?

Sulmac

It's €15 if you get it in the Student Centre if you get it this week. That includes a €3 fee for the photograph.

If you open an AIB student account (they have a stand next to the Travelcard people) they give you a voucher so all you pay for is the photograph.

I'd say it's worth having for the discounts, especially if you live outside Dublin and intend to travel home by bus/rail at weekends (or even commuting in Dublin). It can also be used in places like McDonald's, Boots, etc.

orestes

Definitely, those things save you a fortune, they don't just get you cheap travel but get you discounts and student prices in tonnes of other places like cinemas and the likes. You will save the fifteen quid it cost you in a month, max

pseudo_23

but ive been looking at bus eireann discounts for student 10 journey tickets etc. Do you save more money with this card or same?

SugoiHito

pseudo_23 wrote: »

but ive been looking at bus eireann discounts for student 10 journey tickets etc. Do you save more money with this card or same?

I think you need to have the travel card to be able to use the student tickets...otherwise you have to buy adult

I got mine with the aib voucher,only cost me 3 euro:) Id say go for it,its something worth having

fillmore jive

pseudo_23 wrote: »

but ive been looking at bus eireann discounts for student 10 journey tickets etc. Do you save more money with this card or same?

Ehh fairly certain you need a travel card to buy/use the student travel tickets?

orestes

pseudo_23 wrote: »

but ive been looking at bus eireann discounts for student 10 journey tickets etc. Do you save more money with this card or same?

You need the student card to avail of student prices anywhere, if you ask for a student ticket they will ask to see your student travel card or you get charged full whack, that's what it's for and that's what I meant when I said you will save the cost of it in no time at all

Kournikova

I had it for secondary school and it was quite handy for all the discount,

Raphael

orestes wrote: »

You need the student card to avail of student prices anywhere, if you ask for a student ticket they will ask to see your student travel card or you get charged full whack, that's what it's for and that's what I meant when I said you will save the cost of it in no time at all

Eh, no. that's not true at all. You need travelcard for anything on their website. This doesn't include Bus Eireann, they'll take your college ID. As will Cineworld, for example.

kev_s88

the travelcard definitely helps for certain aspects of travel...

i live in Dublin but have to get 2 buses over and back to UCD...so whereas i would be paying almost 8 euro a day, 5 days a week, with the travelcard and a student monthly bus and rail ticket (which costs 93 euro), im saving around 70euro on travel...

Mardy Bum

If you take the train to other parts of the country the Student travelling card I'll save you a fortune.

Browney7

It's a fuckin disgrace that we have to pay for them at all because a normal student card should suffice but you should definitely purchase it. Its paid for after a train journey home for me because the discount works out at like 20 quid. You have to have it to use the student tickets on the Luas and Dublin Bus. The discounts you get in the places listed on the card are usually given to students anyway though so once you have any student card you get the discount in Maccy D's

orestes

Raphael wrote: »

Eh, no. that's not true at all. You need travelcard for anything on their website. This doesn't include Bus Eireann, they'll take your college ID. As will Cineworld, for example.

Arse! The bastard at the desk frigging lied to me! :mad:

Ok op, disregard my posts

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Raphael

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

True. Dublin Bus, Luas and Iarnroid Eireann are the 3 big ones that need the Travelcard, so if you;re going to be giving any of them your money with any degree of regularity, the card is definitely worth it.

convert

kev_s88 wrote: »

the travelcard definitely helps for certain aspects of travel...

i live in Dublin but have to get 2 buses over and back to UCD...so whereas i would be paying almost 8 euro a day, 5 days a week, with the travelcard and a student monthly bus ticket (which costs 93 euro), im saving around 70euro on travel...

Dublin Bus also do a 30 day non consecutive student bus ticket, too for around 70. It may be a cheaper option than the monthly bus ticket, esp as you get 30 days out of it and if you only use the bus Mon-Fri you could get 6 college weeks out of it! But you need a student travel card to buy it!

PinkCandy

If your only transport is Bus Eireann I wouldn't bother with it myself. It does get you discounts in clothes shops and stuff but I rarely ever used it for that! I commuted from Kildare in second year and they give you the discount with your ucd student card.

I got the student travelcard in 3rd year because I was taking dublin bus for college and then the dart for work. Saves you a feckload on dublin transport! And if you ever plan to take the train to galway or cork it will be the best thing you have!

errlloyd

Hmm, its up to you obviously, but I have 3 student cards, UCD, Travecard and USIT. If your planning on going abroad the USIT one is way better. I remember getting 20% off Helly Hansen in Stockholm and things. A lot of places abroad will accept both, but a good few won't.

DylanJM

I didn't pick up a travel card during orientation this week I'm assuming I'll still be able to pick one up next week......yes???

aequinoctium

DylanJM wrote: »

I didn't pick up a travel card during orientation this week I'm assuming I'll still be able to pick one up next week......yes???

yes indeed!
they ususally have a stall in the arts block for a few weeks
also in the tunnel from the arts block to the library building there is a set of offices in which you can (at any time of the year) get your travel card

errlloyd

You can post off for it, get it in UCD, hell if you want you can pick it up in Trinity aswell. That's where I got mine.

ChocolateSauce

I say no. You shouldn't fork over money to a private company to prove you're a student when you have a student cad for that. Either student discounts are for students or they are not.

errlloyd

ChocolateSauce wrote: »

I say no. You shouldn't fork over money to a private company to prove you're a student when you have a student cad for that. Either student discounts are for students or they are not.

Would you buy a garda ID to prove your age, even though you already have a passport and birth cert?

armada104

errlloyd wrote: »

Would you buy a garda ID to prove your age, even though you already have a passport and birth cert?

That's not a fair comparison. You pay for an Age Card to avoid the necessity of having to carry around your passport. You are forced to pay for a Student Travelcard because Dublin Bus, Iarnród Éireann and the RPA won't accept any other form of ID. They have similar ID cards for some child and adult tickets, but do not charge half as much for them.

Presumably for their own convenience, they've outsourced the issuing of student ID cards to a private company and they don't seem to have any problem with the ridiculous price this company is charging for them.

As has been said above, if you only travel with Bus Éireann, or if you only occasionally travel with Dublin Bus (cash fare), avoid buying one of these. The non-transport discounts listed on their website are disingenuous, as most are available with a regular student card in any case.

The new student 30-day rambler is great value though, and a Student Travelcard is a necessary evil in this case. Likewise for train travel.

Jimmy Bennett

I'm not sure if there's any point in me getting one. I've moved from dublin to Galway and I use the train to go home the odd weekend. But if you book online you can go one way for a tenner, without any student card. ALWAYS book trains online. The savings are ridiculous

dyl10

If you do any kind of traveling, get it.

Blush_01

If you could potentially use the train even once in the year (or 15 months if you buy it in September) you'll save the price of the card, never mind the other discounts it gets you. I would have been lost without mine in college.

schween

Bus Eireann won't give a student discount for my journey to college, even though it's 13 miles and over €7 return. So there's no point me getting the card.
As for discounts elsewhere, most place such as hmv or the cinema take my college ID.

alois

schween wrote: »

Bus Eireann won't give a student discount for my journey to college, even though it's 13 miles and over €7 return. So there's no point me getting the card.
As for discounts elsewhere, most place such as hmv or the cinema take my college ID.

hmv dont give student discounts anymore :mad:

Jimmy Bennett

Blush_01 wrote: »

If you could potentially use the train even once in the year (or 15 months if you buy it in September) you'll save the price of the card, never mind the other discounts it gets you. I would have been lost without mine in college.

Yes, if you're paying for silly return tickets in the train station. If you use the online booking it's cheaper than the reduced student fares.

El Siglo

It's €15, that's pays itself off if you ever travel by the train much or are buying Dublin Bus or Luas tickets. It's worth the €15 so it is. The one card I hate though is the Garda Age Card, €10 for card that's only used for buying drink, what a fucking money racket!