Student Travel and Commute Cost Log

Who this is for

Every fare for a term, added up. Journeys to campus, placement and home are logged with their mode and cost, and the summary sets the term's total against the season ticket or railcard price you have looked up yourself.

Students who commute to campus or a placement, or travel home often, and want to know whether a season ticket or railcard would have paid for itself.

What this helps you track

• What was spent on each journey and by which mode
• Travel to campus, placement and home kept apart
• The term's total, cost per week and cost per journey
• The difference between paying as you go and your season ticket price
• Which ticket types were used and how often

How to use it

1. Write your name, the term, its start and end dates, your home stop and the season ticket or railcard price you have been quoted.
2. Log each fare as you pay it: date, journey, mode, purpose, single or return, the cost and the ticket type.
3. Journeys, the total and the summary figures are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, add the cost column and divide by the weeks.
4. Check the difference from season ticket figure part way through the term to decide whether to buy one.
5. At the end of term, keep the sheet and compare it with the next term's prices.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How is the difference from the season ticket worked out?

The total you have paid in fares minus the season ticket price you entered. A positive figure means the fares have cost more than the ticket would have; a negative figure means paying as you go was cheaper so far.

Where does the season ticket price come from?

From the operator or the ticket office, for the route and period you would actually buy. The sheet has no fares or prices; enter the quote you are given. For a railcard, enter what it costs and compare with the discounts you would have had.

Why does a return count as two journeys?

So cost per journey compares like with like. A return that costs less than two singles shows up as a cheaper price per journey.

How is cost per week worked out?

The total divided by the number of weeks between the term start and end dates you enter. Enter the whole term to see a figure you can set against a weekly or termly ticket.