I remember my first month. I bought it on a Wednesday, feeling like a true Londoner. By the second week, I was taking the Tube to go buy milk. I literally got on at one stop, rode two stops to Tesco, and rode back. The conductor probably thought I was scamming the system, but no—I was just optimising my ROI. That sandwich cost me £3, but the journey felt priceless.
Then came the weekend. You wake up at 11 AM, hungover, and remember you have “unlimited travel.” You take the Circle Line in a full loop just to finish your coffee. It’s a rite of passage. You’ll pass the same five stations four times, wave at the same homeless guy, and arrive back at your stop feeling like a tourist in your own city.
GETTING AROUND MELBOURNE: How to Use Myki Card + Tram, Train, Bus | The
Eventually, you learn to not do that. But the option is what matters. It’s like having a car you never drive—you just like knowing you could drive to Brighton at 3 AM if you wanted.
The Maths That Makes You Nod
Let’s break it down with real numbers, because we’re adults now. A Zone 1-2 monthly is about £163.40 (as of late 2026). A daily cap is £8.50. If you commute 5 days a week, that’s 22 days of work—£187. So you save roughly £23.60. That’s a free lunch at Pret (if you buy just the soup, not the toastie). Or one pint in a City pub. It’s not a fortune, but it’s yours.
If you’re a freelancer or work from home two days a week, the maths gets shaky. Then you’re basically paying for the fear of needing the Tube. It’s like buying a fire extinguisher—you hope you never use it, but you sleep better knowing it’s there. Plus, you can lend it to a friend for a day trip, which makes you feel generous and slightly smug.
