Woking to london - motorbike- commute ?

Lots of factors but I would start at cost of getting a license, cost of bike, cost of insurance before looking at anything like fuel and running costs.

From Woking into London is a horrible, horrible route by road.

Probably better on a bike than in a car, but still deeply horrible.

Thanks for this.. Just one bit I didn't get is the speed cameras and box junction.. Is it like the overspending tickets

Woking is one stop from London Waterloo, you'd be mad not to use the trains ~£27 peak return ticket.

(Obviously depending on where in London you need to get to, its pretty big!)

No advance fares for this route.. Even if you book 2 months 3 months in advance or specific trains.. .
Looking at the flexi one but still costly considering 3 days a week.. Offcourse 5 days a week would be fine....

Motorcycle Licence: As previously mentioned, you will need a motorcycle licence in the UK, which involves:Compulsory Basic Training (CBT): Approximately £130 - £170.Theory Test: £23.Practical Test (Module 1 and Module 2): Around £75 - £85 for both modules.

Motorcycle Purchase: Depending on the model, new motorcycles can range from £2,000 to £5,000 for commuter models. Second-hand bikes can be significantly cheaper, ranging from £500 to £2,000.

Essential Gear: Helmet: £50 - £300, Jacket: £50 - £200, Gloves: £20 - £100, Boots: £50 - £200, Protective trousers: £50 - £200

Fuel: With an average fuel consumption of 80 mpg (miles per gallon) and a distance of 25 miles one-way:Weekly distance: 25 miles x 2 (round trip) x 3 days = 150 miles
Weekly fuel cost: 150 miles / 80 mpg ≈ 1.875 gallons
Cost per gallon: Approximately £6Weekly fuel cost: 1.875 gallons x £6 = £11.25
Insurance: Can range from £150 to £500 annually, depending on the bike and your experience.
Maintenance: Approximately £200 - £400 annually.
Tax and MOT: Road tax around £50 - £100 annually; MOT around £30 - £50 annually.

Comparison with Current Costs

Public Transport: £27 per day for three days a week totals approximately £81 per week.

Motorcycling:

Initial Year:
Licence and tests: Approximately £300
Motorcycle and gear (assuming mid-range): £3,000 (bike) + £500 (gear) = £3,500
Ongoing costs: £11.25 (fuel) x 48 weeks = £540, plus £300 (maintenance, insurance, tax, MOT) = £840
Total first-year cost: £3,500 (initial) + £840 (ongoing) = £4,340
Weekly cost over 48 weeks: £90.42

Subsequent Years:
Ongoing costs only: £840 annually
Weekly cost over 48 weeks: £17.50

Summary:

First Year: More expensive due to upfront costs, approximately £90.42 per week. (vs £81 per week)

Subsequent Years: Cheaper than public transport, approximately £17.50 per week. (vs £81 per week)

Yea, I already have a car... Not bike license yet

Depends where you're going to be working in London. I think Woking goes into Waterloo, so if you can walk to work from there, great, if you have to get the tube it changes things. I used to commute Guildford-London (St Pauls) daily on a bike all year round at it was fine. Ok, it rains quite a lot and sometimes it's cold, but nothing you can't sort with decent gear. I much preferred it to the train which was unreliable, cramped, expensive and slower.

For me, I'd get a bike licence and use the train as required. Since you don't have a bike licence yet, you'll have plenty of time to try the train and see if you like it :-)

For a 3 day week, a season ticket is hard to justify but I think SWR do a flexi season ticket which may be more suitable for your use case.

I used to do the Woking-Waterloo commute pre-covid. Woking is the last stop before London you you won't get a seat but it is quick and convenient. Some may say it's convenient because they made all other options more inconvenient.

hey there

I've often driven to Woking for visits and I'm moving there this summer.

I've usually travelled the route in non-rush hour traffic, in a car and at the weekends. A few times mid week.

In my opinion:

125cc isn't enough - there is too much fast road to cover on the A3 especially where you'll often find cars doing over 70 once they're past the average speed cameras.

Having commuted in London on bikes ranging from 90 to 900cc I found the best possible bike for this kind of riding (i.e. town and motorway) is 500cc. The bigger ones use too much petrol in town, the smaller ones aren't fast enough for the fast roads. At a push you may be ok with a 650cc but I'd go for something like a Kawasaki ER6 or Suzuki SV650 to keep fuel costs down. These are cheaper to service too as they have two cylinders rather than 4.

If you've riden in India then you're probably used to traffic but I'm not sure how much of a shock winter riding will be. My hands were never warm enough and that was in London at 20-30mph. I don't know what that will feel like at 70mph with wind chill. You could of course spend more money on heated clothing/gloves etc. I never did but I wouldn't do a long trip without them nowadays.

I come from a significantly warmer country so I grew up with a mentality that a helmet is all you need. I did go full gear in London but very frequently skipped the trousers in hot weather. In cold weather and with a motorway commute you will need a full set of everything and potentially even two sets to let one set dry out if you get caught in the rain. The water may not filter through to sublayers but it will be within the outer layers at times

Maybe the way to do this is to work towards the CBT and see if you get the opportunity for some cold weather riding before committing to the full expenses of bike and clothing.

If you do eventually get a bike, I'd invest in an automatic chain oiler too with the distances you'll be doing and the weather. Saves money in the long run.

I'll reflect an earlier comment about the train being soul destroying - this is why I used a bike in London for a few years rather than tube and bus. I also enjoy biking even if I have stopped now since having children.

Finally - let's not forget that if you do get a bike and have increased costs in the short term, you do at least have a bike. And riding a bike in the countryside (not London) when you're not going to work can be very good fun indeed!

Hope it all goes well!