In October 2025, 27% of workers in Great Britain were working hybridly, making the UK the second-largest adopter of hybrid working globally.
According to the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the average employee now works remotely for 1.8 days a week in the UK, representing millions of irregular commutes and journeys each year.
While the increased flexibility is great for work-life balance, hybrid working can make regular, cost-effective commuting trickier - especially when it comes to choosing the right train ticket. Traditional options don’t always match modern commuting patterns, leaving hybrid workers paying for journeys they don’t take - or for flexibility they don’t need.
So, is there a better way to travel? For many hybrid and part-time commuters, Flexi Season tickets offer a practical middle ground.
The challenges of the hybrid commute
Hybrid working has changed how, and how often, many of us commute. Instead of travelling five days a week, more people now split their time between home and the office, with schedules that can change week by week.
While this sounds simple on paper, commuting under this model comes with a unique set of challenges:
- Weekly differentiations. Some weeks, employees commute once, others three times, which makes it hard to commit to fixed tickets.
- Paying for trips not taken. Traditional Season tickets often assume daily use, which doesn’t reflect hybrid schedules.
- Cumulative costs. Buying standard flexible tickets at short notice can quickly add up.
- Last-minute changes. Meetings dropping in or late-notice team days can affect when workers need to book tickets.
- Balancing flexibility with value. Many hybrid commuters increasingly need flexibility, but don’t want to overpay for it.
If these challenges sound familiar to you, it might be time to try adding a Flexi Season ticket to your Smartcard.
The solution? Flexi Season tickets
Flexi Season tickets are designed specifically for people who travel regularly, but not every day. Rather than unlimited daily travel, Flexi Season tickets give you 8 days of travel within a 28-day period, allowing you to choose the days you commute.
On those 8 days you can travel at any time of day between your chosen stations (yes, even at peak travel times), making Flexi Season particularly well suited to hybrid workers, part-time commuters, and those with variable schedules.
Buy a Flexi Season ticket now
What does a flexible rail ticket mean?
A flexible rail ticket allows you to travel without being tied to a specific train time. Unlike Advance tickets, which are valid on one specific service at a certain time, flexible rail tickets allow travellers greater freedom to choose a wider range of departure times.
Flexi Season builds on this idea by adding day-based flexibility: you’re not just flexible about what times you travel, but also which days you travel.
What is the difference between Standard and Flexi tickets?
Standard flexible tickets (such as Off-Peak tickets) are ideal for occasional or one-off journeys, offering freedom to travel within certain time windows on a single day.
Flexi tickets, on the other hand, are designed for regular but non-daily travel. Instead of buying separate tickets each time you commute, Flexi Season bundles multiple travel days together at a lower overall cost, while still allowing flexibility around timing.
Are Off-Peak train tickets flexible?
Off-Peak train tickets are only flexible within certain parameters. While you can travel on a range of trains, outside of busy times on chosen days, off-peak periods are usually later than professionals need to get to the office on time.
Can you share a Flexi Season ticket?
If you and your partner or colleague often commute at the same time, it makes sense to chip in together and save, right? While Flexi Season tickets can’t be shared, since tickets must be linked to individual travellers, options like the Two Together Railcard can help bring down the costs of shared journeys. For just £17.50 each, this joint Railcard saves travellers an average of £98 yearly.
That said, using a Railcard does not exempt you from time restrictions, as any tickets purchased still have conditions.
Find out more about Two Together Railcards
The advantages of Flexi tickets for hybrid workers
If you’re still deciding whether Flexi Season tickets are worth it, here are some of the core benefits for travellers who work part time or hybridly:
- You only have to pay for the days you travel within a 28-day window. This lets you tailor your tickets to your office schedule month-on-month.
- Enjoy anytime travel on your chosen route on valid days. If your team needs you in at 8:30 some days, but 11:00 on others, your tickets won’t need to change; you’ll just hop on a later train.
- Buying one Flexi Season ticket is often better value than buying two singles or a return standard ticket every time you travel.
- There’s no need to pre-book specific trains. Between project deadlines and meetings, you’ve probably got enough on your plate already. Flexi Season tickets cut out the extra work admin. Buy once each month, travel up to eight times.
- Change your office days as much as you like. If your schedule changes last-minute (due to sickness or in-person meetings dropping in last-minute), you won’t need to cancel or rebook any individual tickets, leaving your commute flexible and open.
Other Flexi tickets tailored to your hybrid schedule
Alongside Flexi Season tickets, we also offer a handful of other Season ticket options that might better suit your schedule:
- 7-day Season ticket for daily commuters
- Monthly Season ticket for travel at any time of day
- Annual Season ticket between two destinations
- Custom Season ticket for longer than a month, but less than a year.
All our Season ticket options
Make your hybrid commute work for you
If your work routine no longer follows a fixed Monday-to-Friday pattern, choosing a ticket that adapts to how often you travel is a must.
For hybrid workers, Flexi Season tickets offer a practical way to stay agile without paying for journeys you don’t take. By matching your ticket to your working pattern with Avanti West Coast, you can simplify your commute - and manage costs more effectively.
