Page last updated: 03/03/2021
Latest updates
8th March 2021 - Following the reopening of schools, from Monday 8th March 2021, we will be reintroducing our city35A school service. With Matthew Arnold School starting slightly later, your 3B and 35A school services will be running a bit later in the morning. Duplicate buses will operate to our U1 school service to respect social distancing. Click here for details.
Also from this date, minor timetable changes will be made to your city4A/4C services on Mondays to Fridays. Click here for details.
7th February 2021 - From Sunday 7th February 2021, the city5 and Stagecoach 1 services temporarily operate to a slightly reduced Monday to Friday timetable and operate to a Sunday timetable on Saturdays with a few additional journeys to match the levels of demand during the third national lockdown. Click here for details.
6th February 2021 - From Saturday 6th February 2021, the Oxford Bus Company city2/3/8/9 and Stagecoach 2/3/8/9 services temporarily operate to a Sunday timetable on Saturdays with a few additional journeys to match the levels of demand during the third national lockdown. The additional journeys are as follow:
- city2 - Stagecoach 2: Towards Kidlington, four trips from Magdalen Street at 05:30, 06:00, 06:30 and 07:00. Towards Oxford City Centre, two trips from Yarnton Road at 05:19 and 06:19 and one trip from Evans Lane at 05:48. Click here for details.
- city3 - Stagecoach 3: Towards Rose Hill, three trips from Oxford Rail Station at 06:35, 07:05 and 07:35. Towards Oxford Rail Station, three trips from Rose Hill at 06:00, 06:30 and 07:00. Click here for details.
- city8/9 - Stagecoach 8/9: Towards Risinghurst/Barton, two trips from Westgate at 06:25 and 06:55. Towards Oxford City Centre, two trips from Edgecombe Road (Barton) at 05:44 and 06:14. Click here for details.
1st February 2021 - From Monday 1st February 2021, the Oxford Bus Company city3A and Stagecoach 3A services were temporarily amended to provide a daily link to the new mass vaccination centre at Kassam Stadium. The services were also extended to serve Oxford Rail Station and Cowley Centre via Greater Leys / Blackbird Leys. Click here for details.
24th January 2021 - Following the recent announcement of new travel restrictions, from Sunday 24th January, the airline coaches connecting Oxford with Lewknor, High Wycombe and Heathrow Airport operate to a further reduced frequency timetable. Unfortunately, we are still temporarily unable to serve Gatwick Airport until further notice. Visit the airline web page to view the special timetable.
15th January 2021 - After operating on Friday 15th January 2021, the school service city35A was unfortunately suspended. Click here for details.
8th January 2021 - Following the announcement of a third national lockdown, we made the following changes to the airline, park&ride and BROOKESbus services:
- The airline - From Sunday 17th January, coaches connecting Oxford with Lewknor, High Wycombe and Heathrow Airport operate to a special reduced frequency timetable. Unfortunately, we are also temporarily unable to serve Gatwick Airport until further notice. Visit the airline web page to view the special timetable.
- park&ride - From Sunday 17th January, park&ride300 service connecting Pear Tree and Redbridge Park&Ride sites with Oxford City Centre was suspended until further notice. However, park&ride400 (serving Thornhill and Seacourt Park&Ride) and park&ride500 (serving Oxford Parkway) will continue to operate to their current timetables.
- BROOKESbus - The planned change to the semester version of the timetable from 16th January will be postponed. As such, all BROOKESbus services will continue operating to vacation timetables until further notice.
- Bicester Village BV1 - This service remains suspended until further notice, however, we hope to restart it as soon as restrictions are eased and Bicester Village is able to reopen.
- City Sightseeing Oxford - Our open-top bus tours are remaining closed until further notice. Find out more: www.citysightseeingoxford.com/covid-19
- Gloucester Green travel shop - Our Oxford travel shop will remain closed until further notice.
- We'd like to reassure our customers that at this time, we won't be making amendments to any of our other services. However, we will be monitoring the situation closely, and we will update this web page (and our social media pages) as soon as any new information is confirmed.
5th January 2021 (Travel Shop) - Following yesterday's announcement of a new national lockdown effective 00:01hrs today, our Gloucester Green travel shop will be closed from end of business today. You can still top up your key card online at www.oxfordkey.co.uk. On-bus key card top ups are also available for all 1 week, 4 weeks, 12 trips and any 5 days products. Please note that on-bus top ups exceeding £45 will have to be paid in cash. Our customer services team is available to assist you Monday to Friday betwen 0900 and 1700. You can email info@oxfordbus.co.uk or phone 01865 785 400 to get in touch.
3rd January 2021 - Changes were made to the cityX3/X13/13 services. Click here for details.
26th December 2020 - Oxfordshire moved into tier 4 level of COVID-19 restrictions. This meant that were unable to operate the BV1 Bicester Village Shuttle service or the City Sightseeing Oxford open-top tours from this date until further notice.
6th December 2020 - BROOKESbus services changed to operate to vacation timetables until 15th January 2021. Click here for details.
Timetables
Most of our services have now returned to timetables that resemble to their pre-coronavirus times on weekdays. Frequencies of many evening services are still reduced due to the continued closure of several leisure and entertainment venues. At weekends, most of our services operate to special timetables.
Following the announcement of a third national lockdown, we will, however, be making a few changes to the airline, park&ride and BROOKESbus services. Please see the details above under “Latest updates”.
Should we need to alter any of our other bus services, we will inform you on this page and via our social media channels.
We're Good to Go!
We've achieved VisitEngland's Good to Go accreditation, confirming that we're following government and industry COVID-19 guidelines on cleanliness and social distancing!
VIDEO: Police Enforcement of Face Coverings
Wearing a face covering on public transport is a legal requirement, helping to ensure safety of our customers and colleagues. As such, we’re working with the local Police to help ensure compliance with the government rules. Police officers can now board our buses at any time and issue fines for non-compliance.
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Buses to vaccination centres
A number of vaccination centres are emerging in Oxfordshire, which staff, volunteers and patients need to attend. To facilitate your journey, we've put together a list of the places served by our bus services.
Find out more
What we're doing to keep you safe
From significantly enhancing cleaning processes to reducing capacities on buses, increasing signage and installing temporary prospex screens, we’re doing everything we can to keep you, your loved ones and our colleagues safe when travelling on our buses.
Safety measures
Face coverings
In line with guidance from the government, you must wear a face covering on public transport. This can be a mask, scarf, snood or a bandana. If you fit into any of the government exemptions, then you'll be able to travel on our buses without wearing a face covering. Just tell the driver when you board the bus and show an exemption “Journey Assistance Card” which you can download by following the link below.
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Bus travel guidance
When you travel, please follow our COVID-19 bus travel guidance to help keep you and our colleagues safe.
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Pay with contactless
We would appreciate if our customers could try to pay with contactless cards or devices during this time to avoid the need for unnecessary handling of cash as much as possible.
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Travel off peak
Choose to travel on the quieter buses for your comfort, safety and peace of mind. When2travel gives you the information you need when planning your next bus journey - including the latest timetables and up-to-date capacity predictions on a stop-by-stop basis.
Find out more
Student and University Travel
We continue to provide travel for students travelling to school, college or university. We have significantly enhanced our cleaning protocols to keep you, your friends and our colleagues safe. To support our commitment to your safety on board, we ask students to wear a face covering and to not remove it until they reach their school, college or university. Ensure it is worn properly - not on the chin or with nostrils uncovered. Have an exemption card ready to show to the driver if required and sanitise your hands when awaiting and leaving the bus.
VIDEO: We're ready when you are
Watch our video showing the measures we've taken to keep our services safe for our customers and colleagues alike.
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NHS Test and Trace
When travelling around our bus stations and stops, it's suggested that you download and use the official NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app.
Find out more or download the app
Frequently asked questions
Have any questions regarding face coverings, disabled assistance, cleaning regimes, the best time to travel, the timetables we operate, etc.?
Click here for FAQsCOVID-19 safety information and travel advice
Plan your journey
- Plan ahead and use a direct route where possible
- If you can, travel at quieter times and avoid travelling at peak times - use our handy When2Travel tool to help check the best times
- Take hand sanitiser and a face covering - see latest guidance for face coverings
- Wash or sanitise your hands before beginning your journey
On your journey
- Maintain 1m+ distance where possible
- Wear a face covering - see latest guidance for face coverings
- Use contactless payments, Freeflow or the app where possible
- If you require assistance, you should continue to request this as you normally would
- Be patient and please follow any instructions provided by our colleagues
Completing your journey
- Follow guidance at your destination
- Wash or sanitise your hands as soon as possible