Oxford Bus Company announces festive timetables and Christmas Day airline service

Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel will be operating special timetables across its bus and coach network during the festive period from Christmas Eve through to 2nd January.

A number of bus services will run to adjusted timetables on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, with some routes finishing earlier than usual. No local bus services will operate on Christmas Day.

The airline coach service will operate a festive service, including a special timetable between Oxford and Heathrow Airport on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. On both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, the last departure for the airline service towards Heathrow and Gatwick will be at 6:30pm from Oxford, arriving at Heathrow at 8:00pm and Gatwick at 9:20pm. The final return to Oxford will leave Gatwick at 8:20pm and Heathrow at 9:25pm.

On Saturday 27th December, a normal daily service will operate with a late start. The first coach will depart Oxford at 2:15am, while the first return coach will leave Gatwick at 6:55am and Heathrow at 4:50am. Between 28th and 30th December, a normal daily service will resume. On 2nd January, the timetable will again operate with a late start, before all services return to normal school holiday timetables on 3rd January.

The Gloucester Green Travel Shop and High Street Visitor Information Point in Oxford will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

Luke Marion, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company, said: “We’re providing a strong level of service to our customers to ensure we match supply to demand on key services.

“Our airline Christmas Day service is an important service for our customers and that’s why we’ll be operating it again this year.

“We’ve devised a combination of timetables across our bus network designed to ensure we continue to provide a first-class service to passengers during this period.

“We are providing a good level of service throughout for those who want to travel locally and to the airports. With several changes to our normal timetables, we advise people to check the website or app for full details to plan their journeys.

“I’d like to wish all of our customers a happy and healthy Christmas and New Year and thank our hard-working drivers and colleagues keeping people on the move during the festive season.”

With various changes to regular timetables, passengers are advised to plan their journeys in advance by checking online or via the travel app. Full festive timetables, including for the airline service, are available at: www.oxfordbus.co.uk/festive2025