Oxford Parkway to Oxford

[James Wake]

Hi all,
What is the arrangement for tickets bring used between Oxford Parkway and Oxford, Oxford Bus Company are saying that rail tickets are not valid on their services. I was hoping to do a loop of Marylebone-Oxford Pky-Oxford-Reading on my All Line Rover next month. Has anyone done this or know anything?

 

[CyrusWuff]

Details can be found here on the Oxford Bus Company website.

Essentially it boils down to tickets for journeys that would normally require use of the line if it was being served by trains.

The examples of tickets they'll accept include:

• Oxford to/from Bicester Village (or Oxford to/from any Chiltern station other than Marylebone)
• Reading to/from Oxford Parkway (routed not via London)
• Aylesbury to/from Oxford (routed not via London)
• London to Islip (unless routed via High Wycombe)

And tickets they won't accept include:

• Tickets between London and Oxford (or London and Oxford Parkway)
• Tickets between London and Bicester Village (routed via High Wycombe or "Chiltern Only")
• Tickets between London and Kings Sutton/Banbury
• Tickets between London and Islip (routed via High Wycombe)

At present, fares between Oxford Parkway and Oxford are set at the same level as the bus fare (i.e. £1.80 Single or £2.80 Day Return) so they can be sold in the same transaction as a ticket to Oxford or Oxford Parkway, and Oxford PlusBus is also valid on the route (£4.00 Daily, £15 Weekly, £45 Monthly, £120 Quarterly and £390 Annually).

Consensus of opinion is that All Line Rovers (and BritRail/InterRail passes and such like) SHOULD be accepted, but they'd be far and few between, so it's entirely plausible that Drivers aren't aware and you may be better off just buying a ticket and seeking a refund through Customer Services (though whether it'd be OBC or Chiltern remains to be seen).

 

[James Wake]

Thank you CyrusWuff, very useful information. OBC on Facebook said they do not accept rail tickets at all. Just in case, I'll have £1.80 in my pocket.

 

[Mojo]

Consensus of opinion is that All Line Rovers (and BritRail/InterRail passes and such like) SHOULD be accepted, but they'd be far and few between, so it's entirely plausible that Drivers aren't aware and you may be better off just buying a ticket and seeking a refund through Customer Services (though whether it'd be OBC or Chiltern remains to be seen).

When I've used the bus, boarding at the railway station, it has been Chiltern Railways staff (or, possibly, agency staff in a Chiltern-branded hivi) checking railway tickets rather than the bus driver.

 

[Nicholas43]

When I've used the bus, boarding at the railway station, it has been Chiltern Railways staff (or, possibly, agency staff in a Chiltern-branded hivi) checking railway tickets rather than the bus driver.

In my experience, it's the OBC bus driver who checks at Water Eaton Wasteland.
The OP has a contract with the train companies to convey him on all rail services, including rail services such as Water Eaton <> Oxford which are currently replaced by buses (in this case, because of ill-planned and outrageously overrunning engineering work to restore the double track that took 3 months, or thereabouts, to install when the line was first doubled in 1860, or thereabouts).
If the bus driver has not been correctly briefed, I agree that the OP's best course is not to embark on a fruitless argument. He could pay, and reclaim from the relevant train company, Chiltern. Chiltern can in turn remind their subcontractor, OBC, and seek redress if similar issues persist.

 

[swt_passenger]

Thank you CyrusWuff, very useful information. OBC on Facebook said they do not accept rail tickets at all. Just in case, I'll have £1.80 in my pocket.

All that possibly shows is that Facebook and Twitter people who work for bus companies, just like for TOCs, are not revenue trained and are probably the last people you should be asking...