I need help...! Oxford to Old Street commute.

[SimonJenkins27]

Hi guys -

I was wondering if you could possibly help me. I'm just about to move to near Oxford where I plan to commute into London (Paddington I think is the best station) and get the tube to work...

I'm being quoted just over £5,000 for a season ticket inc. tube per year.

I just wondered if there are any 'tricks' or 'tips' on how to reduce this price. It's a long shot I know, but I thought its worth asking.

Thanks in advance!

 

[maniacmartin]

Whereabouts in London do you work?

I presume you work normal office hours, Monday to Friday and want to commute from Oxford station?

 

[SimonJenkins27]

Whereabouts in London do you work?

I presume you work normal office hours, Monday to Friday and want to commute from Oxford station?

Hi -

It's actually east London (Old Street) that I'll be looking to work due to my industry. Yes, Mon-Fri office hours are 9.30-18.00 (if that makes a difference)...

And yes, it will be Oxford Station

Thank you!

 

[johnnycache]

One thing to bear in mind is that Chiltern will be introducing an alternative service from Oxford to Marylebone calling at Oxford station and a new one called Water Eaton Parkway from 2016

this is likely to be aggressively priced!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-22567792

 

[Shimbleshanks]

You could consider using the two very frequent coach services between Oxford and London. Unless the traffic's really bad, it's not all that much slower than the train and much more frequent and, I think, one of the services runs all night.

 

[cuccir]

You could consider using the two very frequent coach services between Oxford and London. Unless the traffic's really bad, it's not all that much slower than the train and much more frequent and, I think, one of the services runs all night.

That's the Oxford Tube or the X90, both of which cost £1130 a year and advertise a time of 1 hour 40 to get to West London (Shepherd's Bush/Marble Arch). You'd then need to get to Old Street: either £4.40 a day (£1056 if you work 48 weeks a year, 5 days a week) or £1,256 a year for a Zone 1 Travelcard.

 

[nicobobinus]

That's the Oxford Tube or the X90, both of which cost £1130 a year and advertise a time of 1 hour 40 to get to West London (Shepherd's Bush/Marble Arch). You'd then need to get to Old Street: either £4.40 a day (£1056 if you work 48 weeks a year, 5 days a week) or £1,256 a year for a Zone 1 Travelcard.

The coach into London at peak hours is at least 45 minutes slower than the fast train, even if things go to plan with the roads - it is 100 minutes in 'normal traffic' but it does tend to be a bit of a crawl through West London at rush hour. You'll be looking at a commute of perhaps two and a half hours door to door. But for a saving of £3k a year it's well worth consideration.

Of course, if you have the legs for it and wanted to get the cost down even further, you could use a boris bike from Marble Arch to Old Street - would take no more than 25 minutes, i.e. within the 'free' 30 minute use window, annual membership £90. So, 2h15-ish, £1220/annum.

 

[sonic2009]

Do the coaches stop at Hillingdon in the peak?

Possibly get off there and use tube rest of the way?

 

[LexyBoy]

The coach can be painfully slow (I used it for a few months, contra-peak) but is very well priced and has WiFi which may allow you to do some work on the way home rather than staying longer in the office. You'll also get a seat which is far from guaranteed on the train (you'd be OK in the morning though). I recommend the X90 over the Tube but it's much of a muchness.

You say you're moving to "near Oxford". Getting to Oxford station can be a slow journey so I would be careful not to commit to an unsustainable commute. The coaches serve Headington and Thornhill P&R which are more convenient from east of Oxford.

I'm not aware of a way to reduce the price of the rail season ticket I'm afraid. If you're driving, consider Haddenham & Thame Parkway - annual season to Z1-6 is £3752.

 

[bangor-toad]

You say you're moving to "near Oxford". Getting to Oxford station can be a slow journey so I would be careful not to commit to an unsustainable commute. The coaches serve Headington and Thornhill P&R which are more convenient from east of Oxford.

Hi there,
I can't agree more with this comment. I used to live just to the west of Oxford and getting into Oxford itself by car was awful. (As a general point, cars & Oxford really don't mix well...)

Unless you are going to live within walking distance of Oxford station then you'll almost certainly find it easier to drive to another station. Depending on where you are you might find the total trip quicker using Bicester North, Haddenham or even Charlbury.

If you're on the east side and can easily get to Thornhill Park & Ride, then the option of the bus/coach as far as Hillingdon where you connect to the tube can work. However, this probably isn't going to be fast enough to avoid driving you mad in the longer term...

Good luck,
Jason

 

[SimonJenkins27]

Thanks so much for all your comments. At the moment, we're looking to move to Woodstock - so around 9miles from Oxford station.

Hmmm... decisions decisions!

I think coach might be out of the question as several people have said how unreliable it can be due to traffic!

 

[bangor-toad]

Thanks so much for all your comments. At the moment, we're looking to move to Woodstock - so around 9miles from Oxford station.

Hi,
I used to live in Begbroke, just down the road from Woodstock. Getting into Oxford was nightmare. When I needed to go to London I would generally go to Bicester North. It's a few miles further but when you accounted for traffic it was a far quicker drive.
It's pretty much the same price as Oxford but I found the Chiltern services were nicer than the FGW ones.

There's also Hanborough or Tackley to consider but these don't get a very good service and you would be dependant on a much smaller number of trains.

If you want the flexibility of being able to use either Oxford or Bicester on the same ticket then you'd need to consider a more expensive on from Kings Sutton at £6k per year.

Edit:
From the area you're looking at, forget about the coach. To get to it you'd either need to get to the city centre where's there's no parking or round to the park and ride on the east of Oxford. Lots of parking but that part alone can take an hour from Woodstock / Begbroke on a bad day.

Which ever route you choose it's going to be long commute.
Good luck,
Jason

 

[mikeg]

Surely then Hanborough would be a better station, as there are services through to Paddington from there.

Edit: Beaten to it with better more locally informed advice. That said Hanborough would have the added advantage of being able to nip into Oxford by train from there on the weekends and avoid the traffic then too without too much extra expense compared to a Kings Sutton ticket.

 

[LexyBoy]

I think coach might be out of the question as several people have said how unreliable it can be due to traffic!

You could try using the coach for a week (drive to Thornbridge P&R) or a month and see how you get on. Sure, there can be hold-ups, but equally the line between Paddington and Reading is notorious for signalling problems (hopefully to be fixed in a few years).

By train, Hanborough or Bicester North would be the best options - choose between short drive and limited trains, or longer drive and a cheaper, more frequent service. For Oxford I'd expect the S3 bus to be cheaper and quicker than driving.

(BTW, for the coach, taking the Tube from Hillingdon might be quicker in rush hour, but would lose the cost advantage as a Z1-6 TC is £2288 and I think Oxford-Hillingdon on the bus isn't much cheaper than Oxford-London.)

 

[Tetchytyke]

If you were going to get the coach, you'd be better served with the X90 and bail out at Baker Street. To Old Street you'd just hop on the 205 at a cost of £1.45 each way.

 

[Gathursty]

Princes Risborough and Saunderton lie roughly inbetween Oxford and London. The disadvantage is travelling half-way to London but I'd imagine it would be a bit cheaper than other options discussed here, even including the cost of fuel and/or parking charges.

 

[PermitToTravel]

Of course, if you have the legs for it and wanted to get the cost down even further, you could use a boris bike from Marble Arch to Old Street - would take no more than 25 minutes, i.e. within the 'free' 30 minute use window, annual membership £90. So, 2h15-ish, £1220/annum.

You would be extremely hard pressed to do that journey in under 30 minutes on a boris bike.

 

[bb21]

If you want the flexibility of being able to use either Oxford or Bicester on the same ticket then you'd need to consider a more expensive on from Kings Sutton at £6k per year.

What is wrong with a ticket from Islip?

 

[maniacmartin]

What is wrong with a ticket from Islip?

Negative easements - there's a slew of them that mention Bicester in an attempt to stop you walking between the Bicester stations. Here is one:

700301 Customers travelling from London Marylebone to Bicester Town, Islip or Oxford in possession
of tickets routed "Any Permitted" may not travel via Bicester North. This easement applies in
both directions

 

[bb21]

Not applicable to shortest routes.

The author of this easement clearly did not understand how the NRG works.