I'm 27, a freelance hack based in London, where I've lived all my life.
I'm 27, a freelance hack based in London, where I've lived all my life.
Member since:15.12.2000
Reviews:154
Members who trust:129
There is a very good joke in Yes Minister, the political satire series, where the minister wants to drive to Cambridge and cannot understand why there isn't a direct road. His civil servant, Humphrey, explains to him that the reason is the Department of Transport has for years been largely run by former students at Oxford, who saw no reason to build a road to Cambridge. A joke it may be, but it is certainly true that there is no direct road to Cambridge and it's a nightmare to drive to, Oxford has been blessed with a spanking new motorway that links it directly with London. And I am tempted to think that similar logic lies behind the establishment of this service.
I have no idea why the Oxford Tube exists. There's really no other service like it. The first thing to say is that it is nothing whatsoever to do with the London tube. It's not even a train. Basically it's a coach service that runs between Oxford and London. So far, so common place. The thing about the Tube is that it departs every fifteen minutes, costs just £8 return and - get this- is 24 hour, thereby trumping the standard National Express service from Victoria and the train by being cheaper and a better service.
The Oxford Tube starts from Victoria but can be caught from a series of stops through West London. To find it at Victoria, go the tube/train station, locate Campus travel which is just up from the london bus are, on your way up to the bus station. DO NOT go to the bus station, the Tube does not go from here - an understandable error that many make. Locate Campus travel, stand outside and you'll see to your right just down the street a small park-type area, and beside it a series of bus stops and generally (bit of a giveaway this) a large red bus with Oxford Tube in large letters on the front.
These days, I live in Earl's Court and generally collect it from Notting Hill - it's a bit difficult to locate the bus stops, but there's one just up from the tube station if you walk along Notting Hill Gate back towards Victoria. The buses are large, double decker and comfortable. They are also very clean, and have helpful drivers. You don't have to buy a ticket in advance, and indeed there's no need, you simply pay the driver (who can also sell you a return), park yourself in a large, comfy seat and about 1 hour and 40 minutes later, get off in the middle of Oxford. To return, you simply go to the bus terminal in Oxford, which is in the centre of town, and do exactly the same thing. Or, once again, you can pick it up en route - there's an especially useful stop just by St Edmund's Hall college just before Magdalene Bridge. Simple.
There's really not much more to say about this service, except to report that it's punctual, reliable and quite the best way to get to Oxford from London, especially the state the trains are in at the moment. I use it all the time as my sister and one of my best friends lives there, and I'm forever bombing up to see one or other of them. The Tube, I can report, has never let me down. I find the 24 hour aspect especially useful, as I really hate having to worry about last trains or buses. It is, as I said at the start, a strange but wonderful service, and comes highly recommended.
good review, but the Oxford tube is part of the oxford student experience and so i'm not sure it needs a review on ciao. also could do with a map.
aysegul 24.12.2004 01:53
went on this sometime last week you're right it's really comfy! erm a really random story coming up but it was weird , i was just sitting down upstairs on the bus thinking 'damn my phone battery's almost flat what am i going to do' (had to call home) and then just next to my foot a saw a power socket :S ...so i just plugged in my charger and wahey! i didn't realise buses had sockets..:S
errr just thought i'd share the joy with you lol x
melee679 08.02.2004 01:57
oh been back and forth on this soooo many times. it was dead handy for us as students cos it dropped us right outside queen's, and we just had to stumble back across the road and into our beds. that's what it exists for: students to spend drunken nights out in london... m Xx
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May 30th, 2001
very helpful by (88%):
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