Getting around Oxford? Bike, bus?

[ChilledOfMyne]

DS is thinking of applying to Oxford so we went for a visit a few days ago. If he was to go there he would be travelling regularly between his college (tbc), the maths department, the Iffley Rd Sports Centre and the Cutteslowe/Sunneymead area (north Oxford) where he has a friend/sport.

We covered the area on foot and (to north Ox) car. It doesn't look very cycle friendly - but maybe there are back roads? And presumably in term time there would be many more cyclists than we saw on our visit? I'm looking for some reassurance!

Also, are the buses subsidised for students? Are they regular enough to just turn up at a stop and hop on a bus within a few minutes?

If you avoid Banbury Road the city centre is pretty much all back roads and short cuts, and there are masses of bikes everywhere. Though I still have the impression that most undergraduates mostly walk. All the better if your route takes in the university parks.

You may have to find out about individual colleges but the one I know best operates a bus that runs very regularly around the main university areas. Free to all members of college. (I'm now wondering how things worked with social distancing.)

There are endless city buses stopping for about a week at each stop and making slow progress through the perma-traffic-jam. Fine for a leisurely trip up the road to Headington, (or a twice daily commute), no good at all if you're late for a lecture or coffee with an equally busy friend. Really it's a place where you always need to factor in possible long delays unless you're on foot or two wheels.

Thanks Edmontyne. What you say about the buses may explain why, when I checked on Google maps, the cycling route from one end of Oxford to the other took 20 mins whereas the bus route took 40.

I've lived in Oxford for 30 years and cycled to work in the city every day. There are tonnes of cyclists and reasonably good cycle lanes on both the Banbury and the Iffley Roads. It depends which college your ds ends up at - but both Magdalen and St Hilda's, for example, are within very easy walking distance of the Iffley Road sports centre.

@Edmontine is right about the buses - there are loads available going in and out of the city centre on the main arteries (Headington/London Rd, Cowley Rd, Iffley Rd, Abingdon Rd, Banbury Rd) but because the centre of Oxford is very often gridlocked, it's likely to be quicker to walk or cycle.

My D (just finished her 1st year) walks everywhere. She doesn't have a bike, although many, many people do. There are buses, but the traffic is awful, so it's not a fast option. Of course, this last year has not been typical as so much has been on zoom rather than f2f.

I’d say a sporty person definitely needs a bike! The bus might be good for Cutteslowe but the buses mainly go in and out, not much goes through the centre and if they do they go slowwwwwly. In term time the number of cyclists increases a lot and that does make it feel safer.

DD cycles everywhere and has done for three years. It is really useful for getting to squad training venues and saves so much time. Even as a fresher living in a central college, DD cycled to the Natural History Museum for 9am lectures because it was quicker than walking. She has lived on Abingdon Road for two years and used back routes to get to lab, libraries, Iffley Road, tutes etc. She will be on Banbury Road next year and fully intends to use her bike. Apparently she once took a bus to get to the Krebs Lab but that was heading out of town. She does have friends though who dislike cycling in Oxford and walk everywhere.

Cycle definitely.

I had the same route: Iffley Road sports' ground, maths department and college. I didn't use a bike in the first year, but walked. The next year I got a bike because I was living down Iffley road and then I used it in my third year when I was back in college.
Some of the college sports' grounds are way out so it's helpful to have a bike for those.

I don't think I used a bus until I was a graduate and going up to the John Radcliffe.

Def cycle

Definitely cycle. My son and his friends have all always cycled around the city since they went to secondary school and never get buses.