Airport Coach Service from Heathrow to Oxford

Awful service. Avoid at all costs - get a train/taxi or just drive. It’s much more pleasant and less abusive

Shocking customer service. The driver swore at me, behaved aggressively and left me feeling intimidated in front of other passengers. Despite admitting the driver’s behaviour was unacceptable, the company failed to take meaningful responsibility. A terrible advert to anyone who has just arrived in UK and anyone visiting Oxford. Coming from a frequent traveller, my advice is to drive, get the train or get a taxi. It will be much nicer than travelling on these coaches. I have only ever experienced bad service but this last time was a step (or leap) too far. I did raise a complaint but, despite them admitting that CCTV had found the driver was guilty, they feel I should still be grateful that my journey was completed (despite me being verbally abused both when boarding and leaving the service).

Response from the operator: Dear Glynn, thank you for your review. Following your email complaint, we conducted a full investigation using the available CCTV footage. Whilst the footage confirmed that the driver raised his voice towards another passenger, which falls below the standards we expect from our employees, it did not provide evidence to substantiate your allegation that the driver swore at you directly. The interaction you referred to took place outside the coach, where no audio recording was available. As a result, we were unable to verify this aspect of the complaint. As with any investigation, disciplinary action can only be considered where there is evidence to support the allegation being made. Whilst we fully acknowledged and addressed the element of the complaint that was evidenced by the CCTV footage, we could not progress the allegation of swearing towards you because there was insufficient evidence available to substantiate it. Contrary to your suggestion, we did not refuse to accept responsibility. In fact, we advised you that the upheld element of the complaint would be addressed through our internal disciplinary procedures in accordance with company policy. However, we did decline your request for a full refund as the journey was provided and completed in full, which is consistent with our published refund policy. We appreciate that you disagree with our conclusions and regret that this has affected your confidence in our services. Nevertheless, our investigation was conducted thoroughly and objectively, and the appropriate action was taken based on the evidence available. We wish you all the best with your future travels.

via Tripadvisor

Bus should please stop at various Oxford stops coming in from Airport

I have long been travelling on the Airline, since 2008. As residents we are familiar with stops. However, this time on my way from Heathrow on 12 July, I missed my stop (Headington shops). I didn't mind much even though I had a heavy luggage as my wife picked me up from the next stop (Oxford Brookes). But I can imagine how stressful this can be for tourists and first time visitors to our beautiful city. There is no need to delve into details on how and why I missed the stop. But here is my suggestion: Please ask drivers to stop briefly at all stops when coming INTO Oxford, orally asking passengers by intercom. Some may not know to press the stop button, or miss pressing it due to long haul flights that numb a person's reflexes. Not being familiar with the city and particularly if a person has luggage, missing a stop can be rather stressful. My recommendation is to remind Airline drivers not assume that everyone on board is familiar with the norms and context of Oxford, but to be patient in helping visitors of different languages from around the world to drop off at the right location in beautiful Oxford.

Response from the operator: Thank you for taking the time to share your suggestion. I am sorry to learn that you missed your stop on your journey from Heathrow, although I am glad that you were still able to complete your journey without too much inconvenience. Our Airline service operates to a timetable and serves a number of stops along its route. Requiring drivers to stop at every location and verbally check whether passengers wish to disembark would inevitably increase journey times for all customers. For this reason, we rely on passengers requesting their stop by pressing the stop button when they wish to leave the coach. To assist passengers, an announcement is made at the beginning of the journey advising customers to use the stop button located above their seat. In addition, stop requests are displayed to the driver when the button is pressed, allowing them to stop safely at the next requested location. We do, however, recognise that some passengers may be unfamiliar with the service, travelling after a long flight, or visiting Oxford for the first time. Your comments are therefore appreciated and will be shared with the appropriate team as part of our ongoing review of the customer experience. Thank you again for taking the time to contact us and share your thoughts. Feedback and suggestions from our customers help us to continually improve our services, and we value your continued support of the Airline service.

via Tripadvisor

Very unreliable. They should stop operating Gatwick and Oxford together.

I booked the 20:10 bus from Heathrow 5 to Oxford. The first bus arrived and disappeared because it was late. The second bus arrived at 20:50 (it's meant to be a 30min frequency) and had room only for 4 passengers while about 12-15 people were waiting. The service has become too unpredictable and despite numerous complaints, the company insists on operating Gatwick and Heathrow on the same bus. I don't think I will use again. For more than one person it maybe worth considering a taxi service. For 3 people, it's definitely worth it.

Response from the operator: Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback. I am very sorry to learn of your experience when travelling from Heathrow to Oxford. Your comments regarding the service frequency, capacity issues and the operation of the combined Heathrow/Gatwick route have been noted and will be passed to the relevant management team for review. Customer feedback plays an important role in helping us identify areas where improvements may be required. Thank you again for bringing this matter to our attention. Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience and disappointment caused.

via Tripadvisor

Heathrow to Oxfotd poor service

Service from Oxford to airports has always been fine. However service from Heathrow to Oxford terrible. No point in having a bus time table. So far2 buses should hqbe turned up and still waiting. Been 4 coming from Oxford. No issues with trqffic

Response from the operator: Good afternoon and thank you for your feedback. I am sorry to hear about the difficulties you experienced whilst travelling from Heathrow to Oxford. In order for us to investigate what happened, could you please email the full details of your journey to info@oxfordbus.co.uk, including the date/time of travel, location where you were waiting to board and how long you waited for a coach? Once we have this information, we will be able to review the tracking data and investigate the services concerned. We appreciate you taking the time to bring this to our attention and look forward to hearing from you.

via Tripadvisor

Viator ticket issue

The coach was a great way to get from Heathrow to Oxford, it was comfortable and ran perfectly to time. I would recommend booking directly with the operator though as the QR code tickets from Viator didn't scan properly and we were left in an awkward position when none of the info showed tickets actually booked with them, only a photo of their coach. Luckily the driver let us on anyway which we were very grateful for.

via Viator