Oxford Park and Ride - how to use

Mon 8 Apr, 11:06

Many thanks Christine. You are a fount of knowledge. No busdriver scanned our ticket. 

Mon 8 Apr, 09:11

Hans, on stop-offs on the P&R services: the parking + bus ticket for 2 people that you bought is only valid for a single return journey into the City Centre on buses 2 and 2A. If going to the hospitals by bus 700 from the P&R, it is necessary to buy the bus ticket (max. £2 pp each way) on the bus rather on the app or machines.

I standardly stop off in Summertown, including to change between the 2/2A buses and the 700, but I have a bus pass and therefore don't need to think about the regulations. 

If the bus driver scanned your paper tickets when you got on the bus, they will know where you got on and off. If they didn't scan your tickets they won't know! 

Sun 7 Apr, 22:19

Thanks for sharing the picture Hans. This year the muntjac have grazed all the fritillaries that usually put on an increasingly good show in our garden at Lower Watts House, so I shall pop in to Oxford to remind myself what we are missing.

Sun 7 Apr, 20:19

It went well, we had a great day in Oxford. The fritillaries in the water meadow along Addison's walk were magnificent. 

Does anybody know if you can hop on hop off on the way back to Oxford parkway. We are partial to the Daunt's bookshop in Summertown. I asked the busdriver but his response was curt - NO. But how would the driver check? All we had was a tiny ticket from the ticket machine at the car park?

Sat 6 Apr, 17:28

We parked in the Park and Ride and paid at the station, got a fine! Appealed and eventually won the appeal. We thought "pay at Terminus" meant we could pay at the station terminus not the bus terminus! Lesson don't go through the gaps in the hedge to cut the walk to station!!

Sat 6 Apr, 17:26

Frank; the APCOA pre-booking site for Oxford Parkway Railway station is not just for season tickets. See here: https://prebook.apcoa.co.uk/carpark/location/oxford-parkway-station/3497 The parking code for the OXP station car park is 3497.

But good to know that RingGo also works. 

I prefer to use the machines as then there is less possibility of using the wrong car park code. The important thing is that the parking areas and parking tickets are not interchangeable. The parking code for the P&R carpark is 3925 or P&R plus bus is 392500 (only available through the RingGo App)

Sat 6 Apr, 16:47

Many thanks Christine, very clear. We take the train from there when we go to London som we are aware of the two different car parks, but we hadn't used the park&ride before preferring to park in Oxford. But that is now very expensive! £ 5 for two parking and bus is actually quite cheap I think. We're going to the Magdalen College NGS open day tomorrow - should be good. 

Sat 6 Apr, 16:42

Sorry to add more confusion, but yes, Apcoa does apply at Oxford Parkway, but Chiltern’s own site: https://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/parking says this is for season ticket holders, and that Ringo is also accepted for non season ticket holders. I know for sure that Ringo does apply as I use it a lot. The staff in the station are very helpful, and will come and use the machines for you. On a different note, there are supposedly about 40 different parking apps in use in various UK car parks and surely it should be possible for train companies, local authorities etc to agree on just one. 

Sat 6 Apr, 16:09

You need to be aware that there are two separate car parks operating very close to each other at Oxford Parkway.

The car park closest to the train station is managed by APCOA Parking on behalf of Chiltern Railways. 

The other car park is the one you need. It is the one near the Water Eaton building, where the toilets and seats are located (but building closed on a Sunday), rather than the machines near Oxford Parkway Railway Station. The basic costs for the parking tickets for the Oxford Parkway Railway Parking and the Oxford Parkway Park and Ride cost the same, but are not interchangeable. It's possible to park for many more days in the Railway Car Park than in the P&R car park.

Parking in the wrong car park and and using the wrong set of machines can lead to a hefty parking fine.

A map and payment instructions for the Park and Ride here: https://www.oxford.gov.uk/directory-record/96/oxford-parkway-park-and-ride. Check signage in the car park you have parked in to confirm who is responsible for the car park and the payment options.

I always use the machines and a credit card, rather than the RingGo app or phone number. You must always enter your full vehicle registration number when buying a ticket. There's no need to return back to the car to display the ticket on the car as it's all recorded automatically.

If using the machines, the machine gives you the option of parking only (obviously best for those with bus passes) or parking + bus.  If you prefer, you can pay for the bus part of the journey on the bus (single or return).

Sat 6 Apr, 15:41

Many thanks

Sat 6 Apr, 13:32

When you choose the location there will be two for Oxford Parkway, parking only and park+bus, different location numbers. Choose the park+bus then proceed to set car reg number and make payment. When you get the the bus itself click on the session and it shows the full details which as Jonathan says, is the information the driver will want to see.

Sat 6 Apr, 11:43

You just show the RingGo app when boarding, I’ve done it a few times and they just wave you on.

Sat 6 Apr, 11:38

We're planning to use the Oxford Park and Ride at Oxford parkway, and I can see one can use the Ringgo app for parking and bus. How does the busdriver know you've paid? (Apologies if this seems a stupid question, we don't get out often enough)