right then, got an interview near Oxford next Friday (17th). They're not paying travel expenses (hiss!). I need to be at Yarnton by 2pm, so I reckon I need to be at Oxford at 1pm (to be on the safe side). Not quite sure how long it'll be- I'm guessing at leaving Oxford after 6pm
I have: 16-25 railcard
Oyster PAYG
Are there any splitting benifits to be had?
The journey from Cambridge to Oxford is not easy on rail.
The easiest and cheapest travelling option is the X5 Coach run by Stagecoach, this costs £10.50 return for an Adult, runs every 30 minutes and takes 3 hours 15 minutes.
For a quick comparison journey time wise, to arrive into Oxford for 1300, travelling by rail, you would be required to leave Cambridge at 0950 changing twice at KGX and PAD with an arrival time of 1248. By coach you would be required to leave at 0940 with no changes and an arrival time of 1255.
Verdict- the coach and rail are pretty equal journey time wise but the coach has the added advantage of requiring no change enroute
A quick comparison price wise, the cheapest walk up fare available by rail, for the travel times you require, would be the Off Peak Day Return (CDR) at £28.40 (16-25 Discounted), nearly three times the £10.50 price by coach.
Verdict- the coach wins hands down price wise and no amount of split ticketing is going to reduce the price to anywhere near the £10.50 coach fare.