The Great Oxford Bus Fiasco

[MK Tom]

I've managed to get into a bit of a pickle with the two main bus operators in Oxford - I commute on certain days from Milton Keynes to Oxford Brookes University and wanted to do the journey all on one ticket. I asked Stagecoach Oxfordshire and they told me that a Stagecoach East Dayrider Gold would cover the entire journey and would be accepted on ALL Stagecoach and Oxford Bus Company services in the Oxford city area. However, OBC drivers have blankly refused to accept the tickets. I contacted OBC and they informed me the ticket was not valid on any OBC services.

Naturally I've forwarded that message back to Stagecoach so we'll see what happens there. Can anyone on here tell me which company is in the wrong and if there is a through-ticketing solution I can use? Preferably with a student discount which I can get on the East Dayrider Gold.

Am I right in thinking that the 'pact' OBC, SC and Thames Travel reached a year or two back didn't include Arriva and that the 280 is not part of the Smart Zone?

Also, at the other end, is the EDG valid on Stagecoach Midlands services WITHIN Milton Keynes? I was thinking of using the 89 to get back to my estate.

 

[W-on-Sea]

Not 100% certain (my experience is with period Megariders in Oxfordshire: some of the conditions of day tickets may be slightly different; also some conditions have changed recently). But it sounds to me as though it was Stagecoach that misled you,

First, easy bit.
Arriva are indeed not part of the smart-zone ticketing - it does only apply to OBC, Stagecoach and Thame Travel.

Second, more complicated.
Some Stagecoach passes ARE valid on OBC & TT in the Smartzone - - - but not all. The Stagecoach Oxfordshire Megarider Gold (which isn't valid on the X5 east of Banbury) is available in two versions: one including the Smart Zone, and one not. I'm not sure what the situation with Stagecoach East Dayriders is - but unless the ticket explictly states that it is valid on OBC and TT in the Smartzone, it almost certainly won't be.

I suspect your best best would be to get a Key card from OBC and load it up with 12 smartzone journeys (for £19), and use that for your journey between Oxford and Brookes.