The Oxford Guide - Differences between Version 12 and Version 11 of Oxford Tube

Version 12	Version 11
== Line 0 ==	== Line 0 ==
This wonderful coach service takes you to London cheaply, quickly, and (for a coach) comfortably. And it runs ridiculously frequently; every 12 minutes during the day, and right through the night at reduced frequencies. For those trying to catch the bus in London, the Victoria stop is really at Grosvenor Gardens - this has caused a little confusion. Note also that the coach does not start at Grosvenor Gardens; it starts (and is held until departure time for early boarding) outside the Green Line coach station.	This wonderful coach service takes you to London cheaply, quickly, and (for a coach) comfortably. And it runs ridiculously frequently; every 12 minutes during the day, and right through the night at reduced frequencies. For those trying to catch the bus in London, the Victoria stop is really at Grosvenor gardens - this has caused a little confusion.
== Line 4 ==	== Line 4 ==
The service is currently (August 2009) transitioning from older to new rolling stock, the older vehicles having covered on the order of a million kilometres in service. The older (Neoplan) coaches have a single staircase and the best seats are found on the upper deck to the rear of this staircase on the kerb-side of the vehicle. The two middle pairs of seats have more legroom than other seats on the bus, though some prefer the downstairs table seats or the very front upper deck seats for reasons of table-space or view whilst en-route.	Perhaps the main advantage of the Oxford Tube over the Oxford Express is that it offers wireless internet access. Kami, who is a regular traveller on the service, says that it does have a patch around Lewknor where the signal drops for around 20 minutes; also, during 2008 the reliability of the wireless connection and the internet connectivity has been poor - on bad weeks, every other journey lacks the ability to get a link to the outside world.
== Line 6 ==	== Line 6 ==
On the new (Van Hool) coaches, the optimum seats in terms of legroom are the rear kerb-side seats downstairs, which are fitted in the wheelchair space. These have both more legroom and a longer spacing between seats, resulting in a far more comfortable journey. Being set down at floor level they feel far less cramped than any other seats on the vehicle, but the proximity of the toilet may be a negative point worth considering if you are particularly sensitive to the odd smell or two. All other seats on the bus have very restricted recline capability and the overhead console feels low.	There is also power available for your laptop, but again Kami says that during 2008 this has been increasingly unreliable, as with the network connection on bad weeks it's even odds whether the power works on a given journey. Sometimes the driver can turn the power on if it isn't working; generally it needs depot attention to the alternator.
== Line 8 ==	== Line 8 ==
Cyclists should also note that on the Van Hool coaches the luggage space has a far more slippery covering and Brompton-riding passengers in particular should take care to make sure their bicycle will not spend the journey careering around the luggage area if possible.	Its town stops are:
== Line 10 ==
The service's town stops are:
== Line 19 ==	== Line 16 ==
For cyclists, when traffic is very congested it can be very worthwhile cycling to Shepherds Bush as you will most likely beat the coach to the stop and gain fifteen minutes or even half an hour versus being stuck in traffic. Similarly, when the traffic is heavy coming into London, get off at Shepherds Bush and cycle rather than waiting for the (slow!) traffic.	Well-regarded seats include he two front pairs upstairs (excellent views and good legroom), and seats on the stair side between the stairs and the back of the bus - the two middle pairs have lots more leg room. The pairs just in front of the stairs upstairs and just in front of the big side door downstairs are good in that they have no problems reclining as nobody can object behind you, though the downstairs ones can get bad transmission noise on some coaches. The seats in front of the toilet can be both noisy from transmission noise and sometimes smelly from the toilet. Families tend to use the front seats upstairs so those who prefer to keep a distance from loud children may prefer the centre of the coach. Note that whilst the two front seats downstairs have good views of the road and can lead to interesting chats with the driver, they have limited legroom, no power point, poor side visibility, and not terribly effective ventilation from side air vents.
== Line 24 ==	== Line 21 ==
formatted_website_text='http://www.oxfordtub...' host='212.183.134.209'	formatted_website_text='http://www.oxfordtube.com/ ' host='88.97.163.251'

This wonderful coach service takes you to London cheaply, quickly, and (for a coach) comfortably. And it runs ridiculously frequently; every 12 minutes during the day, and right through the night at reduced frequencies. For those trying to catch the bus in London, the Victoria stop is really at Grosvenor gardens - this has caused a little confusion.

This service is Stagecoach Oxford's rival to the Oxford Bus Company's Oxford Express; the two services are fairly similar but tickets are not usually transferrable between the two.

Perhaps the main advantage of the Oxford Tube over the Oxford Express is that it offers wireless internet access. Kami, who is a regular traveller on the service, says that it does have a patch around Lewknor where the signal drops for around 20 minutes; also, during 2008 the reliability of the wireless connection and the internet connectivity has been poor - on bad weeks, every other journey lacks the ability to get a link to the outside world.

There is also power available for your laptop, but again Kami says that during 2008 this has been increasingly unreliable, as with the network connection on bad weeks it's even odds whether the power works on a given journey. Sometimes the driver can turn the power on if it isn't working; generally it needs depot attention to the alternator.

Its town stops are:

If you plan to catch an evening coach back to Oxford at a busy time (there often seem to be busy spells around 7pm from commuters and around 10-11pm from the post-show crowd) it can be worthwhile catching the coach from the Grosvenor Gardens stop as opposed to Notting Hill Gate or later as this much improves your chances of getting a seat (it's a seats-only service, no standing) over Notting Hill Gate or Shepherds Bush.

Well-regarded seats include he two front pairs upstairs (excellent views and good legroom), and seats on the stair side between the stairs and the back of the bus - the two middle pairs have lots more leg room. The pairs just in front of the stairs upstairs and just in front of the big side door downstairs are good in that they have no problems reclining as nobody can object behind you, though the downstairs ones can get bad transmission noise on some coaches. The seats in front of the toilet can be both noisy from transmission noise and sometimes smelly from the toilet. Families tend to use the front seats upstairs so those who prefer to keep a distance from loud children may prefer the centre of the coach. Note that whilst the two front seats downstairs have good views of the road and can lead to interesting chats with the driver, they have limited legroom, no power point, poor side visibility, and not terribly effective ventilation from side air vents.

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