OXFORD Bus Company has announced that fares will be lowered dramatically on its X90 service to London, following 'extensive market research'.

However, the timetable will be changed and fewer services will run.

The company said the change was not due to a drop in passenger numbers, but follows feedback from customers and increasingly easy and cheap alternative options to travel to the capital.

From Sunday, single adult fares on the 'luxury' X90 service will be reduced from £15 to £8, with a return journey dropping from £20 to £14.

A young person or senior return will fall from £15 to £12 and a child's return will be reduced from £10 to £7.

An adult return ticket on the Oxford Tube currently costs £19. Trains from Oxford Parkway and Oxford now serve London Paddington and London Marylebone and can cost around £27 one way, but are considerably cheaper if booked in advance. 

Oxford Tube has said outside of the Christmas offer there are no immediate plans to change its fares in the long term.

All X90 return tickets will now be valid for three months from the date of issue.

A new timetable, fare structure and website booking system - with a seat booking option - is also being implemented, with journey frequency falling from every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes. 

Prices will remain the same for period passes, multi-trip tickets and Hillingdon fares. 

Phil Southall, Oxford Bus Company Managing Director, said: “We conducted extensive market research and held focus groups on the X90 service and overall public transport provision between Oxford and London.

"What we discovered was the landscape has changed and there are multiple options for passengers now on this corridor. We have listened to customer feedback and reduced our prices to ensure we are competitive in the public transport market on this route.

"Adjusting the frequency of our X90 service has enabled us to offer better value fares.”

The managing director of Stagecoach Oxfordshire - who run Oxford Tube - Chris Coleman, said: "Oxford Tube continues to provide a quality, high frequency express coach service between Oxford and London 24 hours a day - without the need to pre-book. 

"I am delighted to confirm our new Christmas promotion, running from this Sunday (28 October) until Sunday January 13, 2019, which provides even greater value tickets for our customers in the run up to Christmas and New Year."