Student applications open for new bus discount offer after BROOKESbus, BROOKESkey and Inclusive Travel Passes end

Applications for subsidised student CityZone passes for the 2025/26 academic year are now open.

Enrolled students who know their Oxford Brookes email address and wish to purchase the subsidised CityZone pass priced at £220 (plus a £10 admin fee) can do so by purchasing the Brookes CityZone Annual via the Oxford Bus Company website. Please note that the price will initially appear as the standard price of £700. After logging in or registering for an account using your Oxford Brookes student email address, the price will reduce to the subsidised £220 plus the £10 admin fee. 

If you believe you may be eligible for a larger discount due to your bursary status or address during the academic year, as set out in the next FAQ on this webpage, you will need to first fill in the dedicated Google Form which has been created.

Students must be enrolled to be able to fill in the Google Form and begin this application process. The form will collect details including the postcode where you will live during semesters and bursary status. On completion of the Google Form, applicants will receive an automated response by email which will confirm, based on the information submitted, the ticket price they are eligible for. 

This automated response should be received by the applicant within 30 minutes of the Google Form being submitted, and will then allow for a direct application with Oxford Bus Company. 

All subsidised annual CityZone passes will be valid for one year from point of activation.

On 22 May 2025, the University announced an end to the BROOKESbus service and BROOKESkey, including the Inclusive Travel Pass. 

As part of this, we are introducing new, discounted bus travel options for students and staff for the 2025/26 academic year. This will allow access to a wider range of Oxford Bus Company routes covering the majority of greater Oxford.

To replace the BROOKESkey, we will introduce the following subsidies to support those studying and working in Oxford at our Headington Campus* with bus travel requirements for the 2025/26 academic year. 

1. Free** CityZone annual passes for students who are in receipt of the Oxford Brookes Bursary in 2025-26 and who live more than one mile from Headington Campus*** during the academic year.
2. A subsidised annual CityZone pass costing £125** for students who are in receipt of the Oxford Brookes Bursary in 2025-26 and who live less than one mile from Headington Campus*** during the academic year.
3. A subsidised annual CityZone pass costing £125** available to any Oxford Brookes students living more than two miles from Headington Campus*** during the academic year.
4. A subsidised annual CityZone pass costing £220** available to any Oxford Brookes student (where the above eligibility criteria does not apply) or any Oxford Brookes member of staff.

Without the subsidies being offered by the University, a CityZone pass for the year would cost approximately £700. The subsidised annual CityZone pass will be valid for one year from point of activation.

The application process for students to purchase a subsidised CityZone pass from Oxford Bus Company is now open. Details on how to apply can be found in the previous FAQ on this webpage. 

* Headington Campus is made up of the Gipsy Lane, Headington Hill and Marston Road sites.

** Subject to an additional non-refundable £10 admin fee. Prices quoted are for a single year and may be subject to inflationary increases for any future years of study. 

*** The initial calculation of distance from Headington Campus will be based on an as the crow flies measurement - as demonstrated by a map available to view online - from the postcode of your semester-time address to the main entrance of the Clerici building on Gipsy Lane site. The University will measure this distance using a web-based tool when students fill out the Google Form which will be added to this webpage from September 2025. There may be instances where a straight line route might pass through a major obstruction. For example, the straight line between the hall of residences on Hollow Way and Headington Campus would be across a golf course. In instances such as this, the University will use the web-based tool to review safer walking routes to Gipsy Lane, and apply these longer distances to the calculation of the ticket price.

If you believe you may be eligible for a larger discount due to your bursary status or address during the academic year, after filling in the Google Form you will receive an email confirming the price of the subsidised CityZone pass you are eligible for and a direct link to purchase this on the Oxford Bus Company (OBC) website and app. OBC expects to be able to activate purchases made on their website within five working days.

Please note that if you purchase a Brookes CityZone Annual pass directly from the OBC website or app using your Brookes student email address, without first filling in the Google Form, you will be charged the standard student subsidised price of £220 plus the £10 admin fee.

The pass will be valid for 12 months for the point of activation.  

Oxford Bus Company has advised that it can take up to five days for your CityZone bus pass order to be processed. If you haven't already done so, please follow these these steps:

1. Download the Oxford Bus app

2. Create an account using your @brookes.ac.uk email address

3. Complete the verification process by clicking the verification email link sent to your @brookes.ac.uk email address

4. Once your order is complete (you will receive another email confirming this once it is done), go to "Mobile Tickets" in the app menu. Your pass will appear here.

If you have created an account in the Oxford Bus app using a personal email address, your application will not be processed. You will need to log out of this account on the app and create an account using your @brookes.ac.uk email address.

If you are a new undergraduate student starting your course from September 2025, you can find details online of our Oxford Brookes Bursary eligibility for new students webpage. If you are an existing undergraduate Oxford Brookes student continuing your course in September 2025, you can find details of our separate Oxford Brookes Bursary eligibility for continuing students webpage.

During Semester One of the 2025/26 academic year, the University will undertake a process to check that bursary status and postcode details for where you are living during semesters as part of applications are accurate. If information is found to be inaccurate and a more expensive Cityzone pass is required, the pass-holder will need to pay this difference in cost (either £95 or £220). 

Equally, if it is subsequently found that you are eligible for a greater discount than you had originally applied for, we will arrange for a refund to be given.

From September 2025, students will need to apply for their subsidised CityZone pass with their Oxford Brookes email address as this forms part of the approval process by Oxford Bus Company. Applications made with a non-Brookes email address will be automatically rejected. You will therefore need to be enrolled and know your student Brookes email address and semester-time address before you can apply for, and receive, your discounted CityZone pass.

The University will not provide free travel on buses or reimburse journeys made before the issuing of subsidised CityZone passes. We therefore recommend that students who wish to apply for a subsidised CityZone bus pass do so as soon as they are able to when the application process opens from September 2025.

Once purchased, you will be able to use your CityZone pass on your device via Oxford Bus Company’s (OBC) App. Information on the CityZone pass and the areas it covers can be found on the OBC website.

The University will keep the application process open until 28 February 2026 for any students wishing to purchase a subsidised CityZone pass for the 2025/26 academic year. The pass will be valid for 12 months from the point of activation.

Students previously eligible for an Inclusive Travel Pass on their BROOKESkey account were only able to travel for free on the 400 and 100 BROOKESbuses during the day. 

Any students using the CityZone pass will still be able to travel for free on the 400 and 100 services, but also on all Oxford Bus Company, Thames Travel and Pulhams services within the CityZone area. This area covers the majority of greater Oxford, to Kennington in the south, Cumnor to the west and Wheatley to the east, as well as Blackbird Leys, Wytham and Kidlington. 

The CityZone pass also covers night bus services and the expanded 4A / 4B service which will operate between Harcourt Hill and Oxford train station for 12 months from 31 August 2025.

Stagecoach services are not included. Further information is available on the CityZone page on the Oxford Bus Company website where you can view a map of the routes covered. 

Unfortunately, it is not possible for payments to be made in instalments. A single payment, including the £10 administration fee, will therefore be required when purchasing a discounted CityZone bus pass.

The University has not at this time taken a decision on whether the subsidised CityZone pass offer will be made available beyond the 2025/26 academic year. Once a decision is taken by the University, this will be communicated to staff and students with details added to this webpage.

Although the BROOKESbus service stopped operating from 1 July 2025, Oxford Bus Company’s (OBC) existing 400 and 100 buses, which operated as part of the BROOKESbus service, will continue to operate.

The section of the 400 bus route between Harcourt Hill and Oxford train station will be replaced with an expanded 4A / 4B service for 12 months from 31 August 2025, with further details available on the OBC website.

As a result of the changes announced by the University on 22 May 2025, no new BROOKESkey and Inclusive Travel Passes will be issued. 

Existing BROOKESkey and Inclusive Travel Passes due to expire at the end of August 2025 will remain valid to this point (or until their expiry date, if different).

The University believes that, due to falling usage, the money it currently invests in the BROOKESbus service could be used to better benefit more students

We will instead use this investment in a more targeted way to support those students who would benefit most from free or subsidised travel. This will also allow access to a wider range of Oxford Bus Company, Thames Travel and Pulhams routes for students and staff, covering the majority of greater Oxford.

We know that a large number of students were not using the BROOKESbus and this number will fall even more from September 2025 when all of our Oxford-based teaching will be based at our Headington Campus.

Nearly a quarter of our students (22.5%) did not use the existing subsidised travel provided by the service, while half of all recipients used the pass on 30 or fewer occasions between September 2024 and March 2025, which equates to approximately one round journey per week during semester time.

The BROOKESbus service cost the University £1.2m a year. It is important that we invest in services which benefit our student community as a whole better.

This is a particularly important consideration given the financial challenges currently being experienced within the higher education sector and our duty to ensure financial sustainability, both as a recipient of public funds and in compliance with our charitable obligations.

The University will be introducing an alternative subsidised travel offer for staff and students, as detailed in the information set out on this webpage.

The University will support students who are receiving bursary funding by providing free* or heavily subsidised CityZone bus passes, depending on how close they live to the Headington Campus.

The significantly subsidised new CityZone passes will be offered to all staff and students at the University, which will provide more comprehensive travel across Oxford for those who make frequent use of the bus. 

As a result of the BROOKESbus contract ending, no new BROOKESkey or Inclusive Travel Passes will be issued. Existing BROOKESkey and Inclusive Travel Passes due to expire at the end of August 2025 will remain valid to this point (or until their expiry date, if different).

* Subject to an annual £10 admin fee. Prices quoted are for a single year and may be subject to inflationary increases for any future years of study.

Oxford Bus Company (OBC) has confirmed that both the 400 and 100 bus services, which formed the BROOKESbus routes, will continue to operate beyond 1 July 2025.

The section of the 400 bus route between Harcourt Hill and Oxford train station will be replaced with an expanded 4A / 4B service for 12 months from 31 August 2025, with further details available on the OBC website.

Following student feedback and early-semester analysis of bus use, the University has been liaising closely with Oxford Bus Company to help improve local bus service capacity. In response to comments that the 100 and 700 bus services have been running at full capacity during morning peak travel times, the following enhancements are being delivered:

• Additional duplicate journeys have been introduced on the 100 bus service, starting from the Cowley Crescent Hall stop to Jack Straws Lane, at 8.00am and 8.45am. This is a temporary improvement to increase bus capacity during the busier morning commute and first came into effect from Monday 6 October 2025.
• From 9 November 2025, an enhanced 100 and 700 timetable will operate to provide a bus service every 10 minutes. Further details on these improvements to 100 and 700 timetables will be added to the OBC website in the coming weeks, and a direct link will be added to this FAQ once available.

Both of these improvements will particularly benefit residents at Crescent Hall, Paul Kent Hall and Parade Green travelling to Headington Campus, where overcrowding on bus services have been reported during peak morning periods. 

Like many UK universities, Oxford Brookes is experiencing increasing financial challenges due to a range of external factors, such as inflation, increases in staff pay, National Insurance and employer pension contributions and flat student fees for UK undergraduates over a number of years. Importantly, the University has a duty to ensure its financial sustainability both as a recipient of public funds and in compliance with its charitable status.

The University will be investing significantly into the new, alternative bus subsidies being provided to students for the 2025/26 academic year, with the remaining savings meaning we can continue to deliver an excellent experience for everyone who chooses to study at Oxford Brookes.

Any member of staff will be able to purchase an annual CityZone pass costing £220* for bus travel for the 2025/26 academic year. 

Without the subsidies being offered by the University, a CityZone pass for the year would cost approximately £700.

* Subject to an additional annual £10 admin fee. Prices quoted are for a single year and may be subject to inflationary increases for any future years of study.

Staff are now able to apply for their subsidised pass, listed as the Brookes CityZone Annual, via the Oxford Bus Company website. Please note that the price will initially appear as the standard price of £700. After logging in or registering for an account using your Oxford Brookes email address, the price will reduce to the subsidised £220 plus the £10 admin fee. The pass will be valid for 12 months for the point of activation.

Oxford Bus Company has advised that it can take up to five days for your CityZone bus pass order to be processed. If you haven't already done so, please follow these these steps:

1. Download the Oxford Bus app

2. Create an account using your @brookes.ac.uk email address

3. Complete the verification process by clicking the verification email link sent to your @brookes.ac.uk email address

4. Once your order is complete (you will receive another email confirming this once it is done), go to "Mobile Tickets" in the app menu. Your pass will appear here.

If you have created an account in the Oxford Bus app using a personal email address, your application will not be processed. You will need to log out of this account on the app and create an account using your @brookes.ac.uk email address.

Yes, a discount will still be provided. From 1 July 2025, this discount will allow travel for £1.80 by showing the driver your staff ID card.

In addition to the subsidised CityZone pass and the Brookes CityZone Single for £1.80 by showing the driver your Oxford Brookes Staff ID, Oxford Bus Company’s range of Oxford Brookes discounted multi-journey products available exclusively on the Oxford Bus app will be as follows:

• Brookes CityZone 12 Trip - £17.50
• Brookes CityZone & CountryZone 12 Trip - £30.00
• Brookes Heathrow Flexible Return - £29.00
• Brookes Gatwick Flexible Return - £35.00

Further information on these additional offers can be found on the Oxford Bus Company website. 

No, this benefit will no longer be available to purchase as the BROOKESbus service will no longer be operating. However, existing passes of this type will continue to be honoured until their expiry date.

Following the end of the BROOKESbus contract, and in accordance with all Oxford-based teaching being based at Headington Campus from the 2025/26 academic year, the intersite passes will no longer function. 

Yes, there will be an opportunity to advertise on bus screens, but this will no longer be a free service once the BROOKESbus contract expires. Further information can be found on the Oxford Bus Company (OBC) website and advertising can be booked directly with OBC by emailing marketing@oxfordbus.co.uk

The University is liaising with Oxford Bus Company to ensure we continue to provide free bus travel for visitors at future recruitment events. Further information will be provided on our Open Day webpages.