National Express Bus 737 from Oxford to London Stansted Airport

National Express Route 737 is an intercity bus service operating between Oxford Gloucester Green Bus Station and London Stansted Airport via London Luton Airport. Despite the pricey ticket fare at £22, my flight to Rome was in the morning, so taking the direct overnight intercity bus would get me a seat to be in for the night instead of the streets of London, and take the hassle out of rushing between the last train of the previous night and first train of the day in order to get to London Stansted Airport on time for my morning flight, for potentially the same price anyway.

Oxford Gloucester Green Bus Station

Gloucester Green Bus Station is the main intercity bus station in Oxford city centre.

National Express buses depart from Bays 10 and 11, according to their logo on the signs.

At 12.30am, 10 minutes before departure, an off-service National Express coach arrived at the bus bay.

National Express Bus 737

The door opened and the driver came out to check for tickets to Luton and Stansted airports. Luggage is handed over to the driver who will store it in the luggage compartment for you.

The interior of the National Express coach in a 2+2 configuration. 2+2 is the top standard in the UK and National Express’ interior is possibly the best for intercity bus routes in the United Kingdom already.

As I did not pay for a seat reservation, I was free to sit in any unreserved seat, which comprises most of the bus.

The bus was surprisingly not full upon departure from Oxford. However, it will get very full on approach to Luton Airport.

The legroom available on board National Express. This is the best legroom that the UK has to offer on intercity buses.

Seats generally do not recline in most trains and buses in the UK on Standard Class.

A USB power socket is located underneath between each pair of seats.

A 3-pin power socket is located underneath between each pair of front seats.

The lights were “dimmed” by changing the white lights to blue. Not ideal for an overnight bus as blue light tricks the brain into thinking it’s daytime and you feel more awake in blue light.

My National Express 737 bus reversed out of the bus bay at Oxford Gloucester Green Bus Station at 12.44am – 4 minutes delayed.

Turning out of Oxford Gloucester Green Bus Station on to George Street.

Milton Keynes Coachway

Making a brief stop at Milton Keynes Coachway where more passengers boarded.

Luton Interchange (Luton Railway Station)

Making a brief stop at Luton Interchange outside Luton Railway Station where a lot more passengers boarded. The driver had to make an announcement for everyone to remove bags from seats in order to fit all passengers in for the short hop to Luton Airport.

London Luton Airport

Making a brief stop at London Luton Airport where about half the passengers alighted.

Along the way from London Luton Airport to London Stansted Airport, the makes stops at Hatfield, Hertford, and Harlow.

London Stansted Airport

My National Express Bus 737 arrived at London Stansted Airport at 4.27am – 2 minutes delayed. Not too bad, pretty accurate for a bus service without rounding it up to the nearest hour or 30th minute.

Bags are retrieved by the bus driver from the luggage compartment onto the road for everyone to pick up.

My National Express Bus 737 at London Stansted Airport.

The Stansted Airport Coach Station is unsheltered at the bus bays, but there is a main shelter just ahead.

Heading into the terminal building from the Coach Station, with a bit of Brunei Airport feels.

Here, I headed up the escalator to the terminal for departure procedures.

Conclusion

National Express Route 737 is an efficient one-seat ride from Oxford to London Stansted Airport with the overnight travel option not the most comfortable but it was still a place for me to be in for the night, and I would get my morning flight on time in exchange for an upright seat with lack of sleep.