Getting Around

Oxford Road Corridor is a square mile area south of Manchester city centre. With excellent national and international connections and hundreds of local public transport services, getting to and travelling around Manchester’s Knowledge Quarter couldn’t be easier.

Travelling to Manchester from the UK and internationally

By train

There are up to 26 regular direct trains between London and Manchester each day, and frequent services from many other major UK cities. Before travelling, visit National Rail website to check services due to recent national disrubtion of the rail network. Oxford Road and Deansgate stations are both located within the Oxford Road Corridor, Piccadilly Station is on the edge of the Corridor and is around a 15-minute walk from Oxford Road.

By coach

National Express and Megabus run coaches between Manchester and many major UK cities. Manchester’s Central Coach Station is on Chorlton Street and is a short walk from Oxford Road. Find out more and book at the National Express and Megabus websites.

By air

There are direct flights to Manchester Airport from more than 190 destinations. The city centre is easily accessible from the airport by rail and Metrolink.

Getting to the Oxford Road Corridor and travelling around locally

Tram – Metrolink

Many city centre Metrolink stops are no more than a 10 to 15-minute walk from Oxford Road, the two stops within the area are St. Peter’s Square and Deansgate Castlefield. Different lines serve each stop – for more detailed information on service frequency on Transport for Greater Manchester’s tram schedule webpage.

Bus

Bus fares in Greater Manchester are now capped, which is great news as Oxford Road, which is often referred to as “the busiest bus route in Europe”. Adults pay no more than £2 for a single bus journey, while a £5 1 day AnyBus Adult travelcard will cover unlimited bus travel within the 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester until 03.59am the following day.

Children aged five to 16 pay no more than £1 for any single bus journey. The 1 day AnyBus Junior travelcard will cover unlimited bus travel within Greater Manchester for just £2.50 a day. Children under the age of five will travel on buses for free.

Cycle

It’s getting easier and easier to cycle in Manchester with more dedicated bike lanes popping up all the time. Oxford Road has had Dutch-style cycle lanes since 2017 and records over a million bike journeys each year.  

In 2021 a bike hire scheme was launched here on Oxford Road and has since rolled out across the city. There are lots of bike hire docks across Oxford Road Corridor where you can unlock and hire a bike using the Beryl App which you can download here. The bikes are available on a Pay As You Ride basis with pedal bikes costing 50p to unlock and 5p per minute to ride. E-bikes cost £1 to unlock and 10p per minute to ride. Find out more about the bike hire scheme on The Bee Network website.

Walk & Wheel

Once you have arrived in the area, most places are accessible within 30 minutes. Plan your visit ahead of time; if distances are challenging, we recommend using the frequent buses on Oxford Road to minimise walking and wheeling time. If you really want to explore Oxford Road Corridor in detail, we highly recommend these 45-60 minute self-guided tours.

Taxi

Manchester City Council provides taxi ranks or hackney carriage stands where taxis may wait for customers. There is a number around the city centre end of Oxford Road Corridor, including sites outside The Midland Hotel, Manchester Central, St James’ Building and Whitworth Street West. You can search for taxi ranks here.

Car

There are several multistory car parks around Oxford Road Corridor, but please note that general traffic is not permitted on Oxford Road between 6am and 9pm, 7 days a week. Visitors driving into the area and across the city centre will need to use alternative routes, such as Upper Brook Street and Princess Street. 

The bus gates on Oxford Road mean that parts of the road are only open to buses, black cabs and pedal cycles from 6am to 9pm every day.

If you enter a bus lane or use a bus gate, you may get a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) of £60, which will reduce to £30 if you pay within 21 days. 

The Oxford Road bus gates that only apply in one direction are:

Bus gates are marked with standard ‘no motor vehicles’ signs – a red circle with a motorbike above a car inside. Find out more.

Find out more

You can visit the Transport for Greater Manchester homepage for live updates on current public transport services. Transport for Greater Manchester also offers the following travel information:

Transport for Greater Manchester also hosts a Travel Guidance for Business portal, containing resources to help businesses embrace and embed sustainable travel practices.