Guide
A Chauffeur for Oxford or Cambridge Graduation Day
Graduation day traffic and parking in Oxford and Cambridge is genuinely difficult - why families book a chauffeur instead of driving in themselves.
Published 1 Aug 2026Updated 7 Oct 20262 min read
Graduation days in Oxford and Cambridge bring a predictable problem: normal parking is suspended or full, roads around the colleges close for ceremonies, and a family trying to coordinate several generations and gowns has enough to manage without also hunting for a parking space half a mile away.
A chauffeur drops you at the college or venue directly, waits or returns for a pre-arranged pickup, and removes the need for anyone in the party to drive at all - useful when a celebratory lunch afterwards means someone would rather not be behind the wheel.
Fitting the Whole Family In
Graduation trips often mean more people than a single saloon comfortably carries - the graduate, parents, and sometimes grandparents too. A Mercedes V-Class seats up to eight and keeps everyone together for the journey out, rather than splitting across two cars and losing each other en route.
Timing Around the Ceremony
Ceremony times and college logistics vary considerably between colleges and years. Tell us your ceremony time and college when booking and we'll set pickup and return times around it, with buffer for the queue to actually reach the venue on a day when every road nearby is busier than usual.
What It Costs
A day booking to Oxford or Cambridge, with the car waiting through the ceremony, is best booked as-directed: £75 an hour in an Executive, and the motorway miles beyond the included allowance are priced at the transfer rate. One way, London to Oxford is £248 and London to Cambridge £247 in an Executive. Call 020 8742 2888 with your college and ceremony time for an exact fixed price.
Questions, answered.
Can you wait through the whole graduation ceremony?
Yes - day bookings are quoted with waiting time included, so the car and driver are simply on standby through the ceremony rather than billed as a separate cost.
How many people fit for a family graduation trip?
Our Mercedes V-Class seats up to eight, which comfortably covers a graduate plus parents and grandparents in one vehicle.
Do you know the parking restrictions around Oxford/Cambridge colleges on graduation day?
Our drivers are briefed on graduation-day road closures and set-down points for the main colleges, so you're dropped as close to the venue as restrictions allow rather than guessing on the day.
Get your fixed price
Enter the journey and you see the full price before you book — airport fee, tolls and any supplement included.
Rather talk it through? Call 020 8742 2888, 24 hours a day.
P5 Chauffeurs is a TfL-licensed private hire operator (licence no. 11928). Every journey is pre-booked at a fixed price with a licensed driver in a licensed vehicle. Written by Faraz, Operations Manager, who runs our day-to-day operations.