2 Oxford students living in a broken tour bus — previously owned by Sugababes — due to cost of living

Two University of Oxford students have been forced to live in a broken-down double-decker bus they’ve parked at a park and ride to cope with crippling accommodation costs.

Leo Bevan, 20, and Kit Renshaw, 20, say they have been “priced out” of the rental market.

When their rent was forecasted to increase to about $12,150 and $13,500 a year each, they decided to take drastic action for their final stint at uni.

The pair bought a tour bus — previously used by band Sugababes — from Facebook Marketplace, towed it to a car park in the city, and now live in it, paying about $99 a week in parking fees.

Even accounting for buying and renovating the bus, the pair estimate the move will save them between about $4,725 and $3,375 each in a single year — and they’ll have a 44ft Ayats Bravo to sell or keep at the end of their studies.

Bevan, studying English literature and language, and originally from Penzance, Cornwall, said: “At the end of last year, I didn’t want to live with eight people in a crowded student house anymore.

“My room was alright, it wasn’t the best but it wasn’t the worst. I found it to overcrowded for someone who likes to keep themselves to themselves.

“Not only that, but it was so expensive. I was paying £541 [$730.36 USD] a month and struggling to afford it.

“Kit had an email from college to say there would be a lot of work around his student house, causing a lot of noise, so he was keen to find somewhere else to live too.

“He was paying £375 [$506.26 USD] a month, and we were effectively priced out of our student accommodation; we couldn’t afford it. We knew there must be a better way to live in Oxford for less.”

History and English literature student Renshaw, originally from Canterbury, Kent, added: “I felt very frantic when buying the bus.

“I realised it wouldn’t be easy to sort and renovate, but I knew it was a better and more affordable option.”

Bevan describes Oxford as an “amazing” and “incredible” place to live, but it is “extremely expensive”.

During his first year, Leo paid about $10,125 a year for halls — with no kitchen — and then $8775 for his shared student house in his second year. He was facing rent for his final year totaling about $13,500.

Renshaw — who first met Bevan at a house party — paid about $6,075 in his first year for student accommodation and another $6,075 in his second year. He was going to be forced to fork out about $12,150 for his rent in his final year.

Rules mean their rooms would likely not be available to them during the long holidays, either.
Bevan found the bus on Facebook Marketplace and snapped it up 30 minutes, for about $6,750, in June this year.

Currently undriveable, they paid about $1755 to tow it back from Liverpool, and around $4050 to make it habitable.

Renshaw said: “The bus has been an interesting challenge and we’ve really enjoyed doing it on a budget.

Bevan said: “I was knocking on doors around Oxford for a month asking people to park a bus in their garden, but no dice, somewhat unsurprisingly.

“I got close a couple of times, but everyone with the space always ended up needing to ask permission, either from the university or the council.

“We decided just to park it in a car park and pay by the day.

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“It was a close shave trying to get it in, especially with the tow truck. It must have been around 70ft, getting around a tight corner, and the legend who towed it for us got it in for us.”

They spent five hours a day cleaning it and say they found dead rats, needles, and plenty of mold.

So far Bevan and Renshaw have ripped out the passenger seats, driver’s seat, tables, upstairs walls and part of the ceiling.

They’ve removed the heating and cooling system but kept the bus’s original leather upholstery, cupboards, electronics, TV and speaker system and vinyl floor.

The power will run off a generator and battery system, except the oven, which will run off an LPG tank.

It will be ready for them to live in full—time when they start they resume their studies in the coming weeks — although they admit living in the bus will be more like “camping” while they finish the renovation work.

Bevan said: “The double-decker was a tour bus used by the Sugarbabes 21 years ago and is a total mess now.

“So much work needs to be done to get it moving, which is expensive, so it’s not worth it, and I’m happy with where it is.

“I bought it with money I don’t even have – I had to get a loan – and we have spent days fishing through skips to find materials.

“I buy and sell things on Facebook Marketplace, so I can fix and sell them to make money to fund the renovations.

“We still need to sand, oil and varnish the floors, board up the fibreglass ceilings, lay vinyl in the bathroom, strip and paper the aluminium walls, set up an inverter, generator and battery system for power, plumb in a water tank and chemical toilet.

“Then we need to set up the LPG cooker, construct upstairs walls, hook up circuit breaker, lights, electronics and sockets throughout the bus, plumb in the kitchen sink, move in my piano, build beds, cupboards and other furniture.”

They’ve yet to install a shower, so wash at a friend’s house.

Bevan said: “We paid £40 [$54.00 USD] for a second-hand oven, but I haven’t hooked it up with gas because we’ll finish all the walls and floors first.

“In the future, we want to install a caravan-like shower.

“I’m resourceful, so I don’t doubt I can find somewhere to shower, in someone’s college or a lido.”

Renshaw added: “It’s taken a while and we’ve only just really made a start to it but we’ve made quite a lot of progress.

“I love working on our bus and can’t wait to see the finish product.”

BUS COSTS
Bus – $6750.13
Towing – $1755.03
Materials and tools – $4050.08
Parking for a year – $98.55 per week = $5124.69 a year
Total = $17679.93 split in half to $8839.96 each
RENT THEY WOULD HAVE PAID
Leo’s rent – $13500.25
Kit’s rent – $12150.23
Bills were included.