Public transportation in the Cotswolds

in a short word - scant. Few buses between villages, most are weekly to nearby towns for markets.

There is a network of buses between larger towns like Stow on the Wold, Moreton in Marsh, Evesham, Cheltenham, and although it is a small town, Bourton on the Water.

If you want to see a lot in a short time and don't want to drive there are a few companies running private minibus tours, several of which have been mentioned over the years on this Forum.

I don't know directly about them because I'm local, know the area well, and drive in my car.

I'm sure folks will pop into this thread with ideas for them.

Suggest renting a car to do the Cotswolds. You could pickup a car at Oxford. We stayed in the Volunteer Inn in Chipping Campden and used it as a base to do the Cotswolds as well as trips to Oxford, Blenheim Palace and Stratford Upon Avon.

Thank you. Is Uber or Lyft an option?

If you don't want to drive, then think about taking a small van tour. I can recommend

Mad Max Tours

I've taken two tours with them and enjoyed both.

You can take a train from London (or from Oxford) to Morton-in-Marsh and be picked up there by this company: Go Cotswolds.
A tour of the Cotswolds in a mini-van, with maximum of 16 passengers.
https://www.gocotswolds.co.uk/
My husband and I have toured with them more than once.

We took the train to Stratford-Upon-Avon, where we wanted to spend a couple of days.
Go Cotswolds picked us up there.
Their website says:
Departures from Stratford-upon-Avon, Moreton-in-Marsh and Chipping Campden. Accessible by train from London, Reading, Oxford, Birmingham and other UK locations.

You may find this article to be useful:
https://explorethecotswolds.com/cotswolds-by-public-transport/
It gives information on traveling by bus in the Cotswolds.
The person on this forum who would be the most knowledgeable about this would be, of course, Nigel.
So heed his advice, when he says the buses are not frequent.

Any hotel where you'll be staying should be able to tell you something about when the bus leaves their town, and where the route goes.
Taxis are also available in the Cotswolds, but none of these means of transportation are as plentiful as what you would find in a city.
Your hotel or B&B will certainly be able to put you in touch with a local taxi.

I have never used Uber or Lyft in the Cotswolds, so I cannot answer that question.
I don't know if they are available.

I was happy with my GoCotswolds tour from Moreton-in-Marsh, but I recall some positive comments about the Secret Cottage tour as well, but I see an online notice that they will not resume tours until 2023 due to lower demand this year. (I must say I find that kind of odd--pulling the plug on the entire year at this point, but I guess its possible they sold their vans back in 2020 and don't want to purchase new vehicles on speculation at this point.)

In terms of making independent trips, I do wonder whether it would be possible to stay in Moreton-in-Marsh, travel outbound on a bus, and make arrangements to return (or to go on to a second, nearby town) via taxi. The villages are small; I don't think you could just find a free taxi when you wanted one. In that sort of area, they might get booked up for things like locals going to medical appointments.

This company runs some scheduled buses in the Cotswolds area. I don't know whether they are the only company doing that: https://www.pulhamscoaches.com/bus/

Regarding uber or the other. We are talking about rural areas so no, although uber is some of the larger cities I would doubt. The other I have not heard of here at all.

We have two levels of taxis here, what are known as taxis, where you can go up to an unoccupied one and ask for a ride anywhere and they will use a meter and charge accordingly - always some in a large town or city, rarer in the rural areas; and what are called private cars, private hire, or minicabs (usually in the cities) or, confusingly, taxis or station taxis - they must be reserved ahead of time, or at least called for by telephone just before you need them (they are uninsured otherwise), they must never ply for trade, and they will quote you a price ahead of time. Both types must display near the rear number plate a metal licence plate with the details of issuing Council or Unitary Authority, usually the seal of the authority, the number plate of the licenced car, the number of authorized passengers and if the vehicle is a taxi (it will read either taxi or Hackney Carriage (the old name)) or a Private Hire. The licence near the rear number plate will look somewhat like this selection of both kinds

In London there also will be a blue TfL decal on the windscreen.

Many people use these around the country including for a trip to the shops or to the station and for many other reasons. Every train station will have a list of the telephone numbers of a few taxi companies and you can even view the poster on line at the National Rail website. The poster for Moreton in Marsh is particularly helpful because it outlines a map, the local bus services (Moreton in Marsh is a town so has much more than villages) and numbers for taxis, as well as where to go for more information. The poster is at https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/posters/MIM.pdf

In addition to Pulhams,as previously mentioned, Johnsons run bus services from Stratford upon Avon to Moreton in Marsh via Chipping Campden
see www.johnsonscoaches.co.uk