Oxford, High Wycombe & surrounding areas
from THE OXFORD BUS PAGE

Your reports are welcome at malcolmhc@aol.com

updated Sunday 2nd September 2001
the next update will be on Sunday 9th September 2001

   Issue nr. 161  

Please note that any comments made in this news page are those of the Editors' and in no way constitute 
any official points of view from the bus companies mentioned,  or indeed any other official body. 
As a news page we reserve the right to make valid comments as seen from an editorial point of view.

Problems with the pictures ! - sometimes it seems that the pictures do not load.
I have found a solution which does work normally - 
RIGHT CLICK ON THE PICTURE AND THEN CLICK ON "SHOW PICTURE"
Good luck !

Welcome to issue 161, which includes news this week of an operator change on the 105 to Wallingford and also severe traffic delays on the Botley Road. Also news is headlined in the local press regarding a review of traffic matters in Oxford by the new alliance of a Conservative/Liberal Democrat Council. 

There can be no doubt that just at present traffic in Oxford is in somewhat of a mess. Roadworks are taking place on two of the main roads into and out of Oxford. St Clements is being totally rebuilt and resurfaced, whilst the Botley Road is subject to trench digging and subsequent resurfacing, as work moves ever closer to the Rail Station. The fact that the 22 and 400 Oxford routes catch both sets of works, does not help towards the smooth running of these services. delays can also have knock on effects on 4 road services plus the Stagecoach 100 service from Witney. I suppose we should be grateful that they finished the work in George Street before starting these two sets of works.

So, I wonder if anyone has thought about the effects of the building of the guided bus way proposed for 2005. If one had seen the traffic problems in Croydon, Manchester and Wolverhampton when they were building their tramway, then enjoy the comparative peace of 2001, because , as they say, "you ain't seen nothin' yet" !  However one thing must be said, the newly surfaced roads such as St Aldates, London Road - Headington and the road at Gypsy Lane are a delight to drive on.

The party in South Park on Sunday brought out lots of people and both companies ran extra services to cope with increased passengers. 

The local papers were full, this last week, of a review of city traffic planned by the new council. It appears that there are moves afoot to change the hours when access into central Oxford is free of the current restrictions. Whilst I have voiced concerns about the "success" of OTS, I must also say that general traffic flows through the city centre have been much improved with OTS, especially in the High Street and St Aldates areas. Therefore if access for private cars and traffic, other than buses and taxis, is eased it will probably be a retrograde step. Ironically those people in cars who want to use the "through" route of the streets mentioned above do so anyway, regardless of the signs in place. So perhaps nothing will change. 

A picture of the station area of Oxford. Traffic here, during the last week, has been chaotic. A long line of 
stationary traffic, caused by work in Botley road, has often blocked the area in the picture. This has meant
serious delays to bus services using the area, often affecting areas in the outskirts of the city.

   FROM THE DRIVING SEAT  
A weekly commentary on your Editors favourite pastime.

Turning to service reliability, all companies are facing driver shortages in varying degrees. It is rumored that Stagecoach may be intending to offer higher rates of pay to try to stop the loss of drivers to more attractive pay at places like BMW, where the new Mini is being built. If any pay increases are to made by bus companies, then it is inevitable that fares will have to go to pay for same. One must emphasise that this is not just a problem in Oxford but faces many areas of the U.K. It seems to me that the Government is going to have to take a close look at what is going on. Surely some form of "rebate" to the operators, which in turn could be passed on in improved wages, would help the situation. And, how may you ask, would the funding for a rebate be made. Well could they not take some money from the revenues gained from the highly taxed motorist to put into public transport? I seem to think that the percentage of money used to fund public transport, when balanced against the total revenues taken from motoring taxes, is unbalanced. I'm probably sticking my neck out but when the companies are faced with the Traffic Commissioners enforcing service reliability and drivers are short, something has to give. Indeed running a bus company in 2001 is not at all easy.

Following on from my comments on speed of coaches last week, Ralph Adams wrote to say, " the reason that the Tube coaches never overtake Express is the limiters are set differently." He suggest that the Oxford coaches are set higher than 62.5 mph. All I can comment is that Oxford coaches often indicate only 61mph and I am assured that all the limiters are set by Volvo on a Computer to within the legal requirements.

News from the companies - 2nd September 2001

Airlinks

Matt Wheeler writes to note that "from 24 September, the timetables for Jetlink routes 757 and 767 are changing. Details are on the Bucks CC Travelinfo website. The key difference being that journeys in Oxford will now run direct via the High street and St Clements instead of via the John Radcliffe Hospital between Gloucester Green and Headington." and then Matt added "the changes on routes 757/767 from September 24 are slightly more drastic..... route 767 is to be withdrawn, so there will once again only be a 2 hourly service provided by 757. The journey time is being increased as well, which might mean they actually run on time for once."

Arriva serving The Shires & Essex

National Greenway 3057 seen working the 323 from Aylesbury. This bus came from 
Crosville Cymru in 1995 and was originally HPF322N, a London Country bus. It still
sports the old livery with advertising for a local firm.

This week's trainer was Volvo/Plaxton Viewmaster coach 4038 ADZ4731.

Nigel Peach writes to advise that Olympian 5823 has not yet reappeared and is still away for repaint. (Indeed 5823 is still away for repaint to Watford Ed.) 

Matt Wheeler writes to say:

1: 5101 (G 651 UPP) has lost its "mega-rear" ad for a local Mercedes dealership. The rear is now in blue/yellow, with a few bare patches where the vinyl of the ad removed the paint.

2: 5383 (TPD 123X) which you noted as parked up in a yard in High Wycombe, presumably withdrawn, a few weeks ago, was back in service today. It was on the 11:15 (and presumably 9:15) service 64 journey from Aylesbury to Tring.

3: In the past couple of weeks I've noticed a Carlyle bodied Dennis dart on services from Aylesbury. It is 3093 (H 925 LOX), and carries Arriva Livery. It was on route 66 to Buckingham on Tuesday, whilst last Saturday it was on route 323, and the week before had made a few appearances on route 9. It doesn't (yet) appear to have had a "Aylesbury" destination blind fitted yet, as its been running with a blank yellow, so it may not be a permanent move.

4: ECW Olympian 5057 (ARP 617X) was today (Thurs) on route 324 to High Wycombe, whilst on Wednesday evening, Dart 3497 operated the 9:45pm 324 from Aylesbury to Wycombe (i saw it in Princes Risborough just after 10).

5: Aylesbury Road works. In preparation for the bridge works i mentioned last week, traffic lights are being erected at the junction of Mandeville Road, Old Stoke Road and Stoke Road in Aylesbury. This junction is used by routes 3, 9, 65, 323 and 324. The works to install these lights are causing long delays, as temporary lights are in place to allow contractors to dig up the road. This means long delays on the routes mentioned.. Some services seem to suffer differing delays at different times of day... today the 10:15 323 from Wycombe (should arrive in Aylesbury at 11:06) still hadn't got through the junction by 11:20, whilst on Tuesday, my number 9 bus took over 40 minutes to get me home instead of the usual 10. These road works will be finished by next Monday, when the new lights will start operating (for the duration of the bridge works).

6: Details of the re-routings (which i also mentioned last week) are now displayed on posters in Aylesbury Bus Station, and are as follows:

Route 3:  Service will remain as at present until bridge works are completed in December
Rotues 4 & 5: Buses *from* town to Fairford Leys and Fowler Road will run as at present. Return journeys from Fowler Road will now run direct via          Oxford Road. This means Fairford Leys is now services in one direction only.
Route 9: Daytime services are unchanged. Evening (after 6:30pm) and Sunday services are changed slightly. Buses *from* Stoke Mandeville Hospital that
currently run both ways along Churchill Avenue will now run back to the bus station via Oxford Road (instead of going back up Churchill Avenue).
Routes 11, 15, 260, 261, 262, 280. Aylesbury bound journeys will revert to original routes to the Bus Station via Oxford Road, Whitehill and Buckingham Street. Outbound Journeys will still operate via Fairford Leys, but will serve Kingsbury Square and Bicester Road (instead of Gatehouse Road) before rejoining the diversion at Griffin Lane. 

Chiltern Buses.

Volvo B6BLE Y877KDP running a Sunday 10D service in Oxford. The livery is striking to say the least.

City of Oxford Motor Services (The Oxford Bus Company)

Newly acquired trainer, Lynx C66HOM has entered the paint shop and will gain a yellow
and blue livery for its role as an Oxford trainer.

The three acquired Lynx trainers are in varying states of preparation for the role in Oxford. 66 has entered the paint shop whilst 63 is having bodywork preparation. All three will be painted in a new version of the training livery, with acknowledgement of their role to the public including Oxford Bus logos, unlike the previous training fleet. The Leopards were never given any corporate identity, only Training Bus logos. The excellent standard of work in Oxford Bus can be seen in the picture above, where new panelling has been completed with "standard" Oxford wheel arches. The bodyshop got a lot of experience with the Wycombe Lynxs.

Friday 31st August saw Olympian 221 on 4 road in the morning with 223 on 5 road in the late afternoon. 223 also managed one trip on 13B to fill in for a sick Dart.  Indeed there were two Olympians on 5 road in the Friday evening peak. 

Loaned Trident 929 had a special outing on Saturday, when it worked a 601 service
 from the Rail Station to Kassam Stadium. It replaced an Olympian which had failed
 and attracted some interest amongst the passengers, more used to a red bus. 

Darts 501 and 509 have gone on a two month loan to Thames Travel, who are awaiting delivery of two new buses, presumably for the new route 105. The Darts have received white fronts for their service with TT. 509 operated for a week or so in full Oxford livery with TT vinyls. It was seen in Oxford on Friday morning on the X39. By Sunday both Darts had white fronts.

Heyfordian Coaches

Heyfordian EAZ 8413 which was formerly with Hearn's of Harrow. However it started life
with Smith's of Sittingbourne as E76VKO. Sadly it has lost its Leyland wheel trims.
Oh and it is a Leyland Tiger TRCTL11/3RZ with Plaxton Paramount 3200 III bodywork.

Heyfordian of course lost a large number of its O licenses and presently hope to update their fleet. However the Volvo/Plaxtons ex Wallace Arnold are returning off lease to the dealer next Monday.

Stagecoach Group

Stagecoach in Banbury  

Keith Wood writes to say " I've just heard from a SMR driver this morning that the first Optare Solos will be be operating the 66 Warwick - Leamington - South Farm service. Indeed 601 is in Rugby depot complete with route branding for this service."

Vehicle Transfers Banbury - Nuneaton
Dennis Dart / Alexander Dash       111 - P452 KRP
Volvo B6LE / Alexander ALX200   467 - P357 JND

Vehicle Transfers Nuneaton - Banbury
Volvo B10M / Alexander PS         203 - M203 LHP
Volvo B6LE / Alexander ALX200  458 - P362 DSA

"Route 500" Banbury - Brackley Route Branding
Volvo B6LE / Alexander ALX200  457 / 458 / 461 - P361 / 362 / 365 DSA

Service 488
On Saturday 25/8/01 Stagecoach Oxford 410 J410 PRW was working the 488 Banbury - Chipping Norton service from the CN end. This service looks to be the first transfer of  the Banbury operation from Midland Red to Oxford.  This is reported to be due to take place in the first week of November.
However the 488 looks like it is already being operated by Oxford's CN outstation.  

Vehicle News In General
Due to the high number of service revisions taking place across the SMR operation at the moment a large number of vehicles are gathering at depots. On Saturday 25/8/01 the following were observed.

Banbury (in the depot - not in use)
Dennis Dart / Alexander Dash  101
Mercedes-Benz 811D / Wright  415 / 422 / 423 / 425
Olympian / ECW  963 (964 was missing presumed transfered)

Nuneaton (parked out of use)
Mercedes-Benz 709D / Alexander Sprint  312-315
Leyland National 621 / 627 

Nuneaton (depot parking)
Leyland National 602 / 605
Olympian / ECW 824 / 842 (both ex Leamington) / 836 (and one other presumably 832) 

With the impending arrival of the first Optare Solos and other changes large scale vehicle movements / withdrawals are expected.

Thanks to Keith for his reports.

STAGECOACH in OXFORD

Seen near the Oxford Rail Station were 515 in the old livery
and 520 in the new, making an interesting comparison.

Working the 105 last Friday was Dart 754. This was the penultimate day
of Stagecoach on the 105. Services finished on 1st September.

Tracey, whose husband drives for Stagecoach sent an interesting report this week ,which answers a point raised by Keith Wood about CN and Banbury. Tracey says " Service 488 Chipping Norton to Banbury. NOW OPERATED FROM CHIPPING NORTON FROM 13/08/01 STARTED WITH  BUS 459 A 25 SEATER. ON THURSDAY 16/08/01 SEVERE OVERLOADING WAS PREDICTED DUE TO MARKET DAY IN BANBURY. THE 1005 EX CHIPPY HAD A DUPLICATE FROM MILCOMBE TO BANBURY AND THE 1545 FROM BANBURY TO MILCOMBE OPERATED BY MIDLAND RED BANBURY. BY FRIDAY 459 WAS REPLACED BY LARGER 410 A 33 SEATER THIS REMAINS ON THE ROUTE.  

THE X8 CHIPPING NORTON TO KINGHAM STN TO BLEDINGTON NORMALLY BUS 462 BUS GOES TO WITNEY GARAGE MONDAY WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY FOR FUELING CLEANING OR SWOPPING FOR  SERVICE ETC BETWEEN 1323 -1505 

TWO BIG BUSES REMAIN AT CHIPPY - NO SET BUSES ARE ALLOCATED THEY ARE MIXED IN WITH THE BICESTER BUSES SO COULD BE LANCES B10Ms OR M A N s. THE SAME BUS COULD REMAIN FOR OVER A WEEK AT A TIME. 

DELICENSED  BUSES NOTED AT TRAINING CENTRE, OXFORD    21/08/01

357 362 366 367  388 428 1010 ALL MANUAL MERCEDES ARE DUE FOR EARLY REPLACEMENT INCLUDING TRAINING BUSES.

Thanks very much Tracey, interesting and useful, keep the news coming.

Vic Gacowski writes to say he is preparing details of Bicester services which I look forward to publishing.

On the local Oxford side a point of note was that Olympian 521, in new livery, worked the last journeys on the 105 to Wallingford. This is, I think, the first time in a long time that a decker has worked the 105. 

Thames Travel

Thames Travel Dart MPD working the X39 today, Sunday, past Shillingford Bridge.

The same Dart Y972GPN loading well, for a Sunday afternoon, in Wallingford.

Dart MPD V270BNV has joined this fleet , as have Oxford Darts 501 and 509. These buses are on a two month loan pending delivery of some 10.8m Darts in November. The fleet now has 23 buses and is growing all the time. some consolidation has taken place with the Didcot Town service surrendered. however whilst it was suggested by one reader that the 18 Clanfield service was gone, this has now been regained on tender. 

Operation of the 105 will start on Monday 3rd September, when the service is extended to Cholsey. It will operate on an hourly basis for most of the day with the last service from Oxford departing at 1910. The service does not run on a Sunday. 

Dart M509VJO with freshly repainted white front at Cowley Road, today Sunday.
Certainly a quick job - it was red on Friday morning!

The company now has its own web site at http://www.busbook.co.uk..

PHOTO CORNER
If you have a digital camera and wish to submit photos for this page please send them to the me at 
malcolmhc@aol.com

Bennett's of Chieveley TJI6308 which was Oxford Citylink 109 EBW109Y.
It left the fleet for Bennett's in August 1995 and was still going strong when seen on Friday 
in the High Street, Oxford.

I welcome your photos for inclusion on this page.
malcolmhc@aol.com

  OXFORD BUS PAGE CONTENTS