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

Your reports are welcome at malcolmhc@aol.com

updated Sunday 3rd June 2001
the next update will be on Sunday 10th June 2001

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 !

More roadworks for Oxford
Delays and hold-ups inevitable.

Further roadworks are starting on Monday 4th June with sections of the road in the Gipsy Lane area due for closure and renewal. In fact much of the road between St Clements and Gipsy Lane is set for varying work. Delays to bus services seem inevitable and this is not the only area to see work. Repair work is already under way in Cowley road and surface work is due on Donnington Bridge. Another area scheduled for work is Cornmarket where surface is due to be laid in the pedestrianised zone. Some commentators are likening Oxford to a Prison Camp but rather one which you cannot get into, rather than out of!!!!

One action which may help the beleaguered bus companies is the reintroduction by Oxford Bus of their Q busting fleet of Olympians which will provide much needed extra capacity for the summer rush of students and visitors alike. Already many have been repainted and work is in progress on three remaining buses.

For many years Olympian 214 carried an advert for Morrell's Brewery.
Sadly this is no longer as indeed is the Brewery itself. Here 214 receives her new coat of paint.

Although nominally outside the area within the scope of this page, news has been received from Jonathan Radley, Communications Manager of Thames Trains relating to a new service from Reading to Gatwick operated by Thames Trains using Goldline Coaches of Reading. Details are:  

Reading – Gatwick Airport Services

·               Thames Trains operates a daily, direct, hourly service from Reading to Gatwick Airport, along the picturesque “North Downs” line. The service also calls at Wokingham, Blackwater, North Camp, Guildford, Dorking (Deepdene) Reigate and Redhill and runs up to 19 hours each day. The Reading to Gatwick journey takes around 75 minutes, making it very competitive with driving to the airport via the congested M4 and M25 motorways.

New Night Service

 ·               On Tuesday 1^st May 2001, Thames Trains started running a nightly (luxury) coach service between Reading Station and Gatwick Airport             (South Terminal Coach Station). The service calls at Wokingham, Blackwater, North Camp, Guildford and Dorking ‘Main’ Stations. This will           compliment the daytime train service and provide customers with the security of a reliable service each night.

 ·               There will be two departures each night, operating 363 days a year (not Christmas Day or Boxing Day). The journeys will be timed to provide travellers with both a “get you home” service for inbound flights arriving late-at-night and an overnight service to accommodate check-ins for early morning flights. 

·               The service will be branded and marketed as an integral part of the Thames Trains Reading – Gatwick Airport service and will be advertised in the National Rail Timetable. The Summer train timetable starts on Sunday 20^th May 2001.  

·               At present it is not possible to operate trains along the North Downs line 24 hours a day, because Railtrack require access to the line for overnight engineering work. 

·           Thames Trains is one of the few Train Operating Companies that currently runs through the night train services, on its Monday to Saturday ‘24 hour’ London – Reading route.

 Customer Service

·              Luxury coaches: Run by ‘Goldline’ (the coaching division of Reading Buses).

Their coaches are blue (at the bottom) and cream (middle and top). The brand new  coaches feature 49 reclining seats fitted with seat belts, a toilet/wash-room,  air- conditioning, curtains and a public address system. 

·               Staffing. The coach will have a member of Thames Trains staff onboard at all times to provide customer assistance and information. They will also ensure that customers have a safe, secure and reliable journey. 

·               Ticketing. The coach staff will accept all standard types of rail ticket, as well as Thames Trains’ own Gatwick FlyAway ticket. Staff will be able to sell rail tickets on the coach, using standard rail industry ticketing equipment. All normal Railcard Discounts apply on this service. 

·        Service security. Thames Trains have provided the coach driver with contingency instructions in the unlikely event of a breakdown of the coach or overloading of the vehicle.  

Timetable:

Every night of the week (except  25 & 26 December). 

Started (just after mid-night) Tuesday 1st May 2001  

 NOTES: p = Pick-up only. Passengers will NOT be carried from Reading to Wokingham & Blackwater.

 For further information, please contact:

National Rail Enquiries: 08457 48 49 50   (24 hours, local rate applies, calls may be recorded)

 Thames Trains Customer Services: 0118 908 3678 (Mon-Sat 07.30 – 19.00)

Staff with one of the new coaches at reading earlier in May.

Bucks County Council/Wycombe Travel guide.

The new Wycombe travel guide is now published and can be obtained from local booksellers, news agents and Bucks County Council for 50p. It gives full details of all services in the Wycombe district Council area and is a most useful publication. There is even a return coupon which can be filled in and submitted ensuring the user gets details of all the updated information. you can also find information on all the new EASYBUS services operating in the given area.

Plaxton update.

Talks are continuing between the TGWU and senior Plaxton management over the future of the coach building plant at Scarborough. It had been originally announced the coach production would cease here in the UK but a change of heart seems likely and an announcement is expected in the next few weeks. Local operator Oxford Bus must be waiting with interest since they have supported Plaxton for many years now and had hoped to achieve an all Plaxton coach fleet by next year. This is when the Jonckheeres are due for replacement.

Optare Solo developments.

The Optare Solo is now in use on a number of routes in both Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire and it is interesting to note that a new version has been announced by Optare. The new bus will carry 37 passengers and is 9.2 metres long. It may interest you to visit the Optare web site at http://www.optare,com.

PSV sales down 20% on last year.

Registrations to March 2001 show sales to be down 20% on the same period in 2000. Builders showing small INCREASES are M A N and Scania. both Dennis and Volvo are DOWN.

Volvo B12M makes debut.

Brighton saw the debut of Volvo's B12M which replaces the erstwhile B10M, much in evidence in our area. FLIGHTS whose coaches are often seen in Gloucester Green are taking delivery of models with Plaxton Panther bodywork and this seems set to become the new standard for Oxford express if Plaxtons continues in business at Scarborough. The B12M satisfies Euro 3 regulations. It is noteworthy that more than 30,000 B10Ms have been sold over the past 20 years!

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

MC at the wheel of Oxford express nr 4 en route to Victoria at 1520hrs on
Saturday 2nd June 2001. 

I thought it might be amusing and indeed interesting to relate some tales from the driving seat on a weekly basis in this new section. I manage to get some driving in each week and of course, as mentioned previously, fulfill a regular Saturday duty on the Oxford express X90 to London Victoria. Many of the drivers at Oxford have shown an interest in this page and I hope the get some interest from the jottings each week. Indeed express drivers are quite used to seeing me in varying places from the M40 overbridge at Stokenchurch to Heathrow or London taking pictures of their vehicles. 

One of the most interesting things about driving on a regular duty is that each week brings something different. Either relating to the passengers, the coach allocated or the journey made. This week my last trip from London was delayed by unexpected roadworks at Greenford and a 15 minute delay to the journey. This meant I unfortunately missed the connection in St Aldates with the 2350 X3 service to Abingdon and one young lady found herself looking for alternate means to get home. Maybe we should look at running through to Abingdon on late night trips, who knows?

Also of interest is how each coach seems to differ a little. some are fast, well do at least achieve 100kph (62mph) and others struggle. Some are good up Stokenchurch hill on the M40, maintaining 100kph. Others are really slow, the worst being the Jonckheeres 41-44 which barely manage 40mph. The Oxford Tubes also seem to struggle on hills and often we can overtake them in fine style without breaking any laws!!!

Load factors seem variable but sometimes everyone seems to want to travel at the same time and then people can get left behind. The rush out of London is usually between 4 and 6 pm and both companies enjoy high loadings.  

Generally the condition of the Oxford express coaches is excellent , both mechanically and body wise. It is rare to see panel damage and the livery seems well suited to all weathers. Indeed woe and betide the driver who books a coach off for some ailment at the end of his shift, such is the pride of the engineering staff in their work. Of course if something is wrong then it is fixed but normally the weekly coach check suffices. We always know when a coach has come off coach check as every seat belt is fastened across and all the reading lights are on. Breakdowns can and do occur but it is interesting to note how both companies help each other out with "one of ours" loading passengers from "one of theirs" which had failed at Greenford last Saturday. 

One personal gripe is the way taxi drivers perform. Last Saturday an ex London black cab, in use in Oxford, did a U turn right in front of me and quite without warning. I don't know who got a bigger fright but it was good job I was obeying the 20 mph speed limit imposed by the company when we are travelling through the centre of Oxford. The taxi driver very nearly got 10 tons of coach in his front window. I think he might have suffered more than a fright if I had hit him. Why is it the think they can stop, turn or move anywhere regardless of the rules of the road?  Then in London, as if to say - we can do it too - a taxi cut past me on the offside at Baker Street/Oxford Street turn and then seeing punters pulled up dead in front of me to pick up said punters. Dear old nr 4 had two near misses and I a few more grey hairs. It really is time the government made some better laws to deal with these people. 

Well more thoughts next week. 

Company reports - to 3rd June 2001

Airlinks

Variety is the spice of life and Airlinks certainly keep up the variety on the 757/767 routes. The oldest Jetlinks(CCS) coach nr 347, pictured on this page recently, was again in Oxford on Saturday, loading alongside an ex Oxford Volvo B10M/Plaxton Paramount from Swanbrooks.

Appearing more often now are the latest DAF/Plaxtons of Airlinks.
Here we see D26 (W336CDN) leaving Oxford on at Saturday 757 working. 

Arriva serving the Shires and Essex.

Darts away for repaint this week are 3814 and 3825. 3825 is the last of the ex WBC SLF Darts and closes another batch to Arriva livery. New blinds are on order for the ex WBC fleet as workings on ARRIVA routes such as 300, 305, 323/324, 362 and 372 is now common place. 

A route diversion on 301 starts on Monday as Chapman Lane, Flackwell Heath is closed for sewer repairs and buses will turn round at Dragon Lane instead.

Whilst last weeks event at Newlands Bus Station saw a dearth of red buses, this weekend things were more normal with all remaining red buses back "home".

Of course many of the fleet are now blue and cream but as the picture above shows red is still much in evidence. Whilst there are no pits at Wycombe, work is done on "trestles" and 3076 is seen below. This bus was once the property of Atlas Bus in london and now sports Arriva corporate livery.

Oxford Bus Company (City of Oxford Motor Services)

Oxford Bus Volvo/NCME Paladin 653 unusually appeared on Park&Ride 400 service
last Saturday and is seen here on layover at Queen's Lane.

618 passes Oxford Castle last Saturday, sporting silver wheels.
Very often when wheel changes take place blue wheels are displaced by silver.

Olympians 221 and 223 are STILL down in Cornwall at present but 208, 214 and 222 are now being prepared for the summer Q busting duties. Both 208 and 214 are in the paintshop and should emerge next weekend. 208 may take a little longer as it still sports its yellow livery.214 has of course at last lost its Cityline vinyls!!!

Darts are still appearing on 2 road duties, whilst an occasional dual door Verde is seen on 5 road, 636 appearing on Saturday.

Stagecoach in Oxford.  

Due to see roadworks shortly, this section of road at the bottom of Headington Hill
hosts Tube nr 35, the only one so far to display route details on the upper side windows.

I understand that the X50 (Stratford service) is about to become minibus operated.
Here M A N 916 leaves Oxford on Friday evening on the last journey of the day 
to Stratford. Nominally a Tube coach should be used but shortages due to breakdowns
have led to the use of M A N buses on this route.

The title of this picture should be 
Stagecoach in Oxford.
Here we see a M A N saloon, Olympian on the 100 a minibus and approaching 
a Tube nearing the end of its journey from London.
Nuffield College Tower forms the background to this Friday evening shot.

Several of the Witney Olympians have gained Alders super rear ads. Repaints proceed and I hope to have an up to date list for publication next week.

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

Another ex Go-Ahead Olympian has arrived with Heyfordian at Wycombe
This time it is JTY398X and shares the depot with 373 and 375 which can be seen
in the background of this picture. They operate school services to
The Royal Grammar School at High Wycombe.

A visit to Binders Yard this morning (Sunday) revealed this ex Thames Transit/Stagecoach
Mercedes now in service with Magpie at High Wycombe. F310EJO basks in the noon day sun.

Newish Excelsior Volvo/Plaxton Panther leaves Gloucester Green on the 1700 539 service
 to Bournemouth last Friday, having just arrived from the north.
The use of a flights offside mirror is noteworthy.
805 - A9XCL. 

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

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