from THE OXFORD BUS PAGE
News & Pictures from:
 Oxford, High Wycombe, The Chilterns & surrounding areas

Issue 206
Monday 8th July 2002
(delayed from 7th July June)

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.

Visit the Archive Pages going back to 1998

Your reports are welcome at malcolmhc@aol.com

I wondered if you might like my offering  (not digital as taken in 1979 on  Kodachrome 25 ! )  
  -    remembering G G as it used to be with coach 18. Brian Matthews (Witney)

And so to issue 206 at last delayed from Sunday. And, yes, Brian Matthews, we I am sure do like your offering above with Gloucester Green in the days when there was room to manoeuvre, not something so easy today. 18 would have been almost new when this picture was taken and the 190 livery, now seen on  21 at the museum was sometime in the future. I hope we may see more of Brian's work in the coming months.

Last week was a busy one for me, with a trip to Amsterdam, a short spell on Friday evening following my favourite pastime, an evening function in London on Saturday and a "one tripper" on X90s on Sunday evening. Talking about the "one tripper", the M40 was very busy and I ended up using the A40 as far as Loudwater. Then when I got to London Baker Street, news came through of the closure of Park Lane and after a quick bit of thinking I elected to reach VCs via Regent St, Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square. I reached VCs some 15 minutes late but still quicker than my colleague who was 15 mins in front. Such is life and I ended up with a full load back all the way from VCS. Volvo nr 18 was my steed and I think it may the first time that an airport liveried coach has been down Regent St? The new roadwork's between Park Royal and North Action Junc were causing long delays which I believe are even worse in normal rush hours. Indeed on Friday evening just about everything coming back to Oxford was suffering delays with knock on effects. I also understand that according to some reports the timing of London's traffic lights/pedestrian crossing has been changed in favour of pedestrians resulting in much slower traffic. This also affects public transport which is what I though the government wanted everyone to use!

Ralph Adams wrote with an interesting link which I quote for all.

http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/index/environment_and_travel/travel/publictransport/changes-2.htm

Ralph says it also has details of Arriva changes in 2 more weeks and notes further that 001 service 7B has now been withdrawn. He says " In my opinion, it was a waste of time being clockwise only City-Cuttleslowe-JR-Quarry-City.   It replaced the old 7b Cuttleslowe-City-Headington Quarry of Thames Transit. Local passengers from Cuttleslowe had a 40 minute circuit to get to town but only 15/20 minutes back.  At least now the services are 2 way, but no longer links Cuttleslowe and JR. So the 103 (1 bus), now extends to Jericho (old X39) and Cuttleslowe. Running hourly, will need 2 buses, but X39 will need 1 less - so same overall. The 107 will probably be 1 bus.

Following last week's page, Stephen le Bras wrote saying "Are you sure that Daf/Smit is 15 metres long, as it only has 2 axles? It may be 13 1/2Metres long but I could be wrong. Several 15 metre coaches have been visiting Windsor coach park. Today we had the annual visit from a Turkish coach- no time to photograph it but it was similar to a French TEMSA coach I had seen and photographed earlier this year.

I wonder why Oxford BC is looking at the Scania/Irizar. The Century style is old and is being phased out by the Irizar PB.

The Juniper is 8014- I found out recently that the 8.43am from Windsor to Waterloo is usually a Juniper working. The air conditioning is a bit stifling for me."

Thanks for those comments Stephen.

I now quote information from Ralph Adams about new and changed services in Oxford from Sunday 7th July.

Considerable changes in local services. I have copied and pasted from the County Council web site. I do not think you will want it all but I find it interesting
Week commencing 7th July 2002


New Service! Service 5c (Stagecoach Oxford): New evening service providing an hourly link between Littlemore, Sandford, Greater Leys, Blackbird Leys, Cowley and the City Centre.
Services 6/a/b/c (Oxford Bus Co.): Evening and Sunday timetables revised to give a half-hourly service and extension of the route to Oxford Rail Station.
Service 7b (001 Taxis): This service is withdrawn, journeys incorporated into Thames Travel services 103 and 107.
Service 17a (Chiltern Queens): Operator change to Heyfordian with route and timing changes.
Service 17b (Chiltern Queens): Operator change to Heyfordian. Timetable altered so all departures are one hour later.
Service 17c (Chiltern Queens): Operator change to Heyfordian. Section of route between Cowley Centre and Oxford City Centre withdrawn.
Service 25/a (Stagecoach Oxford): Timetable amendments to journeys before 0900, with the weekday 0700 Kirtlington to Oxford journey withdrawn and replaced by a new service 59 departure at 0655.
Service 30 (Whites): Service between Oxford and Abingdon reduced to every two hours on weekdays between 0900 and 1500.  However, between these hours the route is extended to serve Drayton, Sutton Courtenay, Milton Heights and Harwell IBC, replacing withdrawn service 33.
Service 31/x31 (Stagecoach Oxford): Evening peak timetable changes and slight amendments to Saturday late night Wantage to Oxford journeys. 0742 Grove to Wantage journey withdrawn.
Service 32/a/b (Stagecoach Oxford): Slight timetable changes on Weekday morning peaks.  On Saturdays, certain journeys no longer serve Didcot Parkway Station.
Service 33 (Stagecoach Oxford):  This service is withdrawn and partly replaced by service 30.
Service 44 (Stagecoach Oxford): Frequency reduction to every 90 minutes.  This service now only travels the section of route between Oxford and Abingdon, Preston Road, except for the final journey on weekdays which also serves Drayton, Sutton Courtenay and Milton Heights.
Service 49 (Weavaway):  Operator change to Heyfordian.  Bus leaves Berinsfield and Baldons 10 minutes earlier and departs Oxford 35 minutes later.
Service 86 (Tappins): This Wednesday shopping service between Upton and Didcot is withdrawn altogether.
Service 101 (Thames Travel): Slight timetable amendments and extra Watlington to Oxford journey on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Service 103 (Thames Travel): Slight timetable amendments and route in Oxford extended to serve Jericho and Cutteslowe.
New Service! Service 107 (Thames Travel):  Hourly Monday to Saturday service linking the John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington Quarry, Bainton Road and the City Centre.
Service 114 (Heyfordian): This service between Boars Hill and Abingdon is withdrawn.
Service 115 (Heyfordian): Slight timing amendments between Frilford and Abingdon.
Service 130 (Thames Travel): Bus no longer serves North Moreton following bridge repairs, slight timetable changes associated with this. Also, the last journey from Didcot to Wallingford departs 30 minutes earlier.
Service 132 (Thames Travel): Timetable amendments between Ewelme and Benson on Friday nights and Saturdays.
Service 134 (Thames Travel): Slight timetable amendments and an extra early         Saturday morning journey between Didcot and Harwell IBC.
Service 140 (Thames Travel): This service is withdrawn.
Service 488 (Stagecoach Midland Red): Timetable amendments to all journeys after 1400.
Service 511 (Heyfordian): Operator change to Cheney Coaches on this Thursday only service between Hornton and Banbury.  Timetable stays the same.
Services B1, B2 & B7 (Stagecoach Midland Red): Slight route and timetable amendments on these Banbury Town services.
Service B8 (Stagecoach Midland Red): Friday and Saturday night 2315 departures from Banbury Bridge Street withdrawn.
Service tb103 (Thames Travel): Slight retiming to maintain connections with 103 and 101.  Extra journey from Stadhampton to Wheatley at 0649, Monday to Friday.
Service x39 (Thames Travel): Bus no longer serves Jericho, terminating in St Aldates with connections on new service 107 to John Radcliffe Hospital. Revised timetable on the rest of the route.
Service x59 (Stagecoach Midland Red): Extra departure from Oxford at 0722, arriving Steeple Aston at 0749 and Banbury 0830. A new 0620 departure from Banbury goes to Oxford via Kirtlington and Bletchingdon to replace the lost journey from service 25.

Various comments are included elsewhere in the news page on these changes but I am most grateful to Ralph for taking the time and trouble to let us have this information.

Well now on to our area happenings.

News of the local companies - 7th July 2002

Arriva serving The Shires & Essex

Arriva 3844 mentioned as missing by Nigel Peach, back in service last Saturday
complete with very silver wheels and no destination blind.

Newlands Bus Station, High Wycombe (NBS)

Lynx:3069,3070,3076,3345,3806,3808,3809,3810.

Dennis Dart SLF:3821,3822,3823,3824,3825,3826,3827

Dennis Dart DW:3811,3812,3813,3814,3815,3816,3817,3818,3819,3820

Dennis Dart DM:3833,3834

Scania:3144,3145,3146,3158,3163,3169

Olympian:5822,5823,5824,5825,5826,5827,5828,5829,5830,5831,5832,5833,5834,5835,5379,5074

Volvo:3841,3842,3843,3844,3853,3854,3855

Total:56

CRESSEX (CRX)  (Think this needs an update!)

Carousel/Abbey Coaches, High Wycombe

Just to keep up to date here is a view of the yard at High Wycombe with the usual selection of buses and coaches last Saturday.

Chiltern Queens - Woodcote

Mike Penn sent more photos and some interesting notes.

The unique Dennis Pelican, 530BPG.  It was photographed at Reading on June 2nd 1966.  Chiltern Queens'
departure point in Reading was the spot now occupied by First Beeline for their coach service to Heathrow Airport. 
The Duple (Midland) body of this bus was later transferred to an AEC Reliance chassis YNX 478
which is now preserved at The Oxford Bus Museum


Chiltern Queens DBW66 was a Tilling Stevens with locally built Vincent body. 
It was photographed at the Woodcote base by Mike Penn on October 19th 1963.

What a lovely little bus or two!!!!
Chiltern Queens NPC727 was a 1949 Guy Vixen with Wadham body which was
photographed at the Woodcote base on October 19th 1963.Mike Penn

Chiltern Queens SPD207 was a Gurney Nutting bodied Dennis Falcon. 
It was photographed at Reading on February 22nd 1964 by Mike Penn.

Mike Penn is an obvious source of many other photographs and I look forward to continuing tracing older local operators with his help which is very much appreciated.

Guide Friday/City Sightseeing

Ralph Adams writes to say "Guide Friday are doing tours of Cambridge  every 15 minutes from St Aldates.

ACTUALLY
Guide Friday have OSF928M in use on the Oxford tour. It still has the signs for the Cambridge Tour.

It appears that Cambridge operations have already merged some weeks ago and the Guide Friday buses have now been reallocated ".

Must try and get a picture of this one with a Jetlink 757!!!!!

Thanks to Richard Sharman I can reproduce a list provided by him on matters in Stratford. Maybe some of these vehicles could see service in Oxford.

Oxford Bus (City of Oxford Motor Services)  http://www.oxfordbus.co.uk

The demonstrator mentioned last week , YS02XED, Scania, seen here at Gloucester Green last Friday.

The interior of 38 , YS02XED, looking very different from the usual Oxford diet.

The Olympians are now fully used now that the student season is here.
221 on 400 road passes 222 on relief duties last Friday. 222 would shortly work
a 5 road service to Blackbird Leys.

The new livery on the Volvos for Airline services is seen to advantage here as 28
loads at Queens Lane behind older nr 17 now a "pool coach"

Stagecoach South Midlands Group

Newman Morgan wrote "Just to confirm an earlier e-mail of mine, and bearing in mind the LOTS London Bus Magazine report that both Stagecoach Tridents TA429 and 431 had entered service from North Street, Romford garage in May, today, July 2nd, TA431 was very definitely in Headington at approx 2pm working a 77 journey. Also, TA433 was seen in Arncott on a 29 duty at approx 6.15pm.

Not my best picture but proof that TA431 was still in Oxford last Friday.
It is seen leaving Gloucester Green on a 27 service.

Banbury

Visited the town on Thursday. All the noted Stagecoach still had Midland Red discs with legal address of Rugby. Ticket machines now the same as Oxford, or are they Oxford machines. Apparently Oxford is at present short of machines!
Banbury garage had both 501 and 963 together. Do they now have 2 school contracts, or is one a spare bus?

On Bus notices

On a Dart today, there were 2 notices of change of services.
Route 20. Extra bus from Oxford at 1850 arrive Old Woodstock 1915
Route 42 Extra bus from Old Woodstock at 7.16 p.m. arrive Witney at 7.41 p.m.
It was strange that 2 posters, obviously done at the same time should be one in 24 hour clock and one in 12 hour clock.

Stagecoach N340HGKwas in use on the Bicester service on Thursday. No visible fleet number was seen, and it was the first time I had seen it in service.

Sunday - its Silverstone
I was noting the normal Sunday double deck routes today. Service 100 had 906  907  910  and 912 in service
Service 20  had 518 (Olympian). Comment made that it had made an early morning trip to Silverstone, but unable to find a list of what was there
Service 77/a not operational as it is Term holidays

The Bicester service (normally B10) had 228  904  909, with 904 replaced by a Vario in the afternoon. 500 and 504 (Leyland Olympians) were not used and 528 was in the workshop. The 4 Oxford B10s above were taken to Witney by the drivers before collecting the Olympians from there..

The 5C starts on Sunday evening, using the 5 stop in Queen Street. It will have a dedicated Vario which has a bandit screen. Meanwhile the 10C and 10D are using the 1/10 stop in Queen Street. Obviously there are good financial reasons for the operators to operate each other's services, but I am not sure it is good for the occasional bus user wondering about ticket validity, etc.

Just back from my trip on the 5C

The 5C is using the normal Stagecoach stop in Queen Street. The dedicated bus is Vario 372 as it now has a bandit screen installed. The destination is shown as SPECIAL SERVICE at present with the route number showing.
On the first trip (Sunday at 20.00), apart from myself and a County Council employee, there were 3 passengers using the service not previously covered in the evening. Very good for a new service I feel.

Banbury

Cheney Coaches have a notice on their buses stating that Stagecoach tickets are not valid on their buses.  In small letters at the bottom, it then states Stagecoach tickets are valid on 488 (Chipping Norton). By deduction therefore, Stagecoach day tickets are not valid Mon/Thur on returns on B3/B5 Bretch Hill. The return is valid on Friday / Saturday however as Stagecoach operate in the evenings on those days. As all of these services are supported by Oxon County Council, why is a return not valid? Are return tickets issued by Cheney on the 488 valid for return on Stagecoach services later in the day?

Newman Morgan writes again saying "Just had my Monday Oxford Mail delivered and it reports that SiO 33 has been withdrawn and replaced by White's X30 which has been revised to run two-hourly off peak between Oxford-Abingdon-Harwell in part replacement of SiO 33. Also Heyfordian 114 withdrawn and passengers to Abingdon from Boars Hill and Sunningwell should use revised SiO 44 which continues to run apparently Oxford-Boars-Hill-Abingdon (Preston Road) to a reduced frequency. There is a peak hour journey from (in the morning) or to (in the afternoon) Milton Heights and Bradstocks Way.

Also, noted TA433 on Bicesters on Saturday with TA431 on the 29 this morning and 530 (N540HGK) on 17h10 Oxford-Arncott tonight."

One of the few Tubes still carrying full front vinyls. Nr 38 at Queens Lane

Gloucester Green with a Tube, 35, bearing a new super rear, possibly the least attractive yet.
It is for The Green Flag recovery organisation.

Thames Travel, Wallingford

Ralph Adams writes "Whilst the County said to me last night that a Taxibus could be used on the 107, I was told by a TT employee today that they will be using normal buses.  It was a Vario being used today. I cannot remember if it has been confirmed but Thames Travel have an outstation at Carterton. The Taxibus is changed on Sundays when a service is required whilst the other 2 buses are changed every other day.

The Thames Travel 107 and 103 look more complicated than I understood looking at a bus stop in George St. Possibly better able to see tomorrow when it starts
103 Extended to Jericho and Cuttleslowe
107 City - JR - Quarry - Headington - City - Jericho Bainton Road.  Could not make out which way it goes from JR to Hospital. Presumably it does the whole in reverse. Must need 2 buses.  Thames Travel website has not been updated since February changes. This appears to be more than details on County website.
Jericho would then have 2 buses each hour, 10 minutes apart"

There is more from Ralph in the editorial above.

Dart 251 seen on the 105 in High Street last Friday.

If you wish to be included on a mailing list where I will advise of any mid week news please
let me know on malcolmhc@aol.com

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

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

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