Oxford Bus Company/Thames Travel

[Parebunks]

Looks like a new livery is on the way for at least some of the Evoras? 80809 spotted this morning repainted in an orange and cream base

This seems to be for the H2, several others repainted and some now have vinyls.

Full details of the OBC September changes on their website, highlights are:
- 4A extended to Risinghurst as 4, will operate via Brookes and JR a la X32 rather than as the 14, every 30 mins all week, no evening trips to Risinghurst.
- 4B extended to Magdalen Street, renumbered 200, every 30 mins Mon-Sat.
- Sat evening and Sunday boost to 5A
- 6 and 35 merged as expected, every 20 mins Mon-Sat daytimes
- Bigger loop for 15 in Wood Farm - 25, 29, H5 merged as 25/A. Every 30 mins Heyford-Bicester-Ambrosden. 25 every hour, diverting via Chesterton and continuing to JR on H5 route. 25A every hour continuing to Upper Arncott.
- 33 diverts via Benson on Sundays.
- 44/63 restored to Speedwell Street.
- 400 restored to Seacourt.
- X1 axed. X15 increases to every 30 minutes Oxford-Abingdon-Marcham-Southmoor, not stopping station. Sundays every hour Oxford-Marcham.
- X35 extended from Grove to Abingdon replacing this section of X1, but skipping Marcham on A415.
- New Sunday 34 Didcot-Newbury via villages.
- Minor changes to 3S, 11, 21, 35A, 41, 600, X2, X3, X36, X52

 

[Andyh82]

I’ve noticed that whenever there is a service change, they always seem to move at least one service from Oxford Bus to Thames Travel, or vice versa.

 

[AlastairFraser]

This seems to be for the H2, several others repainted and some now have vinyls.

Full details of the OBC September changes on their website, highlights are:
- 4A extended to Risinghurst as 4, will operate via Brookes and JR a la X32 rather than as the 14, every 30 mins all week, no evening trips to Risinghurst.
- 4B extended to Magdalen Street, renumbered 200, every 30 mins Mon-Sat.
- Sat evening and Sunday boost to 5A
- 6 and 35 merged as expected, every 20 mins Mon-Sat daytimes
- Bigger loop for 15 in Wood Farm - 25, 29, H5 merged as 25/A. Every 30 mins Heyford-Bicester-Ambrosden. 25 every hour, diverting via Chesterton and continuing to JR on H5 route. 25A every hour continuing to Upper Arncott.
- 33 diverts via Benson on Sundays.
- 44/63 restored to Speedwell Street.
- 400 restored to Seacourt.
- X1 axed. X15 increases to every 30 minutes Oxford-Abingdon-Marcham-Southmoor, not stopping station. Sundays every hour Oxford-Marcham.
- X35 extended from Grove to Abingdon replacing this section of X1, but skipping Marcham on A415.
- New Sunday 34 Didcot-Newbury via villages.
- Minor changes to 3S, 11, 21, 35A, 41, 600, X2, X3, X36, X52

That's quite impressive, especially in some areas outside of Oxford.
5 years ago there was nothing north of East Ilsley and south of Harwell, now a 7 day a week service between Didcot and Newbury.
The Heyford Park changes are quite welcome for local residents too, this was another place that would have been completely isolated, but for OCC stepping in at the last min with BSIP funding.

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

This seems to be for the H2, several others repainted and some now have vinyls.

Full details of the OBC September changes on their website, highlights are:
- 4A extended to Risinghurst as 4, will operate via Brookes and JR a la X32 rather than as the 14, every 30 mins all week, no evening trips to Risinghurst.
- 4B extended to Magdalen Street, renumbered 200, every 30 mins Mon-Sat.
- Sat evening and Sunday boost to 5A
- 6 and 35 merged as expected, every 20 mins Mon-Sat daytimes
- Bigger loop for 15 in Wood Farm - 25, 29, H5 merged as 25/A. Every 30 mins Heyford-Bicester-Ambrosden. 25 every hour, diverting via Chesterton and continuing to JR on H5 route. 25A every hour continuing to Upper Arncott.
- 33 diverts via Benson on Sundays.
- 44/63 restored to Speedwell Street.
- 400 restored to Seacourt.
- X1 axed. X15 increases to every 30 minutes Oxford-Abingdon-Marcham-Southmoor, not stopping station. Sundays every hour Oxford-Marcham.
- X35 extended from Grove to Abingdon replacing this section of X1, but skipping Marcham on A415.
- New Sunday 34 Didcot-Newbury via villages.
- Minor changes to 3S, 11, 21, 35A, 41, 600, X2, X3, X36, X52

I'll admit it's a pain there won't be a direct bus from Abingdon to Oxford station. However I remember nearly 10 years ago a not bad situation where from Abingdon you had the X3's terminate at Oxford then the 4 and 4B's going past Oxford station. Plus an easy swap onto a too frequent 1 or 5 to Oxford station.

Admittedly the 44 is handy and better than nothing. There's an X2 mostly every 20 minutes to Didcot Parkway station and every 20 minutes to Radley station.

To have mostly 2 buses an hour on the X15 to / from Southmoor and Abingdon (easy change at Kingston Bagpuize or Southmoor onto the S6, cheaper and more reliable by bus) and 2 buses an hour to and from Abingdon and Wantage, I'd say Oxford Bus and Thames Travel have done rather well like they always do, particularly in the recent heatwave!

 

[LW84]

It'll be interesting to see what, if any, 'padding' is in-place within the timetable on the Wolvercote-Abingdon (6) route. OBC have tried this one before. The weekend evenings where this remained a thing (with the route number change in Oxford) may have given them sufficient data. Abingdon Road in Oxford is the clear questionable area.

The return of the 15 taking on its' old route in Wood Farm ... hopefully the cars won't be an issue on Masons Road!

Glad (from my perspective) that the 400 is returning to Seacourt P&R. I assume the limited stop aspect on Botley Road as-was will have been considered.

 

[JamesT]

It'll be interesting to see what, if any, 'padding' is in-place within the timetable on the Wolvercote-Abingdon (6) route. OBC have tried this one before. The weekend evenings where this remained a thing (with the route number change in Oxford) may have given them sufficient data. Abingdon Road in Oxford is the clear questionable area.

I would expect Abingdon Road to be less of an issue with the traffic filters. Westgate traffic should be going via Botley Road to avoid the filter.

 

[LW84]

I would expect Abingdon Road to be less of an issue with the traffic filters. Westgate traffic should be going via Botley Road to avoid the filter.

Whilst that is true with regards the Traffic Filters replacing the Congestion Charge, I would still have my concerns about that area. Time - as is often so - will tell.

 

[Benjwri]

It'll be interesting to see what happens to the OCC funded routes over the next few years, with the new unitaries they are going to be crossing county boundaries.

 

[Mark L]

It'll be interesting to see what happens to the OCC funded routes over the next few years, with the new unitaries they are going to be crossing county boundaries.

The same could be said of many routes that will cross new boundaries. If a mayoral combined authority is set up this will at least cover an area broadly comparable to the existing authority and have responsibility for transport.

 

[Thames99]

There was a very large diversion on the X40 yesterday and also today because the main road from Wallingford to Reading is closed at Chazey Heath because of a gas leak being repaired. Buses are diverting from Wallingford to Caversham bridge to run via Henley. There is a shuttle service from Woodcote to Wallingford to maintain a connection for them.

As this coincides with Reading festival traffic blocking the Reading end of the route there must be some enormous delays.

 

[Benjwri]

There was a very large diversion on the X40 yesterday and also today because the main road from Wallingford to Reading is closed at Chazey Heath because of a gas leak being repaired. Buses are diverting from Wallingford to Caversham bridge to run via Henley. There is a shuttle service from Woodcote to Wallingford to maintain a connection for them.

As this coincides with Reading festival traffic blocking the Reading end of the route there must be some enormous delays.

Gosh that is quite a huge diversion. Both for the buses and car drivers terrible to be closed at the same time as the A329 through Cholsey, which is the obvious alternate way from Reading to Wallingford

 

[LW84]

Gosh that is quite a huge diversion. Both for the buses and car drivers terrible to be closed at the same time as the A329 through Cholsey, which is the obvious alternate way from Reading to Wallingford

The diversion route has been relatively free-flowing from what I have seen.

 

[Wolvercoter]

Bit weird that the Oxford - Abingdon - Wantage route is being split. That's been around since before I was born and I'm 50! I remember it as 301 with red Bristol VRs, 31 with Thames Transit Merc 709Ds then Darts and S8 Stagecoach Gold Deckers for a while. Times change I suppose.

 

[AlastairFraser]

There was a very large diversion on the X40 yesterday and also today because the main road from Wallingford to Reading is closed at Chazey Heath because of a gas leak being repaired. Buses are diverting from Wallingford to Caversham bridge to run via Henley. There is a shuttle service from Woodcote to Wallingford to maintain a connection for them.

As this coincides with Reading festival traffic blocking the Reading end of the route there must be some enormous delays.

Wow! That's quite a way around. I guess you couldn't get anything larger than a minibus over Whitchurch bridge.
This is one situation where diverting the X40 after Wallingford express to Didcot and ticket acceptance on GWR would be useful, with a local shuttle once an hour for the villages.
Although I'm slightly surprised they didn't run the normal X40 all the way to Woodcote, and run a connecting single decker shuttle Woodcote - Reading via Gallowstree Common and Sonning Common.

Bit weird that the Oxford - Abingdon - Wantage route is being split. That's been around since before I was born and I'm 50! I remember it as 301 with red Bristol VRs, 31 with Thames Transit Merc 709Ds then Darts and S8 Stagecoach Gold Deckers for a while. Times change I suppose.

Times change indeed! Even in my lifetime, most of the route was relatively rural.
Now with the rapid pace of housing development over the last 10-15 years, large chunks of the route are just trawling through suburbs.
Maybe one day we'll come completely full circle and Wantage will even get its station back, but the Vale is a fundamentally different place than it used to be and it means urban sprawl is starting to have an effect on bus journey times.

 

[Benjwri]

I guess you couldn't get anything larger than a minibus over Whitchurch bridge.

You could come route through Tilehurst, but a double decker is too high for the railway bridge west of Pangbourne station. The A329 is closed in Cholsey anyways meaning you’d have to take a lengthy diversion nearly via Didcot to get to Wallingford from there in a bus.

Although I'm slightly surprised they didn't run the normal X40 all the way to Woodcote, and run a connecting single decker shuttle Woodcote - Reading via Gallowstree Common and Sonning Common.

Whenever I’ve used it few people board and alight in Woodcote. The majority of passengers are from Wallingford or north to Reading.

 

[AlastairFraser]

Whenever I’ve used it few people board and alight in Woodcote. The majority of passengers are from Wallingford or north to Reading.

Yeah my point was run normal frequency to Woodcote and maybe a more frequent connecting single decker shuttle into Reading. With a single decker you could route over Reading Bridge, through past Cav library and up on to the B481 down Chester St or somewhere similar. I guess disruption wasn't really severe or prolonged enough for TT to think about it though.

You could come route through Tilehurst, but a double decker is too high for the railway bridge west of Pangbourne station. The A329 is closed in Cholsey anyways meaning you’d have to take a lengthy diversion nearly via Didcot to get to Wallingford from there in a bus.

Yeah I was thinking a single decker through Whitchurch or the back roads near Moulsford would be a good solution, but of course the toll bridge can only take 7.5 tonnes max and I don't think you can entirely avoid the Cholsey area on public highways.

 

[Benjwri]

Yeah my point was run normal frequency to Woodcote and maybe a more frequent connecting single decker shuttle into Reading. With a single decker you could route over Reading Bridge, through past Cav library and up on to the B481 down Chester St or somewhere similar. I guess disruption wasn't really severe or prolonged enough for TT to think about it though.

Suspect there isn’t much availability of single deckers either.

Yeah I was thinking a single decker through Whitchurch or the back roads near Moulsford would be a good solution, but of course the toll bridge can only take 7.5 tonnes max and I don't think you can entirely avoid the Cholsey area on public highways.

To be honest if you’re diverting and skipping all the stops might as well run via Henley if you can use the deckers. They seemed to only be losing 15 minutes off peak anyways.

 

[AlastairFraser]

Suspect there isn’t much availability of single deckers either.

Perhaps

To be honest if you’re diverting and skipping all the stops might as well run via Henley if you can use the deckers. They seemed to only be losing 15 minutes off peak anyways.

I'm shocked given the A4155 isn't exactly an express road, and the A4130 isn't much better.

 

[Mark L]

Perhaps

I'm shocked given the A4155 isn't exactly an express road, and the A4130 isn't much better.

Apart from the inevitable congestion in Henley town centre I’ve always found both roads to be reasonably free flowing.

 

[Thames99]

X40 buses are still diverting via Henley today. The Oxford Bus app shows this continuing to the end of day on Monday. Google maps shows short queues in Chazey Heath, but it is no longer marked as road closed, so who knows!

 

[Benjwri]

Google maps shows short queues in Chazey Heath, but it is no longer marked as road closed, so who knows!

Google Maps seems to be having a bad day with closures. It's also showing the road through Cholsey open, which when I ran past earlier had resulted in some very stuck trailers and lots of people turning round. 136 still on its diversionary route, although I image it will remain on it even if the road does reopen early.

 

[LW84]

Regarding the X40 routing, The SGN website suggests that the road is open with temporary traffic lights in the section?

Can see OBC are indeed diverting via Henley, and yes, the additional time was about 15 minutes based on when I rode the divert on Thursday.