Stagecoach in Oxfordshire

Stagecoach in Oxfordshire

A Stagecoach bus in Oxford
Founded	2002, formerly Stagecoach South Midlands
Headquarters	Oxford, Oxfordshire
Locale	Oxfordshire
Service area	United Kingdom
Service type	Urban and interurban bus services
Destinations	Oxford, Witney, Banbury, Bicester, Chipping Norton and Wantage
Fleet	See fleet
Operator	Stagecoach Group
Web site	Official Website

Stagecoach in Oxfordshire is the name given to Stagecoach Group bus operations in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It used to be part of Stagecoach South Midlands along with Stagecoach in Warwickshire until March 2004.

History

Stagecoach South Midlands was created from Midland Red (South) Ltd and Thames Transit Ltd, both companies acquired by the Stagecoach Group in the 1990s. Legally these companies still exist, with buses in Warwickshire and Banbury still carrying legal lettering for Midland Red (South) Ltd, whilst buses in Oxford (including the Oxford Tube) and Witney are legally lettered for Thames Transit Ltd.

Operation

Stagecoach South Midlands operated under three different brands:

• The Oxford Tube brand, used for express buses between Oxford and London.
• The Stagecoach in Banbury brand, used for local buses in and around the town of Banbury in Oxfordshire.
• The Stagecoach in Oxford brand, used for local buses in and around the city of Oxford.

From 1 July 2002, the Oxford and Banbury brands were merged to become Stagecoach in Oxfordshire. Then from 1 March 2004 Stagecoach in Oxfordshire and Stagecoach in Warwickshire were split to become two entirely separate divisions of Stagecoach Group.

The local buses in Oxford operate in competition with local buses operated by the Oxford Bus Company. Oxford is one of the few UK cities where such free and unsubsidised competition (as envisaged by the architects of bus deregulation in the 1980s) still exists. Similarly the Oxford Tube coaches compete with the Oxford Bus Company's Espress service. This unusual level of both service and competition is facilitated by Oxford's status as a prestigious university city, lack of car parking spaces in the city centre, and the consequent large numbers of young, affluent but car-less inhabitants. In 2010 it was announced that a quality contract had been agreed between the two principal bus operators and the County Council leading to joint timetabling and ticketing. A consequence of this partnership was that on 15 July 2010, Stagecoach Oxford began using hybrid buses on Route 1 (Cowley, Blackbird Leys). Twelve buses of this type, which use battery power with a small Diesel generator, had been delivered by the manufacturers Alexander Dennis in time for the launch date, with a further fourteen to be delivered to Oxford later in the year.

Stagecoach in Oxfordshire operates four sub-brands, namely: Stagecoach in Oxfordshire, Oxford Tube, and a National Express franchise from Oxford to Luton and Stansted airports (737).

It also operates Route X5, which is a high frequency inter-urban coach service linking Oxford and Cambridge via Bicester, Buckingham, Milton Keynes, Bedford and St Neots.

Oxford Tube

See also: Oxford to London coach route

The service's logo.

Van Hool Astromega T915 bodied coach for the Oxford Tube

An Oxford Tube Neoplan Skyliner double decker.

The Oxford Tube currently operates a fleet of 26 Van Hool Astromega double decker coaches with free Wi-Fi internet access and 240V mains power points on board every coach. As of 2009, these replaced the old fleet of 25 Neoplan Skyliners. With departures up to every 10 minutes, the service begins at Gloucester Green coach station in Oxford City Centre, then stops at Queen's Lane, St Clements, Brookes University, Headington Shops, Green Road Roundabout, Thornhill Park & Ride, Lewknor Turn, Hillingdon, Shepherd's Bush, Notting Hill Gate, Marble Arch, and finally two stops at Victoria.

There are three express services on Monday to Friday at 0600, 0624, and 0700: these services do not stop at Lewknor, Hillingdon, Shepherd's Bush or Notting Hill Gate.

Fleet

Stagecoach Oxfordshire run various types of vehicle:

• Dennis Dart SLF/Alexander ALX200
• Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer 2
• Dennis Trident 2/Alexander ALX400
• MAN 18.220/Alexander ALX300
• MAN 18.240/Alexander Dennis Enviro300
• Optare Solo
• Volvo B6LE/Alexander ALX200
• Volvo B10M
• Scania N230UD/Alexander Dennis Enviro400

Electric hybrid buses, built by Alexander Dennis with the hybrid mechanism supplied by BAE Systems, were introduced in July 2010.

Depots

A picture of these Stagecoach Group buses in Banbury during 2004. The one nearest to the camera is in the new livery and the one farthest from the camera is in the old livery.

A Stagecoach bus doing trade in Bretch hill in 2006. Their buses run every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 20 minutes at weekends.

In Oxfordshire:

• Banbury, Canal Street (BY)
• Oxford, Horspath Road (OX)
• Witney, Corn Street (WY)

Also, Oxford depot has out-stations at Bicester, Chipping Norton and Harwell.

See also

• List of bus companies

External links

• Stagecoach in Oxfordshire website
• Stagecoach in Warwickshire website
• Oxford Tube website
• Weekly news page for buses in Oxford and the Chilterns
• Bus Zone - enthusiast website