STAGECOACH is giving one lucky passenger £25 worth of shopping vouchers to celebrate one year since it improved one of its West Oxfordshire services.

The bus operator will give the vouchers and a complimentary Dayrider ticket to the first person boarding one of its 233 buses after 2.33pm on Friday.

The route, which covers Burford, Carterton, Minster Lovell, Witney, Long Hanborough and Woodstock, had its service increased last year.

Buses now call every half an hour between Woodstock and Burford to provide better connections with trains at Hanborough Station and ensure more people travel by train.

Chris Coleman, Stagecoach in Oxfordshire’s managing director, said: “We’re delighted that we’re continuing to deliver a service that has proven exceptionally popular and beneficial to the local community.

"We wanted to say thank you to the passengers who continue to use the 233 bus, and show our appreciation.”

Susan Halliwell, Oxfordshire County Council’s director for planning and place, added: “Stagecoach has successfully implemented a service that provides reliable connections every 30 minutes to the train station at Long Hanborough.

“This is helping to reducing congestion during peak times on the road, and thus reducing traffic problems in the city.”

“The service is funded from developer contributions and we hope it stays for many more years to help locals get to work, to school and to the shops and ultimately to provide an alternative to the car along this route.”

Timetables are available at stagecoachbus.com/timetables