NEW buses have been spotted running through rural areas of Oxfordshire, as three axed routes have been revived by part of a £588,000 cash injection.

Oxfordshire’s county council won the money in a funding bid from the Government, and is using it to support thirteen bus services across the county in total.

Three bus routes axed in 2016 have been reinstated by the funding: one between Chipping Norton and Kingham station, another between Southmoor and Oxford, and a third between Abingdon, Berinsfield and Cowley.

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Hugh Jaeger, Chair of Bus Users Oxford, welcomed the new routes and hoped something could be done to keep them running them once the £588,000 funding, the full amount offered by Government, ran out in 12 months time.

Witney Gazette:

Hugh Jaeger. Picture: Oxford Mail

Mr Jaeger said: “The County Council has mostly made a good job of prioritising which routes to reinstate or improve. For example, they have reinstated route X8 that links Chipping Norton with Kingham railway station. It will run only Monday to Friday but it will enable rail users to commute car-free.”

But he added: “This grant is for only 12 months. Covid-19 has changed public finances beyond recognition. Who will ensure these 13 routes will be subsidised after this time next year?”

READ AGAIN about when the bus funding bid was made in March

Cabinet member for transport and the environment, Yvonne Constance, said the council had worked hard to 'get the most' out of the funding.

She added: “The Government money is only for one year so I really hope that spending the SBSF [supported bus service fund] on supported bus services will help to encourage more people to travel by bus, thereby reducing traffic and congestion and hopefully making some services commercially viable."

The council already has plans to extend the Abingdon, Berinsfield, Cowley service for a year and Burford Witney, Woodstock service until September 2023.

It will do this using money provided by housing developers through contract negotiations.

The remainder of the newly funded bus improvements will either be expected to break even, or be funded by further Government money.

Witney Gazette:

A new subsidised bus. Picture: Hugh Jaeger

When the council originally made its bid for the funding, it broke the money down for three separate areas:

  • £125,000 is for improving supported bus services, including the 136 between RAF Benson and Wallingford, and new Sunday routes between Banbury and Chipping Norton, Watlington and Oxford, and Woodstock and Witney.
  • £253,400 is for restoring the lost bus routes between Chipping Norton and Kingham station, Southmoor and Oxford, and Abingdon, Berinsfield and Cowley.
  • £210,000 will extend current services including between Lambourn and Swindon, an evening service from Oxford to Banbury, and a new Sunday service from Wallingford to Henley.

Many of the new services are being operated by Stagecoach, and others by bus firm Pulhams from Bourton-on-the-Water.

See information about some of the new routes at stagecoach.com/coronavirus