MORE than 150,000 extra bus seats will be laid on in Oxford as part of an overhaul of city services.

Oxford Bus Company has brought forward a raft of proposed changes because of impending roadworks in Iffley Road which will last for 40 weeks.

A new service – City3A – will link Rose Hill directly to the city centre, while the City15 will be axed and the CityX23 renamed.

The firm said there will now be 50,000 extra seats each year between Abingdon and Oxford, 65,000 more between Wood Farm and the city centre and 36,000 extra routes linking the city with Marston and the John Radcliffe Hospital, in Headington.

Last night bus users welcomed the new plans, but said more could still be done for Oxford’s passengers.

The Iffley Road work will start on May 9, with temporary traffic lights installed between The Plain and Henley Street.

The road will be closed completely between The Plain and Circus Street for up to four weeks in August, and all work is expected to finish by March 2012.

Oxford Bus Company’s operations director Louisa Weeks said: “The changes to the Rose Hill service are being made because of the extensive roadworks due to start on the Iffley Road.

“We decided to change the route to tackle any reliability issues while the works are taking place.”

Ms Weeks added the changes would improve the firm’s routes and reliability.

She said: “The City4, which runs from Abingdon, Elms Rise, Dean Court and Botley, will now continue through the city centre to Wood Farm. It replaces the City15 service.

“That gives a through service from the railway station to the Churchill Hospital.

“There’ll also be more buses between the city centre and the Churchill and Wood Farm.”

There will also be a special service from Rose Hill to Matthew Arnold School and back during term time.

Wood Farm will have an increased frequency during weekdays, with services operating up to every 10 minutes.

The CityX23 between the John Radcliffe and Redbridge Park and Ride will be re-numbered city23. Peak cityX23 services linking Abingdon with the hospital and Oxford Brookes University will be re-numbered CityX13.

Hugh Jaegar, chairman of the Oxford Bus Users’ Forum, welcomed the changes.

He said: “Most of the changes are very good and I’m sure bus users in Oxford will welcome them.

“One slight niggle is that Rose Hill no longer has a direct link to the station, but I understand entirely why the company has done this.

“It needs to keep timetable disruption to a minimum during the Iffley Road works.”

But Marcus Lapthorn, chairman of the Churchill Hospital Cancer Patients and Carers’ Panel, called for more to be done.

He said: “We welcome the introduction of a direct link from the station to nearer the hospital.

“But it would be nice if the company could divert just two buses an hour into the hospital.

“The current stop is in Old Road and that distance is a real struggle for cancer patients, especially after treatment.”

The changes are permanent and will remain in place even when the Iffley road works end.

For a full list of timetable changes, visit oxfordbus.co.uk