BUS company bosses in Oxford say payouts from a bus crash and a series of major investments, including fleet of new park-and-ride buses, helped lead to a 'difficult' period for its finances.

Shares in Go-Ahead, parent company of the Oxford Bus Company fell nearly 12 per cent after payouts following a serious coach crash near Oxford.

Seventeen people were hurt in December when an airline coach veered off the M40 sliproad at Milton Common. All 17 people on board, including the driver, were taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital but none were seriously hurt.

Oxford Bus Company did not provide any details on payouts to passengers but said it had incurred a 'six-figure loss' after writing off the coach following the accident.

Bosses also say they sank £4.5m into a new fleet of buses for the city's park-and-rides, and have cited closures and congestion surrounding the new Westgate Centre as factors.

The transport operator saw profits drop 5.7 per cent to £136.8m in the year to July 1 last year, from £145m the year before. Its financial year runs from July to June.

Oxford Bus Company managing director Phil Southall said: "It has been a difficult year financially due to a number of one-off factors.

"However, we have continued to significantly invest in improving our services as part of our long-term strategy to better our provision for customers.

"The regular temporary closures of Queen Street and other roads relating to Westgate Centre construction have meant long diversions for our buses around the city and made customer access difficult and increased costs.

"Congestion has increased in Oxford, causing reduced bus speeds."

Mr Southall said in June that the company's buses would be forced to travel an additional 149,000 miles a year as a result of the closure of Queen Street to buses for a pedestrianisation scheme designed to help Westgate shoppers when the new £440m centre opens on October 24.

An extra six buses are needed when Queen Street is closed to buses, costing an additional £1.5m.

The company has lodged a formal objection to the county council's pedestrianisation plans and the matter has been referred to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.

Mr Southall added that £1m a year in local authority subsidies for sister company Thames Travel was lost after being withdrawn by Oxfordshire County Council.

He said: "We chose to continue to operate the vast majority of these services at a loss for the benefit of the community and in the hope we could reach a sustainable position in the long term.

"Despite this we have remained committed to our long-term vision as a forward thinking, innovative public transport provider and have invested heavily in modernising and improving our services where possible.

"This has included a £1m investment on new contactless enabled ticket machines, £4.5m on the new park-and-ride bus fleet, £2.2m in new buses for services 3, 8 and 9, and a new travel shop and customer lounge at Gloucester Green.

"Our investments of more than £8m to improve our services has further reduced our short-term profitability but is a long-term investment and commitment that will improve customer satisfaction and, hopefully, the balance sheet over time."