BUS routes across the county will be axed to help 'stabilise services'.

Oxfordshire County Council announced yesterday that a number of bus services across the county will stop running from January 2, 2022.

Here's a full list of the bus cuts>>>

The announcement comes following a major review by the council and the city’s main bus providers of the city’s bus network.

From the New Year the park and ride 500 service from Woodstock and Oxford Parkway will no longer run.

Instead, the Stagecoach 7 service will be diverted to the park and ride to provide the same frequency. 

Closer to the city centre, there will be changes in services between north and south Oxford.

A single operator will now provide bus services to Kidlington (currently route two) and Rose Hill (currently route three). 

Routes to the city centre from Littlemore and Greater Leys will also be merged together – the council says this will provide a ‘more sustainable level of service’ that is ‘better matched to passenger numbers’.

Services between Oxford, Abingdon, Harwell Campus, and Wantage will also be impacted by the changes.

The Stagecoach service S8 and 34 will no longer run, instead of being replaced with new Thames Travel routes, called X1 and 34.

The S9 Stagecoach service between Wantage and Oxford, however, will have an increased frequency due to an increase in housing in the area. 

The council said that the changes are being implemented to ‘secure services’ after it faced an ‘unprecedented set of challenges’ over the last 18 months.

The cuts are blamed on lower passenger numbers than usual, a reduction in government funding, and a national shortage of driving staff. 

The council said it worked ‘proactively’ with operators across the county to identify ‘opportunities for great efficiencies through the reduction of unnecessary duplication’ – this was based on a recommendation from the national government’s bus strategy.

The changes hope to place the network on a ‘more secure’ financial footing ‘while minimising the impact on passengers’. 

Councillor Tim Bearder, the council’s cabinet member for highway management, said: “The bus companies have done astonishingly well to maintain services during these unprecedented times, but government decisions and the pandemic have created a perfect storm and our local operators have had to act. They need to counter the reduction in government funding, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on passenger numbers, and the challenging situation for recruitment of bus drivers.

“We are pleased to have been able to get the parties together to sort out a coordinated approach to tackle these issues facing the bus companies. Public transport is key to our plans to get more people out of their cars. That is why we need to first get the network on to a more secure financial footing while we try to secure £56 million from the government’s national bus strategy fund to improve services in the long term.”

Phil Southall, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company, said: “We very much appreciate the proactive approach taken by Oxfordshire County Council in seeking to support operators to stabilise the bus network in the county in what continue to be very difficult times for the public transport industry. The changes announced today will secure the future of many important routes and will also see several new journey possibilities opened up for bus users.

“Three in four bus users in Oxfordshire have now returned to travelling by bus after the COVID-19 restrictions have lifted, and we are looking forward to seeing more customers returning in the new year, as well as to welcoming new customers to our services in the near future.”

Rachel Geliamassi, Managing Director of Stagecoach West, said: “We are encouraged to see more of our customers return, however, we have to be realistic and address the effects that COVID-19 has had on how and when our customers travel into and around the city.

“Stagecoach is very much still in support of the Oxford SmartZone scheme to provide flexibility of ticket offers for customers. We have welcomed the opportunity to engage with Oxfordshire County Council to consider and agree alternative solutions to how we operate our routes. We will be sad to say goodbye to some of our most loyal customers and know that our drivers will be equally disappointed as they have been proud to serve our customers in the areas we will no longer be operating in.”