Oxford, High Wycombe & surrounding areas
Oxford, High Wycombe &
surrounding areas
updated - Sunday 12th March 2000
Please note that any comments made in this news page are those of the
Editors' and in no way constitute
any official points of view from the bus companies
mentioned, or indeed any other official body.
As a news page we reserve the right to
make valid comments as seen from an editorial point of view.
Problems with the pictures ! -
sometimes it seems that the pictures do not load.
I have found a solution which does work normally -
RIGHT CLICK ON THE PICTURE AND THEN CLICK ON "SHOW PICTURE"
Good luck !
The centre of Oxford was very congested on Saturday, due to some major roadworks at Carfax. This made it very difficult to turn from Queen Street in to St. Aldates as your Editor found out when carrying out his duty on X3 road. I was also watching a PMP video taken on 13 March 1999, exactly one year ago. This was the now famous Saturday when The Magdalen Bridge was closed. The video showed the diversion of all the easterly bound routes leaving Oxford, using the northerly road towards Summertown, before turning southwards on the Marston Ferry Road, to regain their normal routes. What was significant was the changes in the last year. New Tubes, new Park & Ride deckers, all change on 52 road with low floor Volvos and only one Metrorider left just one year later. This is far from all that has happened but it certainly makes one realise how quickly things are changing.
Fleet News week ending 12/3/00
City of Oxford Motor Services.
News of the week is that of the arrival of 819, the first of six new Volvo B10BLEs. As can be seen from the picture in Photo Corner below, this batch are virtually identical to the previous batch 801-815 with one main exception. They will have ROLLER BLINDS for the side and rear in place of the dot matrix of the previous batch. These had not been fitted at the time the photo was taken. Indeed a lot of pre service work remained to be completed, such as fleet numbers, vinyls etc. No confirmed information was available as we went to press as to which route they will operate. Indeed there is much speculation locally as to what is happening with the Oxford fleet, as Cityline and Citylink vinyls are being removed from the fleet, so it seems so form of re-branding is imminent - watch this space as the saying goes !
On Wednesday 8th March, 819 went to London's St. Pancras Station to participate in the launch of "Rail Links", where the Volvo B10BLE was the newest bus on show. David Begg, Chair of The Commission of Integrated Transport, awarded Keith Moffat of The Go-Ahead Group the "prize" for establishing the rail to bus through ticket in Oxford in 1997 !
Once again my regular correspondents have kept me in touch with goings on in Oxford and Wycombe.
Vic Gackowski wrote to say that Cityline had 610 on 52 Road - not often a Single Door is seen on here. Citylink coaches 1 , 3 , and 42 were all missing Citylink vinyls.
Edmund Tresham noted that on Wednesday evening he saw a Plaxton bodied Volvo B10B (611??) running on the 13. The next afternoon (Thursday) as if to get the average seating capacity back to normal he saw a Metrorider on the 13. Neither of these would have been good news for someone expecting a low floor bus ! He wondered if either of these sightings are a result of the road works on St. Aldates which seem to be disrupting services. (Certainly a 6xx on the 13 is unusual, the Metrorider would have been 782 - only one in service now Ed.)
Neil Gow wrote to report that both 606 and 608 were on the 22 during the week. 633 was on the 52. and 806 was on the 2A. He along with other correspondents noted that 805 has had its logos removed -- (see above Ed.).
Saturday saw 802 on 2 road and big Volvos on 22 road.
628 is now in the paintshop having its Citylink livery removed. It is expected to be repainted into fleet livery.
Stagecoach Oxford.
Vic Gackowski noted the 77 Oxford Brookes University service included Olympian 516. 916 seen on a 32 to Wantage and 917 seen on a 10 City Circle (All other 10s he saw were 7xx series).
Neil gow reports that Stagecoach 517 is back on the 100 at WY. (This bus was filling in for 516 at Oxford which was away for repaint Ed.)
On Saturday night your Editor saw 516 heading towards Oxford on the A34 operating the X31 with a near full standing load ! Many of the Mercs from Manchester are now in service. Again on Saturday night 911 was seen working the 77A instead of the more normal decker.
Wycombe Bus Company.
Nigel Peach writes this week to say that during a visit to the town centre during the week he noted the three withdrawn Nationals had not moved (388 390 & 391). The other three are beavering away, as hard as ever, mainly on 326 but often straying onto other routes. He also noted that at least three "Sheds" were "resting" in the bus station. Your Editor noted 525 and 529 in Cowley road works nearing completion.
Nigel asks have I ever considered having a "Scruffiest Bus" competition. Nigel says he'd nominate Wycombe Merc 716. It looks really tatty, particularly the white relief around the windows. At the front a lot of this white has come off revealing its previous red of London General (or was it Central?). In view of the fact that all the previous buses chronologically from this batch have now gone (708-10/2/4) except the "Freedom" 711 perhaps it is next for withdrawal. (Indeed it probably is the next for withdrawal - Ed).
Your Editors choice for the scruffiest bus in town would be the ex London Metrorider 481HYE, in service with Heyfordian on the 7B in Oxford ! Any other offers ?
Arriva serving The Shires.
The 300 on Saturday had all Volvo B6s operating the service.
I will be pleased
to receive your reports for this section
Please send your reports to MalcolmHC@aol.com
and thank you for all your sightings, they are most welcome.
PHOTO CORNER
If anyone else has a digital
camera and wishes to submit photos for this page please send them to the above
email.
The
newest bus in Oxford last week, was Volvo B10BLE 819.
Registered W819FBW, this bus will enter service before the end of the month.
Roadworks at
Carfax caused delays and difficulties during Saturday.
All the traffic islands have disappeared and pedestrians are advised
to "find a safe place to cross" as the crossings here are out of
use !!!!
Park&Ride Dennis Trident 111 heads towards its stop in St. Aldates.
Ex Machester Merc 457 follows Trident 111 towards its stop in St. Aldates.
On Saturday an
unusual type for Stagecoach 7s was Volvo B6 837, also ex Manchester
Mention
is made of missing vinyls and here we see 52 followed 55 on their way
to Gloucester Green last Saturday. As with the same Saturday one year ago,
the weather was fine and sunny !
Saturday was
Oxford Bus' third driver recruitment and here Leopard T4 ( ex coach 33 )
is seen awaiting candidates at Cowley Road garage. (This bus was VUD33X)
A coincidental
picture was this one of Wycombe Bus 426 (low floor Dart) and
Oxford Bus 406 (low floor Dart. Much of the maintenance for Wycombe is done at
Oxford.
A good photo of
620 has alluded your Editor but Saturday provided an opportunity
to point the lense at this bus operating 2 road. Here it is seen loading in
Queen St.
The new overall livery can be seen to effect.
A walk to the
top of the ramp at Oxford Station provided this shot of 618 on X3 road
with a Shearings tour coach, 615 (nearly a nice coincidence there !) and V399...
on the X39 passing through on its way to Jerico. The station is now becoming
very busy
and it can take up to 5 minutes to exit through the traffic lights.
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Finally a
picture from Willie
Brown of ex Oxford Tube - Volvo/Berkhof M107XBW.
Seen leaving Edinburgh on Highway Express service to Glasgow.
One can still see the Tube lettering on the windscreen !!!!
Thank you Wille.
If anyone has any further news please email below.
It adds to the interest of the page which I'm sure everyone appreciates.
You can still view
the Tube launch
report
and
the Oxford Bus P&R Trident launch - Dateline Tuesday June 1st 1999
Click above
THE OXFORD BUS MUSEUM
Have you
visited the Oxford Bus Museum ?
See the Web Page at its new address.
http://www.oxfordbusmuseum.com.
Take a look at our picture
report from Manchester, featuring ex-Oxford buses!
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