Free bus travel via Park & Ride network among raft of major improvements

Bus travel via the Park & Ride network in Oxford will be made free as part of a series of major improvements following the introduction of a temporary congestion charge.

Oxford Bus Company has confirmed extensive network improvements will be implemented as part of the Oxfordshire Bus Enhanced Partnership in which Oxfordshire County Council and bus operators work together to improve bus productivity in the city.

The bus operator has calculated the new measures to reduce congestion will enable it to save seven vehicles from its city network which will be redeployed to enhance services impacted by congestion. Temporary congestion charging commences on 29 October, which free Park & Ride travel will coincide with. The wider bus improvements will start on 9 November.

Bus travel on Park & Ride vehicles will be free for an initial three-month trial period. Customers with a valid parking ticket for any of the five Park & Ride sites located around the ring road will be able to obtain a free return ticket to any Oxford destination by showing their parking ticket to the bus driver.

As part of the Park & Ride improvements the 700 service will increase to every 20 minutes between Monday and Friday, and every 30 minutes on weekends, running to a consistent route throughout the week from Kidlington to Blackbird Leys. Plus, new stops will be added to the Redbridge Park & Ride 300 service at Lake Street on Abingdon Road, in response to local councillor and resident feedback.

Passengers will benefit from better orbital links around East Oxford thanks to improvements to services 100, 500 and 700. The 100 service will operate every 20 minutes Monday to Friday, and every 30 minutes on evenings, Saturdays and Sundays. The 500 will have an enhanced frequency on Saturdays to every 10 minutes.

Links which existed in the past, but were lost to congestion, will be restored. A new 20 service will be introduced, running every 40 minutes Monday to Friday between Rose Hill, Iffley Road, The Plain, St Clements, Morrell Avenue, Gipsy Lane, the John Radcliffe Hospital and Marston Road.

Littlemore will benefit from better buses, with the 5A service between Oxford and Minchery Farm increasing to every 20 minutes between Monday and Friday and the evening service doubling to every 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, the 3/3A services will be extended to Oxford Rail Station, allowing a direct route from Iffley Road. As part of these changes, the 3A will stop at Cowley Lidl and no longer serve Templars Square, with this link now being served by Stagecoach’s 600 service.

Luke Marion, Oxford Bus Company Managing Director, said: “This is fantastic news for bus passengers and our network.

“We have worked closely with Oxfordshire County Council to identify the best ways to improve the network following the decision to introduce temporary congestion charging, making use of modelling data predicting the impact of traffic volumes across the network.

“It has resulted in us now being able to introduce a significant round of improvements to our network, which demonstrates the impact congestion has had on Oxford and what can be achieved with improved flow of traffic on bus routes.

“We thank Oxfordshire County Council for its support and bold approach to seeking solutions to working in partnership to make bus travel more attractive to people to move around the county. The Park & Ride free ticket offering is a pilot scheme and we’d encourage people to use it to ensure it is a success and can be extended.”

Other benefits include a new N3 night bus service for Iffley Road, operating Monday to Saturday, while the frequencies of services 6 and 8 have been reduced to every 20 minutes on Saturday, to better match supply to demand.

Network enhancements also include Thames Travel’s H2 service operating between Carterton and Thornhill Park and Ride via Witney, Eynsham, Oxford North, Summertown, John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Headington will improve its peak time frequencies and weekend timetable.

Many other city routes, including the 3, 3A, 5, 5A, 8, 11, 15, 100, 300, 400, 500, 700, ST2 and X3 will see improved timetables, with faster journeys at peak times.

Oxford Park & Ride sites are located at Pear Tree, Oxford Parkway, Seacourt, Redbridge and Thornhill and parking is just £2.50 for up to 16 hours.

ENDS