Issue 77
(OBP-293)
Sunday 16th May 2004
next update week ending 22nd May 2004

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.

If you wish to be included on a mailing list where I will advise of any mid week news please
let me know on malcolmhc@aol.com

The past week has been a quiet one in our are with little of note. People are now thinking of summer holidays and planning other breaks from the monotony of day to day life.

The Oxford Bus Museum is prepared for another summer and full details of this years programme are to found on their web site.

http://www.oxfordbusmuseum.org

A great deal of work has taken place in the past 12 months and visitors, old and new alike, will find plenty to see and enjoy.

Drivers frustrations on the motorways.

One small point raised by one reader, Rob Veltman, is an item noticed on a journey from London to Oxford by one of the operators on that route. He says "I was sitting behind the driver who was making good time whilst also giving a rather comfortable journey to the passengers. The driver was considerate and only used the middle lane where necessary, only pulling out to overtake slower traffic, mainly lorries."

Rob goes on to say that several times when the driver indicated clearly and in good time his need to move to the middle lane other traffic, mainly cars would hold to the lane which the drivers was trying to move into even though the outer lanes/lane was free and safe to pull out into. Rob expresses his sympathy with drivers in these circumstances and wonders why the government does not do more to advertise, say on television and the national press about motorway driving and lane disciplines.

(One wonders if small notices on the rear of PSVs saying "please let the coach pull out" might do some good. Ed.)

Thornhill problems.

On the subject of consideration I must show the photograph below to indicate a growing problem at Thornhill which needs attention. Car divers and especially taxis, dropping off or picking up passengers from the express services at Thornhill Park & Ride, are using the actual coach stopping area for this purpose, even though there are clearly marked drop off/short term waiting zones provided away from the coach stop. I wonder why the council cannot clearly mark the area with "NO ENTRY signs except buses" which would minimise or stop this problem? With sometimes three or more coaches suing the stop such practices are causing a lot of problems in an already restricted space.

Two taxis dropping off result in no room left for anymore than ONE coach!!!!!!!

REAL TIME BUS INFORMATION COMES TO OXFORD.

A press release from Oxford Bus notes the benefits to come from real time bus information. Oxfordshire County Council has signed a £900,000 contract with ACIS (Advanced Communication and Information Systems) to provide a real-time bus information system for the county.

The council is working in close partnership and will share the cost with Go-Ahead subsidiary The Oxford Bus Company and with Stagecoach in Oxfordshire.

Phase 1 of the project is to provide real-time information along the competitive Banbury Road corridor in Oxford, currently served by around 30 buses an hour during the day. services included are Stagecoach's route 7 to Kidlington, services to Bicester plus Oxford Bus Company's route 2 to Kidlington and 500 Water Eaton Park & Ride service. Oxfordshire County Council will be providing 20 on-street signs, new shelter infrastructure and a website containing virtual signs for all stops along the corridor.

In addition to the core contract, The Oxford Bus Company is fitting its entire bus fleet of 155 vehicles with Automatic Vehicle Location Equipment (AVLE) and Stagecoach will equip 12 buses with similar equipment.

If successful, Oxfordshire County Council hopes to roll out the system across the rest of the Premium Bus route network. plan 1 is due for completion by December 2004.

Oxfordshire County Council's Executive Member for Transport, Councillor David Robertson said "Here in Oxfordshire we are continuing to buck the national trend with bus use rising. i am confident that this system will bring many benefits to passengers and is a further example of the County Council's continuing commitment to promote bus use in the county"

Developments will be watched by everyone with interest I am sure and this page will bring you those developments as they happen.

From Andy Churchill - Red Rose Dart returns to service.

Andy Churchill wrote a newsy message which I quote "on the subject of Stagecoach Witney Tridents in use on London Citaro withdrawals recently , it has been confirmed that the Witney ones did not get used in the end and were returned to Oxfordshire for preparation for entry into service. Those Tridents that were used were Stagecoach East Midlands - 5 in fact (YN04 KGE/F/G/K/P) for service 77 (Chesterfield & Worksop) and ran until the 1st April 2004.

Other interesting news is from RED ROSE, AYLESBURY, where the Golden Jubilee liveried Dennis Dart RR02BUS, which was
vandalised as long ago as July 2003, has at last returned to service still in it's gold back in mid-march and returned to it's normal haunt in Watford. (I forgot to mention this worked a 275 service to Oxford a week last Saturday afternoon. Ed)

Also former Thames Travel Optare Solo (X385VVY ) is in use as a crew ferry vehicle for Mitcham Belle in Surrey."

Those regular users of the M40 will have doubtless noticed the long graffiti daubed fence at the back of a field as you approach the M25 junction London bound. For many years the only writing was a slogan saying "why do I do this every day", which considering the long delays in rush hour at this point was somewhat thought provoking. The notice disappeared under new daubings and has been reinstated in recent weeks as can be seen in the picture below.

Well, now on to the reports for our area. Your contributions continue and I am pleased to receive them each week. My thanks to everyone who sent information.