From the Editor

Less local reports and pictures this week, however some interesting contributions nevertheless.

Future weeks should see some interesting arrivals to our area.

Thanks for all your contributions.

In this issue

Carousel Buses to continue ‘rebuild’ of High Wycombe network

London Update – 4^th February 2025 by Gavin Francis

Motts February update

More Lisbon trams from Michael Penn

Grahame Wareham's memories of COMS 334

The ex Oxford Hybrids in Plymouth by Gordon Richens

Gary Seamarks was in Bury St. Edmunds bus station

Readers Write

Fleet News & Developments

London Operations from Andrew Webb

Readers Visit to Brighton and Liverpool

 

Carousel Buses to continue ‘rebuild’ of High Wycombe network

Former Arriva services in and around High Wycombe are among those that will benefit from further timetable uplifts to be introduced on 23 February by Carousel Buses. 

Those routes came into the Go-Ahead subsidiary’s fold in late July 2024 after the closure of Arriva depots in Aylesbury and High Wycombe. Carousel introduced an opening raft of improvements little over a month later and has been recruiting staff since it agreed to take over the services.

Some of the further uplifts across the Carousel network are commercial, while Bus Service Improvement Plan money from Buckinghamshire Council, Oxfordshire County Council and Wokingham Borough Council is also in play, the business has confirmed.

The operator claims that it has “rebuilt the bus network” in High Wycombe since taking over services from Arriva. Service 850 between the town and Reading will now see a doubling in frequency during the daytime over the busiest section as far south as Henley-on-Thames. Evening and Sunday frequency will double throughout.

 

Evening and Sunday journeys are introduced to other routes while daytime changes will broadly involve extensions and frequency improvements. Crosstown services in High Wycombe have been particularly successful under Carousel Buses operation and the improvements will capture that provision, the operator adds.

 

Managing Director Luke Marion says that the uplifts are “the next step in our exciting development plans, building on the fantastic progress we have made in stabilising and growing the bus network after taking over more [of it] in and around High Wycombe.”

Mr Marion describes the uplifts as “excellent news for bus users and communities across our network” and adds that Carousel is “proud to be able to expand the network further to help improve connectivity for people to more towns and villages across the counties we serve.

“These new routes and service improvements will further make bus travel an attractive option for people to travel sustainability for work, education and leisure purposes.” 

The ex Nottingham E200 MMC  have arrived in Oxford with two already on their way to repaint. These pictures were provided by Charles Powell. Ed.

 
 YX69NRL NRU NRV NRN NRO seen at Cowley House on February 7th.

NCT Fleet	Reg	OBG Fleet
303	YX69NRJ	80592
304	YX69NRK	80593
305	YX69NRL	80594
306	YX69NRN	80595
307	YX69NRO	80596
308	YX69NRU	80597
309	YX69NRV	80598

London Update – 4^th February 2025 by Gavin Francis

After having a winter break for the past 2 months I decided it was time to start catching up on some recent events in London so on Tuesday this week I caught The Chiltern Line from Amersham to Marylebone.

I checked LVF Rte 453 which terminates outside in Great Central Street to find that LT 883 a wrap for BOSS was due so waited for that.

 

Some of the buses on arrival at Marylebone run dead back to Deptford and LT 883 already shows ‘Not in Service’ for its return trip.

I then went by Underground and DLR to Beckton Bus Station. I have never been here before but it proved a great location, lots of open space, buses could be shot from all angles and as a bonus a large ASDA on site so able to use the facilities and buy some lunch.

   
 
The main reason for coming here was to get some pictures of the new Chinese built BYD deckers which Go-Ahead have started operating in London in this case on Rte 101.

     

Other routes in the area already operated by electric buses are the 173 shown by Stagecoach 84119 and Go-Ahead Routes 262, 366 and 376 shown by Ee273, SEe 300 and SEe 216. The occasional diesel bus still appears shown by Stagecoach 10101 on the 173.

   
   

Another change coming to this area shortly is an operator change with Rte 474 transferring from Stagecoach to Go-Ahead in the form of Blue Triangle on 3^rd May. As a bonus MMC wrap for Hydrafacial was also on the 474. 

Back on the DLR to Canning Town always a very busy bus and train interchange.

   

Rte 330 is about to have the same change as Rte 474 in that it transfers from Stagecoach to Blue Triangle on 3^rd May. E400s 19829, 19838 and 19839 are shown on their way to Wanstead Park Station.

 

The special livery applied to the LT class for use on the EL routes is gradually being lost to plain red as the buses are refurbished but LT 952 and LT 932 still wear their original livery but minus the lettering. This livery is now seen on other routes in the case Rte 5.

 

When Stagecoach took over Hackney Community Transport they inherited a fleet of dual door Solos for Rte 309. These have now all been withdrawn and replaced by MMCs as shown by 37753.

     

It is common to see training buses in this area, Go-Ahead MEC 23 is also shown at Waterloo Station on 28^th July 2014 and Stagecoach 19138 shown in service at Tubbenden Lane, Orpington on 10^th July 2013.

Then it was back on the Jubilee Line to Bond Street and a walk along Oxford Street to the Oxford Circus area.

     

After the usual rush of wrap buses just before Xmas the number in service at the moment has dropped considerably. Emirates have a number of buses wrapped at the moment and these include Metroline LT 789 on the 390 and Arriva LT 318 on the 73. Also on the 390 Metroline have LT 795 promoting Fulfil and finally Stagecoach have LT 364 advertising Dolce & Gabbana on the 55.

 

Just time to get the Bakerloo Line back to Marylebone and to finish the way I started the day with a wrap on the 453 this time Go-Ahead LT 865 another advertising Fulfil.

An interesting report by Gavin. Ed.

from Mark Doggett

February News February is the shortest month of the year, yet it normally offers an incredible list of events to celebrate! This year, however, with Chinese New Year in January and Pancake Day in March – it leaves the focus on love! So, if you are thinking about celebrating Valentine's Day, why not say 'I love you' with our Crusader Holidays and Motts Leisure Gift Vouchers - the perfect present for a regular traveller! At Motts Leisure we are lovingly putting the finishing touches to our 2025 Day Trip brochure, which should be out early next month – so keep your eyes peeled, but in the meantime we have a fantastic February Half Term Programme for you to enjoy. Over at Motts Travel we are a little bit in love with GT74’s new livery and at Crusader we are showing all the love for our Hotel of the Year! Read on to find out more… “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha   Notable Dates This Month: 14th – Valentines Day 17th – Random Acts of Kindness Day 17th – 21st – Spring Half Term  Photo Credit: Ryan Corkery, Driver

More Lisbon Trams by Michael Penn

October 2016

     
     
     

What a delightful city Lisbon was 10 or more years ago. Ed. 

A request from Hugh Jaeger

I am writing to request the help of the readers of your bus page. I am told that Oxfordshire has about 4,500 bus stops. In theory, every stop should have a "flag" sign of the Externiture design that Oxfordshire County Council adopted in the 2000s. And in theory, each "flag" should state both the direction of travel from that stop, and the numbers of all the routes currently serving that stop. But we know that this has never been achieved. 

A few parishes still have their historic cast iron "bus stop" flag signs, which I imagine date from the middle decades of the 20th century. They do not display route numbers, or the direction of travel. But they are an attractive part of our heritage, and it is understandable if parishes want to retain them. Some are covered with rust; but others are well cared for; periodically repainted with fresh white and black Hammerite. One Oxfordshire parish even has a rare flag that says "bus and coach stop" instead of just "bus stop". For obvious reasons, I am not stating which parish it is. 

However, one of Bus Users Oxford's current concerns is the more modern designs of "flag", which are designed to display route numbers. We note that the route numbers on a significant number of them are out of date; and that the bus routes that Oxfordshire County Council subsidises seem to be among the worst affected. 

For example, in Banbury Road in north Oxford, numerous stops still display route 250, which OCC replaced with route 24 in 2023. And some on Banbury Road display route 94, which Charlton Services withdrew around the end of 2020. However, I attach photographs of three examples of even more out-of-date flags.

1. Stop C4 in Magdalen Street West, Oxford, displays route 25A. Thames Travel renumbered the route as 250 in the second half of 2018.
2. The southbound stop at Frilford crossroads on the A338. The south side of the flag displays route X30. Stagecoach in Oxfordshire renumbered it as S9 in November 2017.
3. The eastbound stop in Cow Lane, Longworth, a circa 1990s Stagecoach "flag" displays route 65. By 2010 or earlier, Stagecoach had withdrawn the section of route 65 between Faringdon and Oxford, and OCC had replaced it with subsidised route 63.

These are not unique. In Bicester Road, Gosford, outside Sainsbury, are another two "flags" still displaying route 25A. And at Frilford Farm, Longworth, is another old Stagecoach "flag" displaying route 65. But it is now hard to find, as ivy has almost entirely overgrown it!

Those two old Stagecoach flags in Longworth are at least 15 years out of date. Is that a record for Oxfordshire, or can one of your readers find a flag to beat it? 

   
Missing flags 

Other "flags" are missing altogether. After the Conservative administration ended almost all Oxfordshire bus subsidies in 2016, "flags" were removed from numerous parishes. However, some weeks after route 24 was launched in 2023, County Council officers succeeded in getting all the missing flags in Wendlebury and Weston-on-the-Green replaced. Since route 46 was extended in 2020, some of the missing flags in Great Milton have been reinstated, but not all. And since route 63 was reinstated in 2020, none of the missing flags in Hinton Waldrist; Fyfield; Appleton; Eaton; or the western part of Cumnor has been replaced. 

Your readers can help their fellow-passengers, by reporting any "flag" sign that they know to be either out of date or missing. One easy way to do so is via the FixMyStreet website. And having done so, it would be helpful if your readers were also to tell Bus Users Oxford what bus stop faults they have found and reported. We have no website, but we have a Facebook page; and we have accounts on Facebook and X/Twitter. Your readers are welcome to follow and message us on any of those social media.

Please let us know your comments Ed. 

334 by Grahame Wareham

H334  MWL968  1948 AEC Regent II with Weymann H30/26R body. Lloyd, Nuneaton 2/60, Anderton, Birmingham 3/63 withdrawn 3/65 

334  334RJO  1963 AEC Renown 3B3RA with Park Royal H38/27F forward entrance body. Withdrawn August 1976 and sold to Paul Sykes (dealer) Barnsley later being sold on to Barraclough (dealer) Carlton for scrap.

     

334 spent most of its service life on Service 1 up and down the Cowley Road to the Station, I did the route in these a few times before being pushed on to OMO duties, at least you could move fairly well along the Cowley Road then, I wouldn't want to do it in one of those nowadays!

Indeed on Fri 16th May 1975 I last drove 334 on 501C card 16.50 to 21.08 with Sheila Duckmanton as my conductress...................50 years ago! 

I think I'll have a drink to that Malcolm! 

Gordon Richens reports from Plymouth

Had an appointment at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth on Thursday 6th February. Plenty of ex-Oxford Bus vehicles in service on Plymouth CityBus routes 34, 42, 50 and 51 - pics attached: 

309 OE11YNP 20250206 Derriford Hospital.

309 OE11YNP 20250206 Derriford Hospital 02 - in background are 301 OE11YMX and 300 SN60BXW.

311 OE11YNN 20250206 Derriford Hospital

316 OE11YNC 20250206 Derriford Hospital 

Also observed 314 OE11YNH but no picture I'm afraid. 

When new these were impressive buses in livery and ride quality. Ed.

Gary Seamarks was in Bury St. Edmunds bus station

The displayed were taken on the only sunny day this week (worst luck) so sorry about awful use of shadows or compensation with too much zoom !

 They are all in Bury St. Edmunds bus station, and all taken on a too brief stop over of under 30 minutes. 

     
   
     

Anyone after old Volvo's Scania's and a 21 year old Solo this is the place to go, think I will go back but when I can only say in the afternoon if sunny. 

Rumour suggests 19578/79/83/90/93/94 have left Bedford for Cambridge then onward to S. East Midlands, these are surplus to requirements now the Scanias have arrived in town. More when known, also seems Cambridge and Peterborough combine authourity are looking at franchising from late 2027 for first phase, again more when known. 

A further interesting article. Ed.