Editorial
Another week and we are now moving towards a freer society providing we do not have a spike. This means that the buses are running services and with shops opening more customers will doubtless use more public transport.
The number of pictures contributed has increased in the last seven days and this issue will doubtless reflect the changes we are seeing.
In this issue we also have some lovely pictures from Lewis Nagle of an excursion with RML2440 to Windsor replicating the 441 route from High Wycombe to Windsor. The castle does make a superb back ground.
Windsor Castle with RML2440 on June 1st by Lewis Nagle.
Another contributor is Ciaran Bird who has provided many pictures for this issue. A nice one is showing how Gloucester Green is getting back into action.
Three E400s providing service on the S6, X5 and S3 routes on June 14th by
Ciaran Bird.
This week as ever has produced over 200 pictures and we have some quite unusual ones.
This was the very first picture I received of the significant change in
vehicles used for the X5. It is also the first one with Stagecoach.
Volvo/EVoRa 21363 heads up George Street past the New Theatre on the way to
Cambridge on June 15th by Neil Bridges.
Bicester Village have contracted Oxford Bus to run their feeder services
from Monday, June 15th and here 662 fully branded is seen in a country
setting.
Picture as with others under Oxford Bus by Jack Cooper.
To cope with demand on day one, Oxford provided some Park & Ride buses
including 677 seen above by Theo Freeman.
I read in the news today that there have been some problems with overcrowding and social distancing from Monday when the Village reopened!! Even threats to close the village were aired.
With the reopening of Oxford's shops certain changes have been made for pedestrians such as one way movement. Contributors have provided some pictures of these changes which readers may find interesting and will remind us in the future of what can happen when a pandemic strikes.
One way pedestrianisation by Gavin Francis and Jack Cooper. Taken on the 15th and 16th of June.
Gloucester Green by Gavin Francis on June 16th 2020.
Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel ramp up social distancing
BUS operators across Oxfordshire have launched a new system to help passengers stick to social distancing.
The ‘When2Travel’ tool will use unique predictive technology to help passengers avoid busy times while capacity is reduced to enable social distancing.
The feature offers colour coded bus timetables that show seat availability on services.
It uses a passenger counting system on the ticket machines, plus data that has been submitted by customers.
The operators have also implemented reduced vehicle capacities to help maintain social distancing on-board for people who need to travel – this includes taking some seats out of use. Customers are still asked to pay using contactless payments or purchase tickets online.
Phil Southall, Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel managing director, said: "Our priorities have been cleanliness, social distancing and establishing a convenient way for customers to plan their journeys with confidence."
An interesting collection of pictures from the past for this week's issue which I hope readers will enjoy.
Lewis Nagle
Lewis has provided some excellent pictures of a trip to Windsor with High Wycombe based RML2440 showing that Old Times and Memories can be quite up to date.
A few members of Amersham & District Motorbus Society took RML2440 on a
'dehibernation run' to get it running again and recreated the old 441 route from
High Wycombe to Staines Station via Beaconsfield, Slough, Windsor, Old Windsor,
Egham and Pooley Green. I saw it at Windsor, Old Windsor (Bells of Ouzeley),
Pooley Green Crossing and Egham, in some cases alongside the modern equivalent
First 8 and White Bus 441!
The 441 is of particular interest to me and friends
in the ADMS because of history and changes. Wouldn't it be fun if the route
still ran to High Wycombe, though no doubt a route of that length through
Windsor, Slough and Beaconsfield would likely forever struggle against
congestion and running time. The modern-day 441 run by White Bus is such a short
stub of the original route, though it's nice that the number lives on, albeit as
what was the 441C in the days of the through route. It was inherited from
Abellio, who used to run through to Stanwell, Heathrow Terminal 5 and Heathrow
Central. First's number 8 which covers more of the old route used to be the 41,
then became the 71 to form part of the 7series network and extended to the new
Heathrow Terminal 5, now simply 8 following First's more recent Slough
renumbering.
RML2440 is seen by the River Thames near Old
Windsor.
Crossing Pooley Green level crossing.
RML2440 is seen around Egham and passing a
present day 441.
RML2440 is seen rounding the castle walls in
Windsor.
....... and resting in front of Windsor Castle.
I must say that these are some of the nicest pictures I have seen featuring the lovely "old" bus! More pictures of the day trip are seen under the various operator headings. Many thanks to Lewis.
More on A-Tax from Tim Walker
Following a request from Martin Sutton I received this reply from Tim Walker.
A-Tax was based in Long Hanborough and was run by Don Ayris and his wife
Silv.
The fleet varied in size though was usually around 3 or four coaches plus
some minibuses all painted in the livery shown in the picture.
The coaches were usually either Bedford's or AEC.
The company did the usual day trips and school contracts but also had a
contract with Pear Tree Services ferrying staff to and from work.
The company closed down some years ago probably around the early nineties
and both Don and Silv are sadly no longer with us.
My ex Father in Law Merlyn Blunsdon of Blunsdon's Coaches in Bladon was
great friends with Don and there was a friendly rivalry between them over
the years.
For a time Don rented an industrial unit at Eynsham and myself and Merlyn
took a bus (Bedford YMT Plaxton) over there one evening as Don was going to
help us put a new windscreen in it. Whilst I was holding the windscreen in
place (extremely heavy) Don was seating the screen in the rubber beading.
Don was using some force as the screen was a very tight fit, unfortunately
he slipped and his hand thumped me on the chin nearly knocking me out!!!!
Thankfully I managed to keep hold of the screen even though I was seeing
stars and we eventually managed to get it secured.
An answer to the query in Issue 108 about A-Tax's JKU 456P
A Tax was the trading name of DF Aris of 1 Roosevelt Drive, Long Hanborough.
Operations began in July 1975 an a partnership between DF Aris and C
Townsend with the purchase of Bedford CFS PWK 318M. DF Aris became the sole
proprietor of the business from January 1978. Some operations were taken
over by Heyfordian, Upper Heyford in June 1986 and other contracts and
vehicles passed to Williams of Bampton in November 1987. The final vehicle
was withdrawn when the company ceased in March 1990.
JKU 456P was acquired from National Travel (East) in February 1981 and was
one of the last vehicles in the fleet in January 1990 when sold to RJ
Williams and NT Hitchings of Bampton.
Lewis Nagle's thoughts and pictures from the Thames Valley and Windsor.
I have also included some out-of-area pictures of some services in Surrey which I hope your readers find interesting:-
White Bus 69 SN16OSX on route 446 in Chertsey.
White Bus 57 YX68ULT on route 566 in Thorpe Green. Normally this route sees
older Enviro200s
but the reduced service elsewhere means MMCs have been seen
more.
White Bus 71 YX18KUC on route 446 in Chertsey.
71 (YX18KUC) which was originally acquired for the
446 uplift last September, though has typically spent more time on the
85/X94 workings, is seen on Thorpe Road near Staines Sainsbury's.
White Bus 58 YX68ULU on route 463 in Ripley.
Falcon Buses YX68UJR on route 461 in Ottershaw.
This route has recently been extended to St. Peter's Hospital, something which has been in the pipeline for some time but the pandemic accelerated its introduction, so the hospital now has a through link to Weybridge, Walton and Kingston.
Reading Buses GreenLine 1212 DU61FVY on route 703 in Windsor. Currently the
online GreenLine route through here as the 702 has been suspended.
Thames Valley 677 SN69ZNA on route 2 in Windsor.
White Bus 62 YJ14BBO on route W1 in Windsor.
North of the Border with Gordon Scott - our man in Drum Brae!
Alexander Dennis, Falkirk news update from June 16th
Shots taken in yard Stagecoach Manchester E40D MMC
First West England Scania N280UD Alexander Dennis Enviro
I took shots of them on 29th May there.
Berlin Enviro 500 MMC
advised there are two in the paint shop.
National Express Travel West Midlands Alexander
Dennis BYD 400EV awaiting delivery - EO20.
Taken at Drum Brae Edinburgh June 17th
First Midland Bluebird
Taken Edinburgh Zoo June 17th
Parks of Hamilton
Lothian
Fleet news and developments
Various contributions are shown including those from Gavin Francis who also visited Aylesbury and Milton Keynes.
Gavin Francis
High Wycombe
Quite a surprise for at least two days this week has been reappearance of
this bus which one believe had returned to Arriva dealers.
YJ60GGO is seen in The Eden Bus Station on June 17th.
Citaro 3925 is seen in The Eden Bus Station on June 17th with a 37 service
to Maidenhead.
6049 is seen with a 300 working to Aylesbury at The Eden Bus Station on June
17th.
Aylesbury
Citaro 3924 is seen passing the station with an inbound 300 on June 15th.
6047 is seen with a 500 working passing the station on June 15th.
Milton Keynes
StreetLite 2312 works a 7 service on June 15th.
Sapphire E200 MMC 3124 is seen with a 300 service near Central Station MK.
StreetLite 3309 with a 7 and 3324 with a 5 are seen near MK Station.
Scania's 3578 and 3579 are seen near MK Station.
3867 with an 8A and 3872 works an X60 Aylesbury service and 3873 with a 6
all near MK Station.
Loaned 4086, not going to Stansted is seen with a 150 to Aylesbury on June
15th as those above.
Oxford
The same bus this time in Oxford a day later with a 280 service, pictured in
Park End Street.
E400 5464 thanks NHS workers on a 280 service from Aylesbury in St Aldates
on June 16th.
Adam Green
Pictures from Hemel Hempstead on June 15th.
StreetLite 1662 is seen working a 3 service as is Solo 2462.
3572 is seen in service but no route is showing.
Likewise 3752 is also devoid of destination!
Wrights 3767 with a 2 and 3769 not in service.
E400 6461 not in service and 6462 with a 320 as branded service.
Jim Wright
A strange arrival by Arriva at Oxford Train Station this morning, Friday, June 19th.
I wonder why? - Jim was working the S3 when he saw this Mercedes at the
station on June 19th.
Late news from Jim suggests that as it had a lot of drivers on board, it was
providing route learning.
Adam Green
E200 593 is seen working a 46 service to Luton
in Hemel on June 15th.
Lewis Nagle
During the visit to Windsor, Lewis caught up with some if the buses used by First in the Thames Valley.
First 69932 with a number 8 passes RML 2440 by the Thames in Old
Windsor on June 1st.
Thee same bus in Windsor again passing RML 2440 Lewis Nagle.
Frank Brown
977 is viewed in Amersham Broadway returning from the hospital to Gore Hill
by Frank Brown.
The Thames Travel buses on loan returned to Didcot and our ex London deckers have returned in exchange last Monday.
Gavin Francis
M A N 420 is seen turning in Stokenchurch on
Sunday. June 14th.
StreetLite 405 is seen with a 102 service on June
17th.
Citaros 886 and 887 are seen in service at The
Eden Bus Station on June 17th
938 and 939 seen at The Eden Bus Station on June
17th
942 is seen in service on the 27 on June 18th
leaving The Eden Bus Station.
Adam Green
Adam provided this picture of 216 on June 15th
leaving Hemel for Uxbridge with a 105 service.
Graham Low
The loaned GNE StreetDeck you illustrate in today's page is a full height version, like others in the past for GNE, but unlike COMS' fleet of low heights. Would it go under the station bridge? Phil Southall will doubtless tell you!
I often see COMS Citaros 839 to 841 and 869 on
staff shuttles on the Iffley Road these days - I guess they give more space
for crews than the MB minibuses.
Thank you for continuing an excellent page in these
strange times.
https://www.tbvsc.com/bicester-village/en/company/about/
As many of you will know Oxford Bus took over the shuttles to the Village from Monday, June 15th and contributors have provided a number of pictures.
Jack Cooper
Freshly prepared 662 shows off its new livery on
day one - June 15th
Additional capacity was provided by other Park & Ride buses as seen above.
Hybrid 317 is seen in George Street with a 300
working on June 15th.
355 is seen passing over the A34 on June 15th.
These pictures were taken on the Woodstock Road on June 14th and 15th.
Citaro 883 with a 250 service near Pear Tree on June 15th.
8&9 Road StreetDeck 691 seen working a 6 road service on June 16th.
310 works a U1 service and 312 with a 400 both on June 16th.
5 road branded buses on June 16th working anything but the 5!!!
666 turns out of Speedwell Street on June 16th heading for Redbridge.
Orange 688 might confuse passengers in Headington as it is working the 400
Park&Ride service on June 16th.
Tourismo 35 shows its cleaning status on June 16th by Gavin Francis.
Guy Watts
MMC 604 is seen in Wallingford with a 136
service on June 13th.
This week saw the return of loaned buses to and from Carousel. By mid-week they were all back in their rightful places. The photos for this week show these changes.
Gavin Francis
June 16th
Scania 209 is back on X2 in this picture taken in St Aldates.
MMC 603 has just arrived from Chalgrove working the 11 in St Aldates.
Citaro 850 is seen heading for Chalgrove as it turns out of Speedwell
Street.
Citaro 881 heads for Reading via Wallingford in St Aldates.
Aylesbury independents with Gavin Francis
Gavin caught up with the variety and assortment of liveries in use on services in Aylesbury and Milton Keynes plus a couple from High Wycombe.
YX10FEP with a 61 and then on the 28M in
Wycombe.
The same bus in Aylesbury and High Wycombe
showing the scope of Red Eagle's services. Taken on June 15th and 17th.
The company has a variety of liveries and routes as seen by Gavin.
A Dart KF52NBN with a 164 working by Aylesbury
Station on June 15th.
Solo MK58KYS with a "WaterRIDER" 6 by Aylesbury
Station on June 15th.
E200s MK63XAT and YX08MDV working the 4X by
Aylesbury Station on June 15th.
Seemingly a new livery for Redline is seen on
YX10FFJ by Aylesbury Station on June 15th and then YX10FEF on the 321 in High
Wycombe in the 18th!
I rather like this livery and it is very striking!
https://www.redrosetravel.com/
E200 E2RRT is seen with a 100 working by
Aylesbury Station on June 15th.
E200 E16RRT working the 15 by Aylesbury Station
on June 15th.
E200 YX61FZH is seen with a 275 service in
Speedwell Street, Oxford on June 16th.
This fleet is looking very smart these days, as seen in the pictures above.
https://www.valetravel.net/en-gb/home
Vale Travel, no longer seen in High Wycombe
where they operated the 27 for a number of years,
still operate route 11 in Milton Keynes. YX09FLF is seen with this service
on June 15th.
https://www.zandstransport.co.uk/
Z&S operate the Kingsbrook Flyer with
BU55KBK by Aylesbury Station on June 15th.
E200 MX60BWW is seen with service 18 in MK on June 15th.
E200 MX62GNJ is also seen with another service, the 33A to Northampton (quite a long
route for this Aylesbury based independent) in MK on June 15th.
Pictures in this section by Gavin Francis.
The E200 is certainly a mainstay of the independents in our area which in days gone might have seen Bedford and Ford types with such operators.
An updated Oxford fleet list is to be found following the link hereunder with thanks to SKM.
Ex Witney Scania 15618 is currently operating in Skegness!
Ciaran Bird
Ciaran has provided a selection of pictures of the past week and buses at work.
11242 and 11249 by Wolvercote with S2 workings on June 15th and Gold 15834
with an S3 runs along the Woodstock Road on the 14th.
MMC 11251 is seen with an S1 service in Gorge Street on June 15th.
15832 and 15833 both working the S3 at Gloucester Green on June 15th and
14th respectively.
A change in Gloucester Green is 36982, maybe with a staff bus and MMC 10675
on June 15th.
Jack Cooper
A neat picture of Gold 28745 working the 505 from Brackley to Bicester on
June 15th.
Theo Freeman
Once again 28745 but this time on June 17th with a Brackley working of the
505.
Resumption of the X5
SKM
Reserve Fleet Volvo B7RLE/Wright 21225 is now back in the main operational fleet at Fenstanton.
Gary Seamarks
Noting changes shown for Bedford from June 14th loans from Fenstanton for 99/X5 are 21232/5, 21301/3/5/7/10/2 and 21363-8.
Many pictures have been provided by contributors and these are included below. (I've tried to make a fair split of the pictures provided.)
Ciaran Bird
Of interest are pictures of the E400s working the X5 on Sunday, June 14th.
10055 is seen heading along the A34, then 19581 by Wolvercote and then 19706
in Gloucester Green on June 14th.
Ciaran has provided pictures taken away from central Oxford, including some on the A34, shown at speed.
21232 and 21365 are seen passing along the A34 on June 15th.
21301 is seen by Wolvercote and 21303 running along the Woodstock Road on
June 15th.
21301 shown in Gloucester Green on June 15th.
Daryl Major
21235 and 21365 leave Gloucester Green with X5 services on June 16th.
Gavin Francis
Gavin not only, whilst working on Tuesday, visited Milton Keynes providing us with some interesting pictures.
21303 and 21312 are seen in Milton Keynes working the 99 and X5 routes on
June 15th.
Evora's 21364 with a 99, 21365 with an X5 heading for Oxford and 21368 on
the X5 for Cambridge - all on June 15th in MK.
Hugh Jaeger
In your weekly briefing of 14 June you discuss Stagecoach East's fleet allocation to reinstate the western section of route X5. Today I photographed a Volvo B8RLE with MCV EVoRa body at Gloucester Green. It has registration mark BU69 XXC, fleet number 21365. The pictures were taken on June 16th.
This is the first time I have seen an EVoRa. Compared with an Enviro200 MMC
or Enviro300 MMC it looks boxy and plain to me.
And it is the first time I have seen the new livery that Stagecoach
describes as "light green". It is turquoise or at best mint green: a cold,
unwelcoming colour. And the white graphics, representing part of the
Stagecoach "beachball", are dull and bland.
I found nothing wrong with the old Stagecoach livery. Ray Stenning had
re-worked the Stagecoach colours into something dynamic and attractive. Now
the company would seem to have wasted millions getting rid of it!
Jack Cooper
21303 ready for departure at Gloucester Green on June 15th.
21365 seen near Bicester North Station on June 15th.
21367 is seen in George Street, Oxford on June 15th.
James Freeman
21232 is seen leaving Gloucester Green for Cambridge on June 15th.
21365, 21367 and 21368 near Pioneer Square in Bicester on
June 15th.
Theo Freeman
Seen in the background is Bicester railway bridge with 21365 at the North
Station stop on June 17th.
These are a selection of the photos received and give a idea of the buses in service in three locations.
Volvo B8RLE MCV EVoRa 21364 BU69XXB leaves Oxford under a leaden sky.
Gavin Francis
During Gavin's visit to Milton Keynes he caught up with a few Midlands buses.
Gold 15936 is seen at Milton Keynes with an X6 Northampton working on June
15th.
E200 37043 is seen in Milton Keynes with an X91 service to Silverstone! It
is branded for service 9 in Northampton.
Lewis Nagle
On a recent visit to the Windsor area on June 1st, Lewis caught up with a Stagecoach bus from South.
Dennis Enviro 300 27564 is seen by Ripley with a 715 service heading for
Guildford - The 715 was once a Green Line service!!
Following comments in the last issue refresher training of drivers has now started in preparation for a start, hopefully, in early July.
Astromega 50283 is seen arriving at Gloucester Green with a training run on
June 15th by Jack Cooper.
Detailed pictures of the new screen being fitted to the tube
fleet for services to be resumed.
Astromega 50272 in Gloucester Green during crew training on June 16th by
Gavin Francis.
Another operator in Milton Keynes is uno seen on June 15th by Gavin Francis.
Working a C1 service in MK, 529 heads for the station.
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