Oxford Bus Company

History

A City of Oxford Tramways Company horse-drawn tram system first operated in Oxford in 1881. In 1906 its operation was taken over by the City of Oxford Electric Tramway Company. This did not in fact electrify the tramway, but in 1913/14, and under threat of competition from William Morris, replaced the trams with Daimler buses.

In 1921 the company was renamed City of Oxford Motor Services Limited and continued to expand its operations into the surrounding countryside. From the 1930s the company was controlled by British Electric Traction with the Great Western Railway also having a shareholding. Most of the fleet comprised AEC vehicles in the traditional red livery with green and maroon relief.

On becoming a subsidiary of the National Bus Company in 1969, moves towards greater integration of city and country services began. In 1971 the Oxford to London coach operator South Midland, which had been controlled by the neighbouring Thames Valley Traction company, was transferred to City of Oxford Motor Services and the fleet name for the entire operation became Oxford South Midland. A particularly acute problem for the operator was the competition for staff with Morris Motors whose works was located close to the Oxford garage. One solution was the move to one person operation of buses during the 1970s. Following several trials, the Oxford company has operated the city’s pioneering park and ride bus services since 1978, the year in which the London express service on its present routing began.

In 1983 the operation was split into separate Oxford and South Midland units. The Oxford Bus Company was allocated the Oxford city services and the London routes, and South Midland was allocated the remainder of the network. Both companies were subject to management buyouts. The South Midland company was soon resold to Thames Transit (later Stagecoach South Midlands) who introduced minibus competition, countered by the Oxford Bus Company under the brand name Oxford City Nipper.

In 1990 the Oxford Bus Company acquired the High Wycombe operations of the Bee Line, and ran them under the Wycombe Bus brand name. On March 1994 Oxford Bus Company was sold to the Go-Ahead Group. In 2000 Go-Ahead sold the High Wycombe operations to Arriva. The company's long-standing main depot site in Cowley Road, Oxford was closed in 2004 in favour after a new depot opened in Watlington Road.

In July 2009 Oxford Bus Company commenced operating the BROOKESbus under contract to the Oxford Brookes University.

In 2011 and 2012 the Go-Ahead Group purchased Thames Travel and Carousel Buses and brought these under the management of Oxford Bus Company although they retain their separate identities.

Bus Location Technology

All Oxford Bus Company buses and coaches have automatic vehicle location (AVL) equipment installed which works via GPS technology.

The AVL equipment installed on each bus or coach gives geographical location to within a few meters and is updating central control room every few seconds; therefore this information technology can be viewed in real time at the central control room, which helps in managing the fleet.

The AVL equipment is also coupled to a real-time passenger information system at over 250 bus stop display screens around Oxford City and surrounding towns, and via a smartphone app. This coupled information technology system gives the public "predicted times" of bus and coach services around Oxford City and surrounding towns.

Oxfordshire County Council also use this information technology to provide traffic-light priority for buses at various road junctions.

The real-time passenger information system is managed by Oxontime, which is a partnership between various bus companies and Oxfordshire County Council.

Brands

Oxford Bus Company currently operates services under five distinct brands:

Fleet

As at April 2015 the fleet consists of 163 buses and coaches, of which 52 are hybrid buses.