X9 Bus Service

Sun 24 Jan 2016, 11:35

I took our bus petition in to Oxfordshire County Council yesterday, addressed to the Leader, in advance of the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday where the budget will be discussed. We collected 843 signatures altogether. Thanks to Elaine at Charlbury post office, to everyone at Finstock post office, to Rachael and Susie who collected signatures on the buses, and to everyone who signed.

Wed 20 Jan 2016, 12:49

Having stood in the cold from 17.15 awaiting the 17.28 service to Witney last Friday evening, it eventually turned up around 17.40, well turned up is an understatement, as it left Bull corner it sped up passing me at the bus stop, the driver glanced across and continued on his way, I thought bus STOP, meant the bus should stop, weather there are passengers to pick up or not, maybe as he was so late he thought he could make some time up by not stopping. Grrr, a spoilt evening out in Witney. The Chipping Norton bus passed a further 5 minuets later as I walked home. Needless to say I won't be using the X9.

Tue 19 Jan 2016, 20:39 (last edited on Thu 21 Jan 2016, 21:35)

After being a carer for over 5 years and subsequently unable to work, then trying desperately for over a year to find employment (very difficult when you are the wrong side of 50 with no job history for over 5 years), I was overjoyed when finally I secured a brilliant job in Finstock. Since I don't drive I rely on that bus. If Pulhams were to 'pull it', I would find it difficult to get there. Thanks David Cameron!!!!!!!

Tue 19 Jan 2016, 18:10

It's very good news that the X9 is likely to continue (on a reduced timetable) even if -- as now seems very likely -- OCC decides to cut all bus subsidies. Thank you, Richard, for organising the meeting with Pulham's.

Unfortunately, it's hard to predict which journeys will be most useful. With Aldi in Chippy due to open in February, my guess is that usage patterns will change.

Wed 13 Jan 2016, 10:21

Would anyone who regularly uses the bus like to help by collecting signatures on our petition from bus users? I have permission from Pulhams to do this so let me know if you want some forms.

Tue 12 Jan 2016, 18:20

Good point Jon. As you know my Wife and I carried out an experiment for 18 months to see if we could do without a car. On the whole it wasn't really a hardship, just required a bit of planning and the occasional taxi. When I got my job in Wallingford though it meant that we had to get an old banger as Wallingford is nigh on impossible to get to and from by public transport.
However we still use the S3 and X9 to travel to and from Oxford, Woodstock, Witney and Chippy on Saturdays. Not all on the same day of course.
Travel by bus is cheap, stress-free, and there are no parking problems.
I resent the idea that I should "top up" my bus pass. After all, I've paid literally 10s of thousands of pounds in Income Tax during my life, and it is nice to think I'm getting a few pennies back! And of course I still pay tax and NIC and Council tax.
I think there is a wider, national argument here. Do we want to live in a society which condemns the elderly and poor to stay in their towns/villages and be unable to get to work?
I agree wholeheartedly with David. Other "poorer" countries run all manner of subsidised transport because their politicians have the intelligence to know that in the long term it benefits the economy.
Still, I wonder if the Old Etonians who now govern us have ever used public transport.

Tue 12 Jan 2016, 11:14

I admit I am several years out of date on the finer details of the arrangement whereby bus companies are reimbursed by OCC for travel by bus pass holders, but I have no reason to believe the basic system has changed. Yes, it is true that the bus companies are only reimbursed for around half the fare. But that is the single fare. You never pay for a return fare with a bus pass. So if you take the bus to Witney using a bus pass, the company gets half of each single fare. That's only a little less than the whole return fare. And the companies get more travellers, because a lot of people who use their pass would not be travelling at all if they had to pay full fare.

Tue 12 Jan 2016, 09:33

A reminder that the bus petition is still at the Post Office. I have booked time to speak at the County Council meeting on Feb 16th when the policy on bus subsidies will be decided. I plan to send the petition before this in time for the transport advisory panel meeting the week before. So if you haven't yet signed please do so now.

Mon 11 Jan 2016, 13:02

Good luck Richard in your efforts to maintain as much as possible of our bus services.

My wife and I are regular users of the X9 service, both to Witney and Chipping Norton. Buses leaving Witney Monday to Friday at 4, 5 and 6pm are regularly three quarters or more full, and the same applies to the service at 9.30 am leaving Charlbury for Chipping Norton. In our experience even at more off-peak times passenger numbers still compare favourably with other bus routes outside urban areas.

Any substantial reduction in the X9 service would impact on the ability of people to get to and from work, to do essential shopping, to get to schools and access services such as the doctors at Chipping Norton. [It would also completely isolate the people, including several young mothers, who rely on the service from The Beeches mobile home park.]

More generally, cuts to services would reduce economic activity in the towns and villages along the route and be at odds with the idea of promoting tourism [Walkers Are Welcome - because we've got no buses?] and reducing car use. [The bus journey from Charlbury to Chipping Norton takes about 20 minutes. The times we have made the same journey by car it has often taken that long to find a parking space.]

Perhaps when looking at other bus companies, a more socially responsible company, Go Ride CIC who provide the C1 service at the moment could be considered. Their policy statement is at www.goridebus.co.uk/go_ride/what_is_go_ride_about.html. They helped to rescue an unprofitable service from Goring to Wallingford a few years ago, also increasing both number of journeys and areas served.

It is inevitable that people making decisions about bus services rarely if ever use them, and consequently have only limited awareness of the way cuts would impoverish the lives of those directly affected by such changes.

Mon 11 Jan 2016, 09:30

Yes, the payment for bus pass holders is safe.

Broadly speaking I think it's fair to say that the Witney half is better used than the Chippy half. When (briefly) Worths and RH Transport both ran services along the route a few years back, and Worths were running without subsidy, they dropped a few of the lesser-used Chippy runs.

Mon 11 Jan 2016, 08:00

Thanks for your response. It is good to learn that various options will be discussed before Pulhams make their final decision. May I confirm that the 'income (from the County Council)for those travelling on bus passes' is over and above the subsidy which is under threat? I would also ask if Pulhams are able/willing to provide us with passenger number information with enough detail to tell us which services are most used and by whom (bus passes or paying passengers) so if cuts are to be made at least the
most used services are protected.

Sun 10 Jan 2016, 18:38

Stephen - I might not have been clear but that wasn't what I intended! As far as I am aware no decision has been taken yet; indeed, I'm due to meet with Pulhams later this month to discuss the service. There are absolutely many options which could help the service survive - voluntary contributions, recasting the service to remove the lesser-used (and therefore loss-making) journeys, increased publicity, maybe interworking with another service, looking for grants/subsidies from elsewhere, and so on - and I hope to discuss those with them and maybe other potential operators. But the sine qua non is people using the bus - the more people who use the bus, the more secure it is. Better for us to make sure the bus is popular before Pulhams take their decision, especially if they'll be weighing up which of their various services to continue.

The bus company does receive income (from the county council) for those travelling on bus passes, but it is significantly below the full fare. However, as best I know, there is no way for local bus services to opt out of the bus pass scheme - so any top-up contributions would have to be voluntary.

Helen - a full-price return from Charlbury to Witney is around £5.

Sun 10 Jan 2016, 17:30

It sounds to me like it's a case of use it or lose it

Sun 10 Jan 2016, 17:23

Just out of interest, how much is an adult return fare to Witney or Chipping Norton? I have not used the bus for many years.

Sun 10 Jan 2016, 17:10

The bus is always full in Saturday and especially days like beer festival and riverside

Sun 10 Jan 2016, 17:00

Richard your posting under News implies that Pulhams have made a decision to withdraw the service if/when the subsidy is withdrawn. Is there no intermediate solution? Would Pulhams consider a reduced service? I often use the service and note that the greatest percentage of users are the bus passes so providing no income for the operator. Would it become economical if those using passes paid half fare? The no service at all scenario seems extreme an solution especially for those with no car.