A government scheme that allowed children to travel free by bus during August produced a sharp increase in young passenger journeys across Oxfordshire, according to figures from Go Thames Valley.
Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel recorded a combined 229 per cent increase in child passenger journeys compared with August 2025 during the month-long initiative.
The scheme formed part of the Government’s Great British Summer Savings campaign, allowing children aged between five and 15 to travel free on participating bus services between 01 August and 31 August.
The biggest increases on the Oxfordshire network were recorded on services connecting Oxford with surrounding towns and communities.
The X32 between Oxford and Didcot, X40 between Oxford and Reading, and 700 between Blackbird Leys and Kidlington recorded some of the strongest growth.
The figures form part of a wider increase reported across Go Thames Valley’s operations, suggesting that removing the cost of travel encouraged substantially more young people and families to use local bus networks during the school summer holidays.
The effect was particularly pronounced on the Carousel Buses network, where journeys by children increased by 406 per cent compared with August 2025.
Carousel reported the strongest growth on services including the 1 between High Wycombe and Hemel Hempstead, the 37 between High Wycombe, Maidenhead and Windsor, and the 850 between High Wycombe and Central Reading.
Pulhams also recorded a significant increase, with child passenger journeys up 301 per cent. Its strongest-performing routes included services linking Cheltenham, Chipping Norton, Bourton-on-the-Water, Cirencester and Bishop’s Cleeve.
For the Oxfordshire network, the increase provides a striking indication of how sensitive young people’s use of public transport can be to the cost of travel.
Luke Marion, managing director of Go Thames Valley, described the initiative as a success, saying:
“The figures speak for themselves – this was a hugely popular initiative.”
“It was great to get young people onto our services and enjoying our local networks.
“We experienced no issues with overloading as the scheme allowed us to make use of spare capacity, that is often higher than usual in school summer holidays.
He said the scheme had enabled young people to use local bus networks for days out across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds, while travelling sustainably.
The free travel offer has now ended, but discounted options remain available for younger passengers in Oxfordshire.
The CityZone ‘Get Around for £1’ scheme allows passengers aged 18 and under who hold a Get Around Card to travel on CityZone routes for £1. The initiative has been operating since 2017.
Young passengers can also access discounted season and multi-trip tickets through the mobile app and key card scheme.
The August figures are likely to add to the debate over whether temporary fare reductions can produce lasting changes in public transport use — particularly among families facing the rising cost of leisure and travel.
For Oxfordshire, the sharp increase on routes such as the X32, X40 and 700 offers a local measure of the potential demand when the price barrier for younger passengers is removed.
