Reopening Botley Road has brought a series of changes to bus services across Oxfordshire, with new routes, revised timetables and more frequent journeys introduced from Sunday 20 September.
Go Thames Valley, which operates Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, has introduced the changes following the reopening of the road beneath Oxford railway station. The programme also incorporates new and existing contracts with Oxfordshire County Council.
One of the most significant changes is the return of Oxford Bus Company’s 400 service to Seacourt Park & Ride. The service now serves all stops along Botley Road and operates with a frequency of up to every 10 minutes. In Oxford city centre, buses call at Frideswide Square rather than Oxford railway station.
The reopening also restores several routes to the city centre. Services 44 and 63/63S now call at Speedwell Street, the Westgate and Frideswide Square.
The 44 runs between Abingdon and Oxford via Wootton and Cumnor, while the 63 and 63S provide connections between Southmoor, Fyfield, Appleton, Botley and Oxford. Operation of the 44 has also transferred from Thames Travel to Oxford Bus Company.
Elsewhere, a new service 4 has been introduced, combining with the former 4A route to create a cross-city service between Risinghurst, Headington, the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford city centre, Botley and Elms Rise.
The service operates every 30 minutes, seven days a week, with late-evening journeys continuing between Elms Rise and Oxford city centre.
The former 4B has been renumbered as the 200 and extended into Oxford city centre, terminating at Magdalen Street. It operates up to every 30 minutes from Monday to Saturday.
Another major change is the combination of the former 6 and 35 routes into a new cross-city 6 service. It links Abingdon, Radley, Kennington, Oxford city centre and Wolvercote, operating up to every 20 minutes from Monday to Saturday and up to every 30 minutes during evenings and on Sundays.
The changes extend beyond Botley Road. Service 5A has gained more frequent Saturday evening and Sunday journeys, while the 11 has an additional 11.00pm departure from Oxford on Friday and Saturday nights. Service 15 has also been altered to provide additional stops in Wood Farm.
The wider programme includes enhanced services in Bicester and more frequent buses serving areas including Risinghurst, Wantage, Abingdon and Southmoor. The operator says the revised timetables are intended to improve connectivity, punctuality and reliability.
The reopening of Botley Road has also restored direct bus access between west Oxford and the city centre. Oxfordshire County Council says buses using the road can now continue through to the city centre, while the 400 has returned to Seacourt Park & Ride with a frequency of up to every 10 minutes.
Luke Marion, managing director of Go Thames Valley, said the operator was focused on raising awareness of the revised network following the period in which Botley Road was closed.
The road had been closed at the railway bridge since April 2023 as part of the Oxford Station expansion. Its reopening on Sunday 20 September restored through traffic beneath the new bridge.
For passengers, the changes mark a return to more direct cross-city journeys while introducing a substantially revised network in several parts of Oxfordshire.
Full timetable and route information is available from Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel.
