Years of Conservative cuts have eroded Oxfordshire’s bus network, especially in rural and deprived areas.
To improve bus services for Oxfordshire residents, Council and operators, via the Enhanced Partnership, are delivering a new fleet of electric buses and improvements at Park & Ride sites.
To build on these successes, Council wishes to explore options to bring buses back into public control, as other local authorities are doing, and to make further bus services improvements. Therefore, Council asks Cabinet to consider:
1. Funding in 2024/25 a detailed feasibility study into options of setting up:
(i) Oxfordshire bus franchising,
(ii) An Oxfordshire municipal bus company, and/or
(iii) A “Transport for Oxfordshire” public transport body (akin to Transport for West Midlands)
2. This study should be informed by an initial assessment of the public transport needs of Oxfordshire’s underserved and deprived communities, including isolated rural communities, shift workers, women, disabled, and young people. It should also assess community and on-demand bus services integration within these models;
3. Working with unions, public transport and taxi operators, police and other stakeholders to address gender-based violence on public transport and safe night-time travel for shift workers;
4. Improving communications highlighting the current and proposed new bus services to be introduced alongside the Oxford traffic filters (akin to the TfL Superloop comms);
5. Piloting car-free Sundays with free bus travel in Oxford and Market Towns in 2024, where there is local support, to showcase how reduced congestion leads to better bus services.
Minutes:
Councillor Charlie Hicks moved and Councillor Sally Povolotsky seconded the following motion which included an amendment from the proposer, accepted by Council, indicated in strikethrough:
“Years of Conservative cuts have eroded Oxfordshire’s bus network, especially in rural and deprived areas.
To improve bus services for Oxfordshire residents, Council and operators, via the Enhanced Partnership, are delivering a new fleet of electric buses and improvements at Park & Ride sites.
To build on these successes, Council wishes to explore options to bring buses back into public control, as other local authorities are doing, and to make further bus services improvements. Therefore, Council asks Cabinet to consider:
(i) Oxfordshire bus franchising,
(ii) An Oxfordshire municipal bus company, and/or
(iii) A “Transport for Oxfordshire” public transport body (akin to Transport for West Midlands)
2. This study should be informed by an initial assessment of the public transport needs of Oxfordshire’s underserved and deprived communities, including isolated rural communities, shift workers, women, disabled, and young people. It should also assess community and on-demand bus services integration within these models.
Following some debate on the motion, Councillor Judy Roberts moved that the question now be put. The Chair put this to a vote which was carried by 29 votes to 6 with two abstentions.
The motion as amended was carried by 52 votes to 0 with 1 abstention:
RESOLVED (unanimously):
To improve bus services for Oxfordshire residents, Council and operators, via the Enhanced Partnership, are delivering a new fleet of electric buses and improvements at Park & Ride sites.
To build on these successes, Council wishes to explore options to bring buses back into public control, as other local authorities are doing, and to make further bus services improvements. Therefore, Council asks Cabinet to consider:
(i) Oxfordshire bus franchising,
(ii) An Oxfordshire municipal bus company, and/or
(iii) A “Transport for Oxfordshire” public transport body (akin to Transport for West Midlands)
2. This study should be informed by an initial assessment of the public transport needs of Oxfordshire’s underserved and deprived communities, including isolated rural communities, shift workers, women, disabled, and young people. It should also assess community and on-demand bus services integration within these models.