Heyfordian have been running the subsidised Abingdon Town Bus Service since June 2010. It connects places off the main bus routes.

The new contract from June 1st 2015 has been won by Thames Travel.

The main difference comparing the old timetable shown above …

and the new service downloadable from Thames Travel  is that services before 9am, and after 3pm have been cut.

County Council officers reported to councillors that “There is barely any recorded use of the Abingdon town services in peak periods: as a result the peak hour journeys provided by service 40 in the morning and late afternoon are likely to be withdrawn.

Usage reduces significantly in the afternoon, particularly on Saturdays. An earlier finish may provide an opportunity to reduce costs if necessary and protect the overall level of service for the busier part of the day.”

Every four years, certain local district bus routes, subsidised by Oxfordshire County Council, need to be reviewed to ensure they are giving Council Tax Payers value for money.

The current contracts run to the end of May 2015. New contracts will be put in place from June 2015. The consultation about these services is open until 15th November 2014.

The services are mainly rural and help people get out and about.

One service is of particular concern to Abingdon, The Abingdon Town Service, is chiefly used by elderly people without cars or bikes to get into town, and to the Community Hospital.

The County Council are looking to save money. They say “All of the Abingdon town service routes serve housing areas situated off main roads at a considerable distance from main routes.”

County Council Officers say savings can be made as “There is barely any recorded use of the Abingdon town services in peak periods: as a result the peak hour journeys provided by service 40 in the morning and late afternoon are likely to be withdrawn.”

County Council Officers say “Usage reduces significantly in the afternoon, particularly on Saturdays. An earlier finish may provide an opportunity to reduce costs if necessary and protect the overall level of service for the busier part of the day.”

But this is a democracy. Let them know if they have got it wrong.

At the end of another busy week for the Abingdon Town Bus with 72 trips through South Abingdon, 48 trips to Abingdon Community Hospital, and 24 to the Peachcroft shops in North Abingdon, the town bus conked out and had to be towed away – just before the final part of the last circuit.

Round the corner there was already a replacement in position, run by Heyfordian – a Scottish sounding bus company.

Both these buses are the X2 service connecting Oxford and Didcot via Abingdon, but the company and livery have changed in the last two weeks.

The X2 used to be run by the Red Oxford Bus Company based in Oxford, but is now run by the Blue Thames Travel based in Wallingford.

Thames Travel were bought by the Go Ahead Group in May 2011, which brought it under the management of the Oxford Bus Company which the Go Ahead Group bought in 1994.

It means that both the X2 and the 32 Oxford-Abingdon-Didcot services are run by Thames Travel. The main difference between these services, if any visitor asks, is that the X2 stops in South Abingdon and goes that way round, and the 32 stops on Bridge Street and goes that way round.

There is an X32 but it goes direct from Oxford to Didcot missing Abingdon. Do not make that mistake!