Oxford Bus Company
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Oxford Bus Company is a bus operator serving the city and surrounding area of Oxford, England. It was formerly known as City Line, and is now a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. The company operates under four different brands:
- The Oxford Bus Company brand is used for local buses in and around Oxford.
- The Park & Ride brand is used for express buses from the well-developed network of peripheral park and ride car parks around the city.
- The Espress brand is used for express buses between Oxford and London
- The Airline brand is used for express buses between Oxford and London Heathrow or London Gatwick airports.
The local buses operate in fierce competition with local buses operated by Stagecoach in Oxfordshire. Oxford is one of the few UK cities where such free and unsubsidised competition (as envisaged by the architects of bus deregulation in the 1980s) still exists. Similarly the Espress buses compete with the Stagecoach in Oxfordshire's Oxford Tube service. This unusual level of both service and competition is facilitated by Oxford's status as a prestigious university city and the consequent large numbers of young, affluent but car-less inhabitants.
Recently, the Oxford Bus Company have replaced some of its older buses with the Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro. Another 11 are due at the end of 2006, and although Euro IV emissions take place from October 2006, these are to be Euro V.
