Oxford Buses 2019

Home , Cornmarket Street, Magdalen Street

Electrification and simplification of public transport in Oxford A ‘revolutionary’ suggestion

Keith Frayn Headington resident

Disclaimer and acknowledgements

I am a member of Oxford Pedestrians Association, Cyclox, Oxford Civic Society and Oxford Preservation Trust, but this document conveys my personal views and does not represent the views of any of these organisations.

I am grateful to Richard Bradley, Sushila Dhall, Nick and Theresa Frayn, Stephanie Jenkins, Peter Thompson and Charles Young for reading and commenting on a draft of this document, but in the end it is my responsibility. Their comments showed me many flaws in my thinking, but they did all agree that there was something worth saying.

Please feel to request an electronic copy, and to reprint in whole or in part if required.

Keith Frayn, Headington resident [email protected]

Cover photo: Oxford High Street. Thanks to Stephanie Jenkins

Contents 1. Executive summary ...... 5 2. Introduction ...... 7 3. ‘Connecting Oxfordshire’ and ‘Connecting Oxford’...... 11 4. Issues with the present system of public transport in Oxford ... 13 5. Some ‘arterial routes’ considered ...... 16 5.1 Botley Road ...... 16 5.2. The city centre – St Giles routes ...... 16 5.2.1 Reclaiming the Magdalen Street East/Broad Street/Magdalen West triangle ...... 16 5.2.2 The tourist coaches ...... 18 5.2.3 Benefits to St Giles ...... 19 5.3 The St Aldates / Abingdon Road route ...... 20 6. Turning the buses round – key to simplifying Oxford’s public transport ...... 22 6.1 Turning buses around ...... 22 6.2 Charging the electric buses ...... 26 7. Buses through Headington ...... 27 7.1 Outline of the Headington bus route and its issues ...... 27 7.2 The Headington route simplified ...... 29 7.3 Barton and Risinghurst buses ...... 30 7.4 The long-distance buses ...... 31 7.5 Other buses using the High Street – Magdalen Bridge route33 7.6 What about Gloucester Green bus station? ...... 33 8. Oxford railway station, Gloucester Green bus station, and other traffic through the city centre ...... 34

8.1 A central area circular ...... 34 8.2 What about other traffic through the city? ...... 36 9. Serving the hospitals ...... 37 10. Making this all work ...... 38 10.1 Avoiding bunching ...... 38 10.2 Ticketing ...... 39 10.3 Tramways for the future ...... 40 11. Summary of ‘pros and cons’ ...... 41 11.1 Advantages and disadvantages ...... 41 11.2 Conclusion ...... 42 Photo credits and QR codes ...... 45

Note that where web addresses (urls) are given in the text, QR codes are provided at the back of the document.

1. Executive summary

Oxford’s bus network is characterised by duplication of buses on the main arterial routes, resulting in part from multiple bus operating companies and in part from the expressed wish of the bus operating companies not to ask passengers to transfer buses. This results in congestion, with buses holding up buses in heavy traffic in the city centre.

There are many problems with public transport in the city centre. St Aldates and High Street feel over-crowded with buses; heavy, long- distance buses roar through city centre streets; buses continue to need to use Queen Street despite opposition from many people; a new study has suggested routing buses along presently quiet streets including Holywell Street; bus stop placements are confusing; and there is overcrowding at bus stops so that local buses may not stop when there are already long-distance buses waiting.

I propose that bus routes along the individual arterial routes in and out of the city centre (Botley Road; St Aldates/Abingdon Road; High Street/Magdalen Bridge; St Giles/Banbury and Woodstock Roads) be replaced by electric ‘shuttle services’ to the respective Park and Rides. Passengers making longer journeys would transfer there to long-distance buses. (This is a controversial suggestion, but I make the case that it is part of the behaviour change we must all make to meet environmental concerns.) Districts such as Barton and Risinghurst would be served by separate circular electric routes, starting in those cases at Green Road roundabout. I also suggest that, as the range of electric buses increases, some might travel beyond their respective Park and Rides to serve the outer districts.

Bus traffic in the city centre is currently dominated by the need for buses to turn round – this is one reason buses continue to use Queen Street. In the case of the Botley Road and the Banbury and

Woodstock Roads arterial routes, turning circles exist (Oxford railway station) or could be created (southern end of St Giles). However, St Aldates and High Street would require more innovative solutions, which are key to these proposals.

My proposals could lead to the freeing up of some key public spaces to pedestrianisation: the Magdalen Road East/Broad Street/Magdalen Street West triangle, and Carfax which could be at the centre of a largely pedestrianised zone.

My proposals would change Oxford’s public transport system radically – perhaps too radically for some. But they have the advantage that they do not to be implemented all at once: each arterial route could be managed independently so this could be a progressive change. It is also clear that at some time in the future this plan could lay the groundwork for individual arterial routes to be converted to tramways.

2. Introduction

Oxford’s High Street clogged with buses. Carfax, the historic centre of Oxford, a busy transport junction with buses dominating. St Aldates with its jewels of Oxford Town Hall, St Aldate’s Church, and Christ Church, effectively a busy bus station. Buses running along Queen Street, which even the local authorities feel should be pedestrianised. The Magdalen Street West/Broad Street/Magdalen Street East triangle, with historic Mary Magdalen Church at its centre and the Martyrs’ Memorial at its north end, a bus holding area and bus station. Yes, it is true that compared with many other cities, Oxford has a very good bus service, but at what cost to the city centre? In this document I want to make the case that it needn’t be like this: with some imaginative thinking, the centre of Oxford could be freed from the dominance of buses, whilst maintaining a good service for passengers.

‘Bus-ageddon’ on High Street

But I start by saying that I am not a transport expert. I am not even an engineer. I happen to be a retired medical scientist. At least I feel that gives me a background in gathering and looking at evidence and coming up with ideas.

I have lived in Oxford for more than 30 years. In that time I have seen many changes for the better – for instance, I remember when

my wife was hit by a bus in Cornmarket Street. Mostly now I am a bus-user, pedestrian and cyclist in Oxford. But I am also an observer of how Oxford and its public transport function.

One impetus for this work came a few years ago when we had been walking in the Lake District with our Norwegian friends Ingrid and Lars. Lars drives buses in Trondheim. We arrived back at Oxford Railway Station and took a bus to our house in Headington. As we turned into the High Street the bus was at a standstill, held up by traffic, much of which was buses. Lars said immediately “Too many buses”. He was also very critical of the ticketing system: “In Trondheim, almost nobody pays cash. If you pay cash, it costs twice as much.” This was before the introduction of contactless payment on Oxford’s buses, but still many people are paying in cash.

Another impetus was the resurfacing of London Road in Headington a few years ago. The traffic was held up in long queues. It was immediately apparent how much of that traffic was made up of buses. Indeed, as I wrote in a letter to Oxford Times in May 2015, buses are holding up buses.

Buses on London Road, Headington

Beyond that, there are the current concerns about air quality, there are concerns from cyclists about the nearness of large, heavy buses passing them, there is an unpleasant feel for pedestrians throughout the city centre because of the presence of so many large vehicles, and consequent narrow pavements that are not wide enough for the volume of tourists and language students visiting, especially in the summer. There is debate about the use of Queen Street by buses. The bus companies argue that not using Queen Street would add 150,000 miles per year to bus journeys.

As I write this section [13/8/19] I have just returned from Bicester to Oxford on the S5 bus. As we passed Oxford Parkway Park and Ride, we were joined in convoy by a 500 Park and Ride bus and a no. 2, all city-bound. These buses leap-frogged each other down the Banbury Road. Later we were passed by an inbound S4 from Banbury and another single-decker that I couldn’t identify as it had no number on the back. Our bus had two passengers for most of the way. I couldn’t see how many were on the other buses for sure, but they were not full.

A recent study from Phil Jones Associates commissioned by the City and County Councils makes suggestions for rerouting buses. In some of their scenarios, presently quiet streets such as Holywell Street would become bus routes. It seems to me we should be aiming to create more quiet streets, not take away from those we already have.

In this work, I make some suggestions that will deal with many of these issues. I know that my suggestions will not find favour with the bus operating companies, nor in the short term with some passengers. I know that I will be criticised as an amateur lacking knowledge of how these things should be done. I would simply urge those with power to act, to read my suggestions and at least give them consideration.

This document is aimed primarily at those who might have some influence on how Oxford’s bus system shapes up for the future. I realise that in Oxford, unlike London, the local authority cannot directly direct the bus operating companies how to run their services, but I feel it is an opportune time to point out some opportunities that the local authorities might be in a position to influence, if not implement. Cooperation between local authorities and bus operating companies, and between the bus companies themselves, would be required to transform the system in the way I suggest.

The 15-metre long Diesel-powered airport and London buses, designed for long-distance routes, just don’t feel suitable for the city centre. Many other buses are serving the same route as far as Thornhill Park and Ride.

3. ‘Connecting Oxfordshire’ and ‘Connecting Oxford’

I realise that I have worked in a bubble removed from on-going developments under the current Local Transport Plan 2015 – 2031 (LTP4). However, I do note that many of these proposals accord with policies in that plan.

For instance, LTP4 Policy 22 states that: “Oxfordshire County Council will promote the use of low or zero emission transport, including electric vehicles and associated infrastructure where appropriate”. Policy 25 states that “Oxfordshire County Council will work with partners to improve public spaces and de-clutter the street environment”. My proposals, covered later, to declutter the Magdalen Street East/Broad Street/Magdalen Street West triangle and link it in with an improved St Giles fit exactly with this policy.

In Volume 2 of the current LTP, the Bus & Rapid Transit Strategy is concerned with “Transforming the bus network” and necessarily deals directly with some of the issues I have worked on. Oxfordshire County Council “has a long and consistent track record of promoting bus travel, working in close partnership with the bus industry. Our forward-looking pro-bus policies over the last four decades have been a key factor in the continued growth of bus patronage and the development of a bus user culture, especially in and around Oxford, which now has one of the most highly- developed and successful commercial bus networks in the country” (Introduction, Bus and Rapid Transit Strategy). My proposals might well test just how forward-looking the County Council can be. Many of the “main elements” of that strategy, which include “integrated transport planning”, and “tackling congestion and delays”, fit perfectly with my proposals. Amongst the challenges noted are “overcrowded and inadequate stops and interchange facilities and limited available space in Oxford city centre”, addressed to some extent by my proposals. But in other respects my proposals differ from those in the LTP. My proposals would

work well using the present ring of ‘inner’ Park and Ride stations. The County Council’s plan to develop more distant Park and Ride sites may have its own benefits, but is not essential to my proposals: however, if the inner Park and Ride sites were to be removed, it would, I believe, cause problems for the development of an innovative city-wide bus service. However, the proposal that “we [County Council] expect the Park & Ride sites to develop as significant bus and coach hubs facilitating the growth in local bus services improving access and connectivity” chimes exactly with my proposals. How my proposals would link to the proposed Bus Rapid Transit routes needs to be developed further.

The newly-opened consultation (September 2019) ‘Connecting Oxford’ is largely aimed at reducing the volume of commuter traffic to ease congestion and facilitate public and active transport. As I discuss later, removal of present congestion would be key to making my proposals work, so this is perfectly in accord. That consultation document also envisages development of new bus routes, but these are largely serving the Eastern Arc, and not affecting the city centre. Therefore, again, they could be seen as dovetailing with my proposals which concern almost entirely the radial routes into and out of the city centre. Nevertheless, one stimulus to publicise my thoughts now has been that they might be helpful in the current considerations of ‘Connecting Oxford’.

4. Issues with the present system of public transport in Oxford

Oxford has issues with air quality, streets busy with traffic, difficulties in pedestrianizing city centre streets, and a city centre that generally feels too cluttered with traffic, including buses. This document is about all of these. The forthcoming Zero Emission Zone will dictate a move towards electrification of transport. I realise that this doesn’t completely alleviate air quality issues (with particulates from tyre wear, brakes etc), but will certainly help, and it is with those changes in mind that I put forward these proposals.

In detail: All agree that there is a problem with air quality in Oxford, especially in the city centre. The introduction of a Zero Emissions Zone will help but it seems at present that some forms of public transport will be exempted.

Central Oxford streets, especially St Aldates and High Street, feel overcrowded with traffic, and buses contribute significantly to this congestion. The Magdalen Street West/Broad Street/Magdalen Street East triangle is a disgrace to the city – a potentially beautiful area used as a bus park. Carfax, once the heart of the city, is a busy bus junction.

Carfax, the historic heart of Oxford, now a busy bus junction

Buses still use Queen Street. I agree that the present system operates well, because of the courtesy of the bus drivers, but there must be a problem when Oxford, unlike so many other major UK cities, is unable to create a truly pedestrian zone where people want it.

‘Buses’, as noted in my introduction, ‘hold up buses’: many of these are travelling the same route and, for much of the day, are far from full.

The long-distance buses (I will use this term for the buses between Oxford and London, and Oxford and the airports) create noise, road wear, and, at 15 metres in length, Diesel-powered buses designed for long distances on main roads just feel too big for the city centre and for residential districts such as Headington, as they roar past pedestrians and cyclists.

Airport bus dominating Carfax - is this what we want in our city centre?

There is overcrowding at bus stops so that the bus you want may not see you (or may not want to stop alongside other stationary buses) and goes on past – this is a fairly regular occurrence, especially (in my experience) on the High Street – Headington route, when the large long-distance buses may obscure the sight of the city buses. There is also confusion about bus stops – for instance, on High Street some outward-bound buses, but not all, stop at Turl Street, causing confusion for those not in the know.

My proposals would address many of these issues and, in addition, create some new pedestrian areas.

5. Some ‘arterial routes’ considered

5.1 Botley Road There are multiple bus routes using the Botley Road between Oxford railway station and Seacourt Park and Ride. This corridor is perhaps the easiest to convert to electric ‘shuttle’ operation, since there is a natural turning circle and pick-up point at Oxford railway station, and Seacourt Park and Ride is neatly placed for transfers to outgoing services. This shuttle would replace Botley-bound City 4 services, the Brookes U1 service and the S1 and S6 plus potentially some others (the Science Transit St Connector to Wytham has recently started using this route).

As this is a relatively short ‘arterial route’, it could be that some buses continue and turn in Botley or at Harcourt Hill. As with my suggestions for other arterial routes, the final destination of the buses may depend on the range available. But the principle should be that multiple services along one major route are replaced with a single service, that I term a ‘shuttle’.

5.2. The city centre – St Giles routes

5.2.1 Reclaiming the Magdalen Street East/Broad Street/Magdalen West triangle Buses use Magdalen Street East as a parking place, then set off via Magdalen Street West to collect passengers, before travelling up Banbury Road, through Summertown, and all go via Oxford Parkway Park and Ride. These buses include the no. 2 (2 itself, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D), 7 and 7A, Park and Ride 500, S4, S5 and X4. These buses all go past or into the Oxford Parkway Park and Ride.

The Magdalen Street East/Broad Street/Magdalen Street West triangle is a disgrace to the city. A potentially beautiful area with the Martyrs’ Memorial and St Mary Magdalen at its centre is

currently a busy bus park and bus station, with crowded pavements blocked for walkers by people waiting for buses. My proposal would transform this area back into a pleasant area for pedestrians. I suggest that city-bound buses drop off passengers just before the Magdalen Rd East/West fork. There is plenty of room here to construct a bus turning circle in front of (i.e. to the north of) the Martyrs’ Memorial. Then buses would wait to pick up outside the Taylorian Institute where tourist coaches now wait.

My proposal goes further than that. All the services currently running up the city centre / Banbury Road route would be replaced by electric shuttle buses, all going to the Oxford Parkway Park and Ride, where passengers going further would transfer to on-going buses to Kidlington, Bicester, etc. For most of the day, neither the city-bound nor the out-bound buses are full, so at a stroke this would considerably reduce the number of buses using this route and duplicating each other’s services. (As noted in earlier sections, this need not be rigid, and perhaps some would continue and turn in Kidlington, depending on range available.)

Charging could easily be provided at the Park and Ride and in addition, should it be necessary, at the holding area/pick up stop at the southern end of St Giles. More on electric buses and charging is given in a Section 6.2.

There is at least one exception to the above: the no. 14 service runs north-south along Banbury Road between town centre and Marston Ferry Road. This might continue as it is (although electrified). A more radical solution would be to ask passengers to change from the north-south shuttle onto a separate Summertown – John Radcliffe Hospital shuttle.

Some buses use the St Giles / Woodstock Road route including the Wolvercote service 6 and the Pear Tree Park and Ride service 300, plus the S2 and S3 services. It seems obvious that the last three

could be combined although probably the 6 needs to remain as a separate service. But clearly all these could easily be electrified, with longer distance passengers (Chipping Norton or Witney/Carterton-bound) transferring at the Park and Ride.

5.2.2 The tourist coaches

Many people have observed the issues with the tourist coaches that stop outside the Taylorian Institute. Sometimes these are so numerous that they spill onto the St Giles carriageway. Despite notices telling drivers to switch off engines, often the engines are left running. My radical proposal is to ban these tourist coaches from the city centre. They would stop and discharge at either Pear Tree or Oxford Parkway Park and Ride, and their passengers would continue on the electric shuttle into the city centre. The coach operators will not like this, and the passengers may not at first, but I believe that eventually Oxford would gain in reputation as a clean, mostly traffic-free city, served just by quiet, non-locally-polluting electric shuttles. Coach tourists would find themselves dismounting from the shuttle in a peaceful area with lots of pedestrian space, instead of the present busy Beaumont Street / St Giles junction. This would, of course, free up the space outside the Taylorian to be

used as a pick-up point for north-bound electric shuttles. The idea of arriving at a tourist attraction, parking outside and being transferred by shuttle would not be new to anyone who has visited a large ‘theme park’. I also note that this will have to happen anyway should a true Zero Emission Zone be enforced.

5.2.3 Benefits to St Giles A number of local organisations have argued for some time that St Giles is potentially a beautiful public space in the centre of the city. But at present it is laid out as a major highway (with two or three lanes in each direction at some points) – far in excess of the needs of local traffic. Removal of private cars is a separate issue, but replacement of many of the buses with the electric shuttle services that I propose, which could run along a defined single lane in each direction, would open up the opportunity to transform St Giles and the Magdalen Road East/West triangle. Indeed, I note that the County Council have pre-empted this idea with their vision for St Giles that was the cover for their consultation report ‘Connecting Oxfordshire’ that led to the current Local Transport Plan 2015-2031.

Transformation of St Giles: a vision. With permission of Oxfordshire County Council.

5.3 The St Aldates / Abingdon Road route Several buses run along the Abingdon Road between St Aldates and Redbridge. Many of these are going further, mainly towards Abingdon. They include X3 and X13, 34 (to Wantage), 35, 300 Park and Ride, and others (the 16 turns off over Donnington Bridge).

But for the issue of turning the buses round, addressed below and later, this should be a simple route to electrify and declutter. The benefits could be great in terms of reducing polluting vehicles from the congested space of St Aldates, and potentially at many times of day reducing the total volume of buses travelling this route.

Bus crowding in St Aldates

My proposal would be that all buses using this route are replaced by electric shuttle buses running between the northern end of St Aldates and Redbridge Park and Ride. Local, Oxford passengers would be unaffected as they would use the shuttle as they do the present services. Passengers travelling onward, for instance to Abingdon, would transfer at the Park and Ride.

Key to this proposal is a means of turning the bus round at the northern end without the buses needing to cross the Carfax junction. I address this issue in the next section. The idea is that city-bound buses would arrive on the western side of St Aldates, discharge passengers, and then change direction to move over to a waiting area and pick-up place roughly where the southbound bus

stops now are. Charging, maybe via underground or overhead charging systems, can be done in this area if needed, and for longer at the Redbridge Park and Ride - discussed later in Section 6.2.

I am aware that Abingdon-bound passengers will feel it an intrusion on their journey to have to transfer to a different bus at Redbridge Park and Ride. As the range of electric buses increases, perhaps a proportion of the shuttle buses could continue to Abingdon. That would apply to many of the proposals I make about electric shuttle services to the Park and Rides around Oxford.

Routes that turn off Abingdon Road, for instance the no. 16 which turns onto Donnington Bridge, are more difficult to fit into this format and at present might have to stay separate, although there seems no reason why they should not be electrified, and turnaround at the northern end achieved as described later (Section 6).

6. Turning the buses round – key to simplifying Oxford’s public transport

6.1 Turning buses around Much of the congestion of buses in the city centre results from their need to turn round. Some years ago it was proposed to use the Worcester Street car park as a turning area, but this did not materialise. So buses such as the nos 8 and 9 coming into town turn at Carfax down St Aldates, then circle the centre via the Westgate Centre and return along Queen Street. As noted earlier, the bus companies have estimated that without this route the buses would travel an additional 150,000 miles/year.

The northern arterial routes along St Giles, and the eastern route along Botley Road, have already been described and benefit from the space to create bus turning circles at the city centre ends. The challenge is to turn around buses on the St Aldates and High Street routes, so that they do not need to cross Carfax.

I have considered whether it would be feasible to create a turning circle at Carfax. I am not knowledgeable enough about bus turning circles to know whether this could work (I think it might), but I do see that it would potentially create difficulty for pedestrians. So I have considered other means of turning buses.

My first consideration was whether it would be possible to use double-ended buses. Trams can be driven from either end. Just like many trains, these do not need a turning circle: the driver simply has to walk to the other end. Whilst I accept that Oxford may not yet be ready to lay down tramways, buses operating on this principle would achieve what is needed in Oxford. However, it seems that such buses are not as yet available with electric power. The Caetano “double-end steering bus” (http://caetanobus.pt/en/buses/double-end-steering/), in use in

France, is one example but, as yet, is only Diesel-powered. The Alstom Aptis bus (https://www.alstom.com/our-solutions/rolling- stock/aptis-new-experience-electro-mobility) is a “double-ended electric bus” being introduced into French cities, with “huge, wide double doors for easy boarding and circulation”. It sounds ideal but closer reading shows that the description is misleading: they can only be driven in one direction. Should true double-ended electric buses become available, they would be an ideal solution, and would be the most straightforward means of putting these ideas into effect.

My next consideration is whether buses could perform 3-point turns on High Street and St Aldates. Wild though this might seem at first, I have seen buses do this in High Street when the traffic congestion was extreme. I don’t think it impossible that turns could be managed with light control, for instance using the end of Turl Street or King Edward Street. Pedestrians would be kept waiting while the bus turns. But, in return, they would mostly have freedom to wander across Carfax.

If bus turnaround is to be achieved without the need for 3-point turns in the city centre, some more innovative solution is needed. I believe this might be the bus turntable – my ‘revolutionary’ suggestion. Bus turntables were used in the days of trolleybuses. They have more recently come back into use in other countries, notably Japan and Spain. Turntables in action can be seen in these videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GYTe91vD5Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH7bHCk7tn8

At least in the case of the Spanish one shown, the turntable is actuated by the bus driver using a remote control. It takes less than a minute from the bus driving on to the bus leaving again. Passengers can even board while the bus is on the turntable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9-x-klkY4Y

I do not know the cost of installation of a bus turntable. There is a discussion thread at https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/75405- bus-turntables/ in which there is a suggestion of £6,000 but I am sure that is a wild under-estimate. But this is a cost that I think will need to be born if we are to see Oxford transformed into a pleasant, walkable city. It is certainly less than the cost of bus tunnels, and could achieve a similar result.

I would suggest that two turntables might eventually be installed: one in High Street and one in St Aldates. These might be 100 metres or so from the Carfax junction – leaving that clear for pedestrians. Further work would be needed to determine where these could be placed. In High Street the turntable might be at the junction with Alfred Street or King Edward Street which would give some extra width, or nearer University College, where there is considerable width (but leaving further to walk to Carfax). In St Aldates it would ideally be near the Town Hall, although there is

greater width a little further south. Passengers transferring between buses would have only a couple of hundred metres to walk and pedestrians would experience a largely bus-free Carfax. Thus a new public space at the centre of the city would be created. (There could be an interim period with just one turntable and buses crossing Carfax to use it.)

However, again I appreciate there would be many practical problems: are the streets really wide enough? (That depends of course on the electric buses chosen.) What about pedestrian safety? What about all the underground services that might make installation difficult? What happens when the turntable breaks down or needs servicing? All these need further exploration by specialists. Three-point turns would probably be the back-up solution if a turntable is out of use.

I hope I have made the case that the city would benefit enormously if current bus traffic across Carfax could be largely removed. If my proposed solutions fail, then perhaps it is indeed time to consider putting tramways at least on short central routes – down the High Street and along St Aldates. This is considered again in Section 10.3.

6.2 Charging the electric buses

Tram in Seville making contact with overhead cables only at stops

This is a technical issue and I claim no expertise. It will have to be solved in due course by the bus companies irrespective of my proposals. However, I make the following observations. I noted in Seville that the trams connect to overhead cables just at certain bus stops in the city: otherwise they run between city-centre stops just on batteries. Alstom state that their electric Aptis bus can be recharged in 5 minutes at the end of each line, “or even opportunistically at bus stops using Alstom’s proven SRS fast charging technology”. (SRS is Alstom’s “conductive ground-based static charging system for trams or electric buses equipped with on- board energy storage” – i.e. the vehicle makes contact with ground- based charging pads.) Incidentally, Alstom also claim that the Aptis “costs about the same to own as a diesel bus, but it has a longer life span and offers a cleaner, more modern and accessible approach”. My proposals would offer the opportunity of a short, presumably ground-based, charge at the city centre end of each route, and a longer charge at the respective Park and Ride station.

7. Buses through Headington

The High Street - Headington route is the most complex. This is the route almost exclusively used by the large long-distance buses to London and the airports, as well as by a great variety of other buses. As a Headington resident I am very familiar with this route and its buses. I believe it illustrates very powerfully how things might be changed.

7.1 Outline of the Headington bus route and its issues A number of buses run along the High Street, across Magdalen Bridge, up Headington Hill and along the London Road through Headington. They are all going to the Green Road roundabout. Many of them are going to, or past, Thornhill Park and Ride: others (8 and 9) go as far as Green Road roundabout then diverge. The buses following this route include 8, 9, Brookes U1, Park & Ride 400, Arriva 280 and X8, Red Rose 275, plus the X90 and Oxford Tube coaches to London and the Heathrow and Gatwick coaches, the 737 service to Stanstead and other tourist coaches.

It is often said that Headington residents enjoy an excellent bus service. This is true, but the volume of bus traffic along this route

does not equate to the service enjoyed by residents. The Arriva buses use different ticketing. Most resident do not use the long- distance buses for journeys within the city (although the bus companies do allow this). The 275 service does not pick up when city-bound. The 400 service has limited stops. There are five different companies involved in operating this range of buses. The consequence is that the volume of bus traffic far exceeds the benefits to residents. There are many examples. Just to give a few, the 8 service inbound from Barton and the 9 from Risinghurst may coincide at Green Road roundabout: I often observe an 8 and a 9 (often from the same bus company) running as a pair into the city. The no. 8 service seems particularly liable to bunching: it is surprisingly common to see a “24” (three 8’s) running along the London Road city-bound. I have watched in Barton as an Oxford Bus Company 8 and a Stagecoach 8 pull up together outside Barton Leisure Centre and then depart together city-bound. All this adds up to pollution, fuel usage, discomfort to pedestrians and cyclists, wear on the road (which also adversely affects cyclists), without any benefit to city-bound passengers. The only beneficiaries of this system, which would look ludicrous to an outside observer, are the bus company shareholders.

U1, 8 and 9 city-bound in Headington: all have come from Green Rd roundabout, all are heading to the city centre, and none is full

(The road wear caused by buses is clearly seen at the ‘bus gate’ outside the Headington Co-operative store. This track is used only by buses and the road surface regularly deteriorates to the extent that it needs repair: indeed, last summer (2018), this bus lane was closed for some time awaiting surface repairs so all buses were using the main car route.)

7.2 The Headington route simplified My suggestion is to replace all these buses with a single, regular electric shuttle service operating from High Street near Carfax out, via the Green Road roundabout, to Thornhill Park and Ride. By removal of competing services, there would be less crowding and potentially the frequency of buses could be much more uniform – just for instance, a bus could depart from Carfax every 7 – 8 minutes for much of the day, more frequently at busy times, and a city-bound bus from Thornhill at the same frequency.

Passengers would board (ideally using a cashless system with two- or three-point entry – ticketing is discussed later) and alight along the route to Green Road roundabout. At Green Road roundabout, passengers for Barton or Risinghurst could alight to join separate shuttles (more detail below). Potentially there could be ‘local’ and ‘express’ shuttles, the latter with limited stops.

Passengers for London or the airports would then change at Thornhill onto the long-distance buses. I am well aware that this suggestion will be particularly controversial, so I expand upon it below.

Why do we currently have buses running along Queen Street? One reason is that this provides a route for some of the Headington- bound buses to turn around. The solution is clearly to turn the buses in High Street as discussed earlier. City-bound passengers

would dismount at a stop just before the bus turns; outward-bound passengers would board on the north side after the bus turns.

Bus on a turntable in Japan

My proposal would also remove a current anomaly with bus stops in High Street. At present some, but not all, of the buses travelling eastwards on High St stop at the Turl Street bus stop: buses no. 1, 5, 10, 400 and the long-distance buses do not. (For the nos. 1, 5 and 10, I presume this is because they stop in St Aldates.) This causes confusion for people waiting and I often see people (maybe visitors to Oxford) holding up a hand for a no. 1 (for example) to stop at Turl Street, and looking puzzled when it does not. Under my proposal outward-bound buses would stop at all stops – which might then be rather better spaced (for instance, there is a short distance between Turl St and Queens Lane, then a long gap until St Clements for the Headington-bound buses).

7.3 Barton and Risinghurst buses Alongside the east-bound bus stop currently known as Green Road Roundabout there is a quiet residential road (also called London Road, leading into North Way) separated from the main highway by a grass verge. I believe that there is sufficient width here to create a ‘bus station’ alongside the main road, although it would eat into the current lane leading onto the Northern Bypass. My suggestion

is that from this point, a regular electric shuttle would set off to circle Barton as the no. 8 now does, returning via the Green Road roundabout, turning into London Road, then turning across London Road to return to the ‘bus station’. New bus-activated traffic lights (as operate on the bus gates in Headington) would be needed to enable this turning across the carriageway. A similar but less frequent shuttle would do the same for Risinghurst, replacing the current no. 9 (which runs hourly for most of the week). Charging of these Barton and Risinghurst shuttle buses would be done at the waiting / pick up point.

7.4 The long-distance buses As noted above, I realise the proposal that passengers for London or the airports would be expected to change buses at Thornhill Park and Ride will be extremely controversial. This was mooted as a proposal when Headington residents were consulted before the Headington Neighbourhood Plan came into being, and was not liked. Passengers do not like the idea of having to change buses at Thornhill, especially when they may have luggage with them.

My response to this (also addressed later, in my summary) would be the following. Most people accept the need to improve Oxford city centre – air quality and traffic volume. Many people are now accepting that behaviours will have to change in order to meet environmental targets. I believe this is one behaviour change whose benefits to Oxford city will in due time outweigh the disadvantages to passengers. I would also note that a typical journey from home in Headington to (for instance) New York (where our son lived for many years) involves: bus to Heathrow, collect luggage: take luggage to check-in; internal transit at Heathrow; flight; collect luggage; transfer to onward transport, e.g. an airport – city centre bus, then often another transfer to local transport. One more vehicle change is not so significant when viewed in this light.

However, I do realise there is an issue especially for airport-bound passengers (and passengers arriving from airports) who may have large luggage. I suggest that there would need to be special arrangements to make the transfer of luggage as easy as possible. This needs detailed work but one suggestion would be along the following lines. Every 30 minutes or so (typical frequency of present airport buses) a shuttle bus departing from Carfax would be of a different design, with additional on-board luggage space (as is often seen on airport bus services abroad). This would connect at Thornhill with a departing airport bus. Alternatively, each shuttle bus could have on-board space for several suitcases, since not all passengers will be airport-bound. A further refinement could be some sort of ‘check-in’ service whereby bags are loaded and labelled with a tag for LHR or LGW, then a bus company helper would transfer them at Thornhill.

Another possibility emerges here that could make the idea of changing buses more palatable. Residents of Summertown (for instance) wishing to travel to Heathrow (again, for instance) by bus currently need to travel into the city centre, walk across the centre, and board their long-distance bus. In my proposals, it could be advantageous to start some of the long-distance buses from Park and Rides other than Thornhill. Suppose some started at Oxford Parkway, for instance. A Summertown resident would take a shuttle directly to the starting point. In that way, my suggestions might actually improve convenience for many passengers (it must be only a small proportion of Oxford residents who happen to live along the High Street – Thornhill route).

I discuss the issue of transferring between buses again later, and will show that the bus companies’ approach to this is inconsistent (Section 11.1).

7.5 Other buses using the High Street – Magdalen Bridge route It is not only the Headington-bound buses that use this route. Buses destined for the Cowley and Iffley Roads also use the route as far as The Plain roundabout (presently services 1, 3, 5 and 12), and no. 4 uses it along St Clements before turning up Morrell Avenue. Buses 13 and X13 turn off for Marston and the John Radcliffe Hospital.

I think it is too radical (at present) to suggest a further interchange at The Plain, so I feel that separate buses need to traverse High Street to follow these routes. These would also, of course, in my plan turn around using the High Street turntable. However, I do see the need for rationalisation of the present services. I recently needed to travel to Blackbird Leys. I waited for a no. 5 bus from Cowley Road. It came along just in front of a no. 1 bus (they are operated respectively by Stagecoach and Oxford Bus Company). The no. 5 and no. 1 then travelled together out to Blackbird Leys, round that suburb and set off together back into the city. I have since observed the ‘1 and 5 combo’ on several occasions. Again, an outside observer would ask what crackpot authority could possibly allow this to happen?

The circular no. 10 route also sets off along High Street for Cowley Centre, as does the no. 12, and a suggestion might be to amalgamate these routes with the 1 and 5 as far as Cowley Centre; then separate shuttles would travel via Hollow Way and The Slade to the John Radcliffe Hospital, or onward to Greater Leys.

7.6 What about Gloucester Green bus station? I address this later (Section 8).

8. Oxford railway station, Gloucester Green bus station, and other traffic through the city centre

8.1 A central area circular My proposals in general focus upon the ‘arterial’ routes to and from the city centre: Botley Road, Abingdon Road, High Street leading to The Plain roundabout and beyond, and St Giles leading to Banbury and Woodstock Roads. I am suggesting that, in the fulness of time, each of these routes would be served by electric shuttle buses terminating near the city centre and travelling out to their respective Park and Ride stations, or beyond.

However, these proposals leave in limbo services within the small inner city area – connecting the railway station, the bus station and the central shopping area. For instance, Headington residents arriving by train at Oxford railway station can, if they are lucky with times, pick up a 280 at the station or a 400 or U1 in Frideswide Square to run right through to Headington. The London and airport long-distance buses and some of the longer-distance routes to (for instance) Witney/Carterton, Chipping Norton etc start at Gloucester Green bus station.

The siting and the convenience of Gloucester Green bus station have been questioned, and suggestions have been made that in due course the main bus interchange for the city should be relocated to a redeveloped railway station. Nevertheless, at present these are just suggestions, and Gloucester Green remains the major bus hub.

I have thought long and hard about this issue and I believe that there is a need for a city-centre circular route, run of course by electric buses, connecting these places and allowing passengers who do not want to walk long distances to connect between the various arterial routes.

Some years ago, there was an experimental electric bus that ran a circular route from the railway station forecourt into the city including the University’s science area (as I remember it). I am suggesting something similar but with a smaller circuit.

A suggestion would be that electric buses run from the station forecourt, along Park End Street, George Street (calling at Gloucester Green), and then to Carfax. I am therefore making the suggestion, that will be very controversial, of reinstating buses to Cornmarket Street. They would return to the railway station via St Aldates, Speedwell Street and past the Westgate Centre. Whilst this would re-introduce buses to Cornmarket Street, it would remove them from Queen Street. In the very long term, of course, this would be ideal for a ‘bus tunnel’, but in the shorter term I would hope that the general improvement in the city centre environment that my proposals would bring about, would outweigh the disadvantage of regularly-spaced electric buses running, presumably in a well-demarcated lane, down Cornmarket Street. An alternative could be to use New Inn Hall Street and St Ebbes, or Turl Street – these would need more detailed work.

Although I make a few suggestions about ticketing in this document, I am not in a position to say much about fares and pricing policies. However, I would strongly urge the relevant authorities and bus companies to consider whether it is possible to make this central circular route a free service – perhaps funded from the proposed Workplace Parking Levy. I think it would greatly increase its appeal and remove some of the objections that it would otherwise raise.

I recognise that this suggestion would possibly, in the fulness of time, result in the present Gloucester Green bus station becoming redundant.

Electric shuttle bus in Ambleside (Oxford would need something larger)

8.2 What about other traffic through the city? I have made the proposal that, with buses turning in High Street and St Aldates, the Carfax junction could be largely pedestrianised and form a pedestrian zone with Queen Street and Cornmarket Street – with the exception of the electric buses on the city centre circular route. However, I realise that other vehicles use this junction. Private cars and delivery vehicles, I believe, can manage with other routes (or use this junction out of normal daytime hours), but in order to pedestrianise this junction, taxis would also need to be diverted elsewhere. This is, I feel, beyond my remit – in order to achieve a pleasant, pedestrianised area at the heart of the city, are we prepared to ask taxis and their passengers to use alternative routes – such as Donnington Bridge? An alternative might be to allow taxis to cross Carfax only outside normal daytime hours.

9. Serving the hospitals

Three bus services specifically service the major hospitals in Headington: the 700, the 800 and the 900. The 800 and 900 run from Thornhill Park and Ride to the John Radcliffe Hospital (800) and the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and Churchill Hospital (900), whilst the 700 runs a more linear route connecting all three hospitals and north Oxford. In addition, the 14, 13 and X13 run from city centre to the John Radcliffe Hospital, and the City 4 has recently (Sept 2019) started serving the Churchill Hospital.

And yet it is a common observation that there are long queues of cars waiting to park at the John Radcliffe and Churchill Hospitals, whilst the 800 and 900 buses run at very low occupancy.

Cars queuing for the John Radcliffe Hospital all along Headley Way. Just after taking this I passed a hospital-bound 800 bus in Osler Road with 3 passengers.

It is not within the remit of this document to suggest how to change this, but I believe it needs much firmer guidance on using the buses whenever possible. Then, of course, the 800 and 900 services could easily be electrified and would fit in with the other systems described in this document.

10. Making this all work

10.1 Avoiding bunching My proposals are based on the idea that having buses running in convoys along the same route provides no benefit to passengers, and many disadvantages in terms of air quality, emissions and road wear. How can I know that the regular electric shuttle services I am proposing will not also end up ‘bunched up’?

Partly I think this will be a natural result of the elimination of the multiple buses all at present using the same route. To take the St Aldates/Abingdon Road route as an example, if shuttle buses set off at regular (say 7 or 8 minute) intervals from the northern end, and likewise from Redbridge Park and Ride, roughly equal spacing is assured. This would be less readily assured on the longer, more complicated routes, especially High Street/Magdalen Bridge.

I really believe that if Oxford is to have a public transport system that would be the envy of cities all over the world, this will only come about when private cars are largely removed from the city centre. I am pleased to note that this is one of the objectives of ‘Connecting Oxford’. A workplace parking levy could, of course, be used to finance some of the proposals I am making. These measures could be seen as ‘sticks’ to beat the motorist: but I also hope that a streamlined, regular, clean and quiet electrified transport system would be the ‘carrot’ that might get people out of their cars. I personally would also like to see much firmer policies against pupils being taken to school and collected by car – I observe that many pupils at city centre schools such as Christ Church Cathedral School and New College School are currently brought and collected by cars. This should be stopped to clear the streets for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport.

10.2 Ticketing I noted earlier that a Norwegian bus driver was astonished that passengers still board and pay their fare in cash. In Trondheim the cash fare is double the normal fare and almost everyone uses an app on their phone (but smartcards or contactless cards can achieve the same benefit). Over the summer (2019) I have seen large groups of foreign students boarding buses in Oxford and each wanting to pay separately in cash. Of course, this delays a bus and is a contributor to the bunching problem. I note that in London it is now not possible to pay a bus fare in cash.

It is not for me to tell the bus companies how to manage their ticketing, but it would seem to make a lot of sense to bring Oxford in line with London and other cities. The advantage of cashless payments could also be that, as in London, passengers can board at more than one door.

My proposals involve longer-distance passengers switching buses at the Park and Rides. I would suggest that it would make sense if a ticketing system could allow this transfer without the need to pay a further fare. In other cities I have visited, a change of bus (or other form of transport) is allowed within a certain time, without the need to buy a fresh ticket. In Ghent, for instance, one ticket lasts for one hour with multiple transfers. Presumably something similar could be arranged in Oxford. There would need to be special ticketing arrangements for those arriving in Oxford on a long- distance service and requiring to travel onwards within the city.

However, one of those who has read this document has pointed out that removal of cash payments would seriously disadvantage some people, especially refugees and migrants who have no other way to pay. This must be an issue also in London and I am afraid I have to leave it to others more knowledgeable to find a solution.

10.3 Tramways for the future As noted in Section 6.1, the issue of turning buses around in the city centre would be solved at a stroke by the use of trams. Many people have argued for the reintroduction of trams into the city. Clearly this requires a colossal investment. One point about my proposals is that each line could individually be converted to tramway operation, so the process could be incremental. If indeed it turns out to be impossible to turn buses, using a turntable or other means, in High Street and St Aldates, then a possibility would be to construct the first two tramlines along these routes.

In my view, trams would ideally run into and out of the city centre without regularly traversing Carfax, as I have suggested for the shuttle buses. But it is also clear even to a non-expert like myself that a tramway cannot stand alone: there must be a depot to which trams can return at night and for servicing. So I suggest that the rails traverse Carfax, although this section would not be used during the working day – simply for the High Street trams to emerge from a depot, which could be in the Redbridge area, and return there when needed.

Tram through Ghent (Belgium) city centre: the blue vehicle on the left is a free city centre shuttle

11. Summary of ‘pros and cons’

11.1 Advantages and disadvantages My major proposals are to remove buses running through the city centre simply in order to turn around, and to simplify the present systems of multiple buses running along the arterial routes, causing congestion and unnecessary traffic.

I would suggest that these proposals have a number of clear advantages over other schemes that have been proposed.

First, apart from the turntables, adoption of my proposals would not involve massive amounts of infrastructure work. There would be alterations to city centre bus stops, there would be installation of charging points (these would be needed, however the city’s public transport system is electrified), and there would need to be clear demarcation of bus routes along city-centre roads including Cornmarket Street if that is used. Some major road works would be needed near the Green Road roundabout. But, for much of the routes discussed, bus stops would remain as they are and very little work would be needed.

An advantage of these proposals is that they may be considered, and perhaps adopted, on a route-by-route basis. There is no need for everything to change at once. For instance, the Banbury Road – Oxford Parkway Park and Ride route is perhaps the simplest and might be changed first. The Headington route is the most complicated, but the benefits of my proposals would be greatest there.

Other proposals for restructuring of Oxford’s public transport system, for instance the report by Phil Jones Associates, would see buses introduced to presently quiet streets such as Holywell Street. This is avoided by my proposals.

Finally, the system I describe would be similar in operation to a tramway. Perhaps, as funding might become available – maybe through introduction of a workplace parking levy – one route at a time might be converted to a tram system.

But I am also aware of the very controversial nature of asking passengers to transfer buses at the Park and Ride stations. As I have argued above, I personally believe that this will come to be accepted as one of the behaviour changes we are all going to have to make to address environmental concerns. I believe that the benefits to the cleanliness and quietness of the city centre will come to be seen as outweighing the disadvantage of needing to change buses. I also note that the bus companies are somewhat equivocal about asking bus passengers to transfer. They say that passengers do not want to do this, which is clear. But many of us in Headington remember continuous routes from Summertown to Headington. It did not seem to trouble the bus companies when these were discontinued, and we were expected to walk across the city centre to find another connection (and to buy another ticket). I note also that the Oxford University Hospitals advice to people travelling by bus (http://assets.goaheadbus.com/media/cms_page_media/402/Bus% 20Connections%20to%20JR%20Hospital.pdf) almost always involves a change of bus. I do think that through-ticketing would make the idea of transferring buses much more acceptable.

11.2 Conclusion As I have made clear, I am aware that some of these proposals are very radical. I would be disappointed if they were felt to be too radical for a pioneering city like Oxford. But I know there will be constraints that I, as a non-expert, have overlooked. Still, sometimes it can be good to have a non-expert look at things with a fresh eye. My real hope is that those with the power to change

things will read this document, agree that there are aspects of our present public transport system that can be improved, and at least give serious consideration to my suggestions. At the very least, I hope this document will highlight the serious issues that present bus overcrowding poses, and show that better ways are possible.

Summary of what needs changing: Four outward-bound buses, two of them long-distance buses, at Headington Shops. All have come down the High Street. All are going to Green Road roundabout and three of them to, or past, Thornhill Park and Ride. None is full. Congestion, air pollution, fuel usage, road wear – for the sake of saving the passenger a change of buses. What is a reasonable trade- off between passenger convenience and cleaning up the city?

My proposals in summary, showing the main ‘arterial routes’ that I have considered

Photo credits and QR codes

Cover photo: Stephanie Jenkins

Section 6.1 Caetano “double-end steering bus”: http://caetanobus.pt/en/buses/double-end-steering/

Alstom Aptis bus: https://www.alstom.com/our-solutions/rolling- stock/aptis-new-experience-electro-mobility

Green bus on turntable (Spain): MozzaMorrison/YouTube

Buses on turntables in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GYTe91vD5Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH7bHCk7tn8

Passengers boarding while the bus is on the turntable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9-x-klkY4Y

Turntable discussion thread: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/75405- bus-turntables/

Section 7.2 Bus on a turntable (Japan): Mikeyzaz/YouTube

Section 8.3 Vision of St Giles: Oxfordshire County Council (with permission)

Section 11.1 Oxford University Hospitals advice to people travelling by bus: http://assets.goaheadbus.com/media/cms_page_media/402/Bus% 20Connections%20to%20JR%20Hospital.pdf

Other photographs are my own.