After campaigning by local residents and Labour County Councillors Brad Baines and Charlie Hicks, the County Council will be running an hourly replacement minibus service from Cowley Centre to the City Centre, four times a day. Thank you to everyone who signed the community petition!
This is a win for our community, but we won’t stop here.
Your local Labour Councillors will keep pushing for the full, all-day restoration of the 46 and ST1 bus services across Donnington Bridge, which is closed to buses due to emergency weight restrictions.
What’s this new minibus service?
It will run on an hourly timetable, 4 times a day, Monday to Friday, serving all stops along the original 46 bus route from Cowley Centre to the City Centre via Florence Park, Donnington Bridge Road, and Abingdon Road. A low floor minibus will be used to improve accessibility.
When does it start?
Monday 14 October
When does it run?
10.35, 11.35, 12.35 & 13.35 from Cowley Centre to the City Centre
10.55, 11.55, 12.55 & 13.55 from City Centre to the Cowley Centre
The route will be served by minibuses used for school drop-offs, which is why these timings are in the middle of the day only.
How has this come about, and what are the local Labour team working on now?
Poor management by the Lib Dem/Green-led County Council led to an emergency weight restriction being placed on Donnington Bridge in August with just 24 hours’ notice. Labour County Councillor for Isis, Brad Baines discovered that the County Council has a 7 year backlog of inspections, and the Donnington Bridge report was delayed by 16 months.
“The closure of Donnington Bridge to buses has cut off communities from Florence Park, Templars Square, and the wider Cowley area, which is clearly unacceptable,” says Brad. “What’s worse is that the Lib Dem County Highways Boss, Cllr Andrew Gant has refused to give a timeline for an end to the current disruption.The 46A minibus service is a step in the right direction, but we need to go further.”
“I campaigned alongside residents in 2022 to get the 46 bus in place after the 16 bus was cut so that local residents could still get to Hinksey Pool and local healthcare services easily,” adds Labour County Councillor for Cowley, Charlie Hicks. “This announcement is a huge win for local residents, but we want to see the full restoration of bus services that run all day. Brad and I will continue our campaign so that our community has full access to reliable, convenient public transport.”