Football Special Bus (OX2/OX3/OX7)

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OnlyOneUnited

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Anybody know whether the football special buses are going to be running for the new season?

I've emailed the club to ask, so will update in here if they respond. Wasn't sure if I'd missed any announcement on them though. Would be good to find out before I make a decision on renewing the season ticket.
 
I would think it depends if July 19th "happens" in Covid terms. So they are probably waiting before contracting buses?
 
I got an email from Lee Barton (who is very good by the way, very helpful and responsive) saying that they've made contact with the bus company following the release of the fixture list.

He's said that as soon as the bus company confirms it, they'll run a news story on the website. So sounds positive.
 
Good to their word, here's the news article

www.oufc.co.uk

Football Special Buses Return

With the relaxation of lockdown restrictions in sight, the club are pleased to report that we have reached an agreement with Thames Travel to restart the OX2, OX3 and OX7 football special bus services starting with our first Sky Bet League 1 home game against Charlton Athletic on August 13th
www.oufc.co.uk www.oufc.co.uk

Look forward to seeing the timetables when they release them closer to the time.
 
For future reference if anyone was interested, the club has confirmed bus timetables now too:

www.oufc.co.uk

Buses Back For Charlton

Oxford United return to the Kassam Stadium this Saturday for the first home game of the Sky Bet League 1 season.
www.oufc.co.uk www.oufc.co.uk
 
For the football special buses (OX2, OX3 and OX7), I personally think they should arrive at the stadium a little bit earlier. The 30 minutes (officially 30 minutes, sometimes 20-25) doesn't give enough time to buy a programme, eat a burger, use the toilet and have a drink without feeling a bit rushed, and certainly doesn't give supporters chance to use the club shop.
I personally feel it would be good if the buses could arrive at each stop 20 minutes earlier and therefore arrive 20 minutes earlier to the ground. This would have particularly helped for the Cambridge game where fans wanted to get in earlier for the Joey tributes, and the roadworks for the Ipswich game wouldn't have left us with just 8 minutes to get into the stadium before kickoff. Changing the bus times for one off games isn't practical as not everyone would get the message.
Just wondering what others who use these buses think, and if others agree, maybe this could be raised with the supporters panel?
Also, maybe someone who uses each bus regularly could be appointed to sell programmes and 50/50 tickets, to give us something to read on the journey there?
 
I definitely agree they should be leaving earlier. Aiming to get to the ground for 2:30 does not give much leeway for traffic and/or roadworks, the former of which can be particularly unpredictable. We also had a situation last month with a new driver not knowing the route - he took the wrong turn so had to double back so as to not miss a major pick up point. This was the day of the Cambridge game when everyone would have been hoping to arrive more promptly than usual. If the whole timetable had been set to 20/25 minutes earlier then this would have not been an issue or caused as much anxiety amongst the fans worrying we were going to miss the Joey tributes. As you rightly say, with the current set up there is zero chance of getting to the club shop, grabbing a quick bite to eat and being in your seat for kick off. So yes, I think it would be a good change if all the football special buses began their service a wee bit earlier.
 
I can foresee one complexity being drivers hours, especially if it's the same driver on the return bus.
By leaving 20 minutes earlier it might be necessary to factor in the return journey leaving 20 minutes later?
Great idea though, green credentials, mass transport and all that jazz.
 
I use the OX2 service and its current timings are perfect. Few pints in the Boundary House, son has something to eat hop on the bus at 2 and ground for 2.30. Most people on the bus are purely there for the football, our current 'ground' is not great for prematch amenities so the bus arriving any earlier would put me off using it and other I suspect
 
Essexyellows said:
I can foresee one complexity being drivers hours, especially if it's the same driver on the return bus.
By leaving 20 minutes earlier it might be necessary to factor in the return journey leaving 20 minutes later?
Great idea though, green credentials, mass transport and all that jazz.
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Yes, they would have to pay each driver for the extra 20 minutes which would add up over the course of the season (assuming of course the drivers want to start earlier too). Maybe increased revenue from the club shop/extra drink at the ground would help negate the extra cost though.
Not sure the bus would have to leave the ground 20 minutes later as well though.
 
With the new rules leading to additional added time at matches I've been discussing OX bus departure times with the club, and now have the following response:

The bus company has agreed to put departure times back 5 minutes for now to take account of the potential additional time added and have agreed to monitor it and see if this needs any further adjustment in due course.
They won't be able to formally make this change in time for the weekend and advertise it, so will brief drivers accordingly to wait the additional time before they can get the change registered with the Traffic Commissioners. This should be done prior to the Charlton Athletic fixture. We will advise those supporters who look after each bus for us to let fans know during the inbound journey on Saturday.

Interesting to know we had 11 matches last season with 10 or more minutes of time added including one with 14 and one with 15, and so it's already something the bus company has dealt with.
 
OUSP Secretary said:
With the new rules leading to additional added time at matches I've been discussing OX bus departure times with the club, and now have the following response:

The bus company has agreed to put departure times back 5 minutes for now to take account of the potential additional time added and have agreed to monitor it and see if this needs any further adjustment in due course.
They won't be able to formally make this change in time for the weekend and advertise it, so will brief drivers accordingly to wait the additional time before they can get the change registered with the Traffic Commissioners. This should be done prior to the Charlton Athletic fixture. We will advise those supporters who look after each bus for us to let fans know during the inbound journey on Saturday.

Interesting to know we had 11 matches last season with 10 or more minutes of time added including one with 14 and one with 15, and so it's already something the bus company has dealt with.
Click to expand...
We ALWAYS seem to be the last to finish :)
 
OUSP Secretary said:
With the new rules leading to additional added time at matches I've been discussing OX bus departure times with the club, and now have the following response:

The bus company has agreed to put departure times back 5 minutes for now to take account of the potential additional time added and have agreed to monitor it and see if this needs any further adjustment in due course.
They won't be able to formally make this change in time for the weekend and advertise it, so will brief drivers accordingly to wait the additional time before they can get the change registered with the Traffic Commissioners. This should be done prior to the Charlton Athletic fixture. We will advise those supporters who look after each bus for us to let fans know during the inbound journey on Saturday.

Interesting to know we had 11 matches last season with 10 or more minutes of time added including one with 14 and one with 15, and so it's already something the bus company has dealt with.
Click to expand...
get em to wait/ put the time back half hour- just in case?
 
Usually they're good at waiting and adapting depending on the match. They seem to be good at remembering who bought a return, and waiting for all of those people to turn up (like me!). Would prefer that continues rather than an arbitrary half an hour later, as we might all then be sat on the bus wanting to get home, but still with 20 minutes to kill!
 
OnlyOneUnited said:
Usually they're good at waiting and adapting depending on the match. They seem to be good at remembering who bought a return, and waiting for all of those people to turn up (like me!). Would prefer that continues rather than an arbitrary half an hour later, as we might all then be sat on the bus wanting to get home, but still with 20 minutes to kill!
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This is pretty much what they will be doing, and monitoring in case it needs tweaking.
 
Sarge said:
get em to wait/ put the time back half hour- just in case?
Click to expand...

Not that simple for a scheduled service in a regulated industry. Driving time and permits for the routes come into play..........
 
Great service and cost but should people be allowed to use their bus passes and travel for free.
 
Great service at £4 return absolute bargain although @OUSP Secretary the OX2 service was very busy what is the contingency if a bus reaches capacity with bus stops still to visit? Not happened yet however if our form and league position pick up hopefully it may become the norm!
 
harrymark1 said:
Great service at £4 return absolute bargain although @OUSP Secretary the OX2 service was very busy what is the contingency if a bus reaches capacity with bus stops still to visit? Not happened yet however if our form and league position pick up hopefully it may become the norm!
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Spoke too soon
At Botley for Charlton game 20 + people left stranded at 2 05 with no notice.
@OUSP Secretary

If we continue our success on field and the end of the holiday period it's only going to get worse.

What is the contingency??
 
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