Bus news
Oxfordshire County Council has announced that all bus services that stop at all the Oxford Park & Ride sites will remain free for passengers until the end of March. This is being provided in conjunction with the congestion charge when driving through Oxford city centre. From Eynsham, the quickest way to reach the city is on the S1 bus.
The H2 bus (which connects Eynsham and the John Radcliffe Hospital daily) will now stop at Thornhill Park & Ride every day except Sundays. This could be a useful connection for those passengers wishes to get to Heathrow or Gatwick airports on a Saturday, as the airline bus services depart from Thornhill P&R.
The H2 bus service is no longer operated by Pulhams; it has been taken over by Thames Travel, although Pulhams is part of the same transport group. Passengers shouldn’t notice any change but the shift in operator means that the timetables are now found on the Oxford Bus Company/Thames Travel website and associated app. Access the timetable online here: H2 - Carterton/Witney to JR Hospital & Thornhill Park&Ride | Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel
Oxfordshire County Council has a useful interactive bus route map which can help to identify which service is required for getting to your destination. Take a look at it here: Oxfordshire Public Transport Map
Pothole progress
In the latest rating of national road maintenance, published by the Department for Transport, Oxfordshire comes mid-table. The county scored ‘amber’ overall for Condition and Wider Best Practice, and ‘green’ for Spend (which means the County Council spends more capital maintenance than it gets funded from the Department for Transport). In the last financial year, Oxfordshire County Council fixed an estimated 37,042 potholes – this is the highest number for five years.
Don’t forget that potholes are one of the many road and highways issues that can be reported on FixMyStreet, which alerts the County Council to problems and helps them to arrange a fix more quickly.
Hope for Botley
A schedule of works has been released by Network Rail that should see the Botley Road re-opening to traffic in August 2026. Botley Road bridge replacement - Network Rail The road re-opening will be made possible by a bridge replacement during February, which will result in a complete closure of the railway for nine days.
At the end of 2025, the Interim report of the Oxford Growth Commission [Interim report of the Oxford Growth Commission] was published. It noted, among other points, that the active travel connection between Botley and Eynsham was critical.
The Oxford Growth Commission was set up early 2025, to help accelerate growth in the city and its surrounding area. This report was welcomed by Oxfordshire County Council [Oxford Growth Commission’s interim report is a major step towards sustainable growth | Oxford City Council] and the details should hopefully help direct planning and spending decisions.
A40/Park&Ride Project
Eynsham Parish Council has been informed that work on the A40 and Eynsham Park & Ride will begin in the spring. We are in contact with the County Council project team and hope to be able to share more soon.
Transport Top Tip!
Take the 411 on a weekday from Eynsham to Hanborough Station. From here, you can walk the scenic Community Path to Blenheim Palace. Or, jump on the Cotswold Line at Hanborough station and can catch a train to London Paddington, Malvern, or Worcester among other places.
Do you have a top tip for local transport connections that we can share? Email them to epc.comms@eynsham-pc.gov.uk. We also encourage anyone with local transport issues or questions about services to contact us via the same address. Our Parish Transport representative will be able to raise any issues at the next Parish Transport Meeting in March.