X9 bus - use it or lose it!

Mon 24 Jul 2017, 23:36

That's an interesting calculation Simon! Unfortunately I can't do away with my car completely, so I am stuck with paying the fixed costs of insurance and tax even if I get the bus.

Mon 24 Jul 2017, 22:27

Claire - don't forget that running a car costs a lot more than just the petrol. Add on the insurance, road tax, servicing, tyres, depreciation and the rest, and you can see why it's not for nothing that our chums at HMRC allow you to claim 45p/mile for using your car for business. 16 miles to Witney and back, times 45p/mile comes to £7.20 - OK, that's still less than the bus fare that you quoted, but not that much less.

Mon 24 Jul 2017, 20:07

I took the X9 to Witney today with my two young children. It cost almost ten pounds return! My 5 year old had to pay 3.80. Once the younger one is old enough to pay it will be just under 15 pounds for me to make the return journey by bus.

The same journey by car would cost me about a pound in petrol.

While I agree it would be awful to lose the bus, I'm afraid I won't be using it again, it's just too expensive.

Tue 18 Jul 2017, 19:04

Great news!

Tue 18 Jul 2017, 09:59

I've just checked with Pulhams and there are no expected changes to the X9 timetable despite the end of the X8.

Wed 12 Jul 2017, 07:15

Bus times don't fit with working hrs, its either arrive 45 mins early (no access to the office ) or 40 mins late,
last bus also leaves 15 mins before end of my working day?

Tue 11 Jul 2017, 19:51

The X9 is very busy whenever I use it.

Tue 11 Jul 2017, 19:40

I used to use the x9, unfortunately the reduced timetable/long waits for buses back means it's no longer convenient for me to do so.

Tue 11 Jul 2017, 19:06

Alan - it depends on your definition of "link". I would be hard-pushed to describe the 59-minute wait for Finstock's one up train a day as a "link", nor the lack of any connection in Charlbury after the 17.03 arrival, almost three hours before the X8 stops for the night. But it would be interesting to see if any Chipping Norton people do avail themselves of the X9/train possibilities - I might do a quick count one day when the X8 has stopped running.

(I would generally caution against using such bold language as "inaccurate assertion", especially when you go on to claim two sentences later that you can connect from bus to train at Fawler. The station and its adjoining bus stop are called Finstock!)

Tue 11 Jul 2017, 17:39

Susie
Could you please point out where I state people should not use the X9?

Tue 11 Jul 2017, 16:57

Aren't you all missing the point that Richard makes in using the X9. This bus goes to Witney as well and is usually full on the 8.00am bus as students use this, both from Chippy and Charlbury to get to Witney College. But how about the rest of the day? I need this bus to get to Witney, as I as am sure many other people do - or would Alan like me to get a train to Oxford and then the S1 or S2 into Witney? Please use this bus to make sure it doesn't go the same way as the X8.

Tue 11 Jul 2017, 11:35 (last edited on Tue 11 Jul 2017, 15:39)

Christine
My comment referred to Richard's inaccurate assertion that Chipping Norton is losing its link to the Cotswold Line for the first time since the 19th century. It is not. There is also the possibility of connecting from the bus to train at Fawler (where the bus stop is much closer to the station), although, the train service from there is not very good.
Certainly I do not use the bus to get to Charlbury station. I do not use a car either, but do it on my own feet, carrying any luggage I need with me (and I have done it quite a few times when travelling to Scotland).
You seem to have shown that the Kingham bus is now irrelevant to people from Chipping Norton, so it is no wonder that Pulham's have given up running it.

Tue 11 Jul 2017, 10:19 (last edited on Tue 11 Jul 2017, 10:21)

Alan, I think the likelihood of many Chipping Norton passengers opting to travel by the X9 bus to Charlbury to walk down to take the Cotswold Line is pretty slim.

I am guessing that you are not somebody who needs to use a bus to get to the station. The loss of the X8 bus really matters for those with heavy luggage or impaired mobility! For them, the 660m walk to Charlbury station, plus the infrequency of X9 buses, is a real disincentive.

By contrast, getting to Oxford Parkway by bus from Chippy (and also Charlbury) is now easy, with a few direct no 7 buses (from August 13th) or with an easy change and less than 15 minutes wait in Woodstock via the S3, the no 7 or also the Oxford Bus Company 500 route which drives right up to the station (where there are lifts!).

Most people with mobility issues will now prefer this route, especially as there are no fare restrictions on return fares from Marylebone in the afternoons, and there are also trains at half hourly intervals for those coming back in the evenings, until 23.10.

Tue 11 Jul 2017, 07:17

Richard
Surely you haven't forgotten that Charlbury has a railway station on the Cotswold Line? Its much the same distance by bus form Chipping Norton to Charlbury as it is to Kingham! It may be a walk of about 600m from the bus stop to the station, but that is better than the walk from Chipping Norton to Chipping Norton railway station used to be (700m and a steep hill). An extra 8 passengers a day from the X8 travelling on the X9 could make all the difference to the economics of the latter.

Mon 10 Jul 2017, 14:49

As most of you know, the County Council withdrew its bus subsidies last year. Pulhams said they would try to make a go of running their bus services commercially, i.e. without subsidy.

One year on and Pulhams have announced that the Chipping Norton-Kingham bus (the X8) hasn't attracted enough passengers to make it viable. This means, I think, that Chipping Norton is losing its link to the Cotswold Line for the first time since the 19th century.

Our X9 bus - between Chippy, Charlbury and Witney - is continuing, though I expect there'll be some timetable changes because it currently interworks with the X8. But this means it's more important now than ever that we use the X9 and make sure it pays its way.

It's a great little bus, friendly drivers, a good atmosphere and saves the stress of parking. Next time you're going to Chippy or Witney, do try it. Timetables are here: www.pulhamscoaches.com/pulhams-bus-timetables/ .

(You can read the Oxford Mail's story about the X8, including the incredulity of Chippy's county councillor that the county council withdrawal of bus subsidies has led to fewer buses, here: www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/15344055.Another_bus_route_to_go_after_funding_cuts/ )