92-688: Stagecoach X5 is an inter-urban bus service linking Oxford and Bedford via Bicester , Buckingham and Milton Keynes Service started in 1992 with an hourly service between Oxford and Cambridge, which was increased to half-hourly in 2005; new vehicles were introduced in 2009 and again in 2015. It operates with a 30-minute frequency for much of the day. Vehicles advertise free WiFi access, air conditioning and leather seats and are wheelchair accessible. The route carried 500,000 users in 2008; passenger numbers grew by 150% between 2004 and 2009, leading to some problems with overcrowding. As of 2014, according to Stagecoach East 's Managing Director, Andy Campbell,
184-483: A combined capacity of 1,695 seats. Hybrid buses began to be used in Oxford in 2010, and their usage has been expanded. In 2014 Oxford Bus introduced a fleet of 20 new buses with flywheel energy storage on the services it operates under contract for Oxford Brookes University . Most buses in the city now use a smartcard to pay for journeys and have free WiFi installed. The Oxford to London coach route offers
276-574: A few had a Dutch Hainje / Berkhof ST2000 [ nl ] , Berhof 2000NL [ nl ] or a Berkhof Excellence 500 body. In Belgium, most of the buses on B10BMA chassis were owned by public operators while the B10B buses belonged to private leasers, working on contract with these operators. While most of these buses are now withdrawn in Belgium, De Lijn still owns some articulated Jonckheere Transit 2000 G. The articulated version of
368-693: A frequent coach service to London. The Oxford Tube is operated by Stagecoach West and the Oxford Bus Company runs the Airline services to Heathrow and Gatwick airports. There is a bus station at Gloucester Green , used mainly by the London and airport buses, National Express coaches and other long-distance buses including route X5 to Milton Keynes and Bedford and Stagecoach Gold route S6. Among cities in England and Wales, Oxford has
460-546: A mistake. In November 2022, Mogford announced that his hospitality group The Oxford Collection had joined up with Oxford Business Action Group (OBAG), Oxford High Street Association (OHSA), ROX (Backing Oxford Business), Reconnecting Oxford, Jericho Traders, and Summertown traders to launch a legal challenge to the new bus gates. The city is served by the M40 motorway , which connects London to Birmingham . The M40 approached Oxford in 1974, leading from London to Waterstock , where
552-473: A modified version - common to all Volvo double-deck chassis bodied by the company after 1980 - of their popular and attractive R type bodywork. Eastern Scottish and Fife Scottish bought many of these early versions in 1985–1987. Two were exported in 1984, one of them to Singapore Bus Service and the other to Kowloon Motor Bus , but was destroyed by fire in 1988. The Citybus lasted until the end of B10M production but fell out of favour after Volvo re-engineered
644-658: A more favorable deal with Ikarus Bus . In Australia, the B10M was purchased by government operators Adelaide Metro , Brisbane Transport and Metro Tasmania , as well as private operators, with large fleets built up in Sydney by Busways and Westbus , and in Melbourne by Grenda Corporation and Sita Buslines . Three-axle B10Ms were fitted with high and double decker coach bodies with AAT Kings , Ansett Pioneer , Australian Pacific Tours , Greyhound and Westbus among
736-501: A name also used for the (then) X4 service between Milton Keynes and Peterborough . Passenger numbers improved dramatically, with over 500,000 users in 2008. This received some positive feedback, although evening services were criticised for being too infrequent and offering few through journeys. In 2006 the route briefly faced competition in the form of an air service between the two termini operated by Sky Commuter. This followed an unsuccessful attempt by Alpha One Airways to operate on
828-526: A navy blue containing outlines of Stagecoach's logo in sky blue towards the rear. These were replaced by higher capacity Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC double deck buses in 2021 as noted previously. Following the 2008 relaunch the route won two industry awards. The first came at the 2009 UK Bus Awards, where the route won the Express Operation of the Year award by a unanimous decision. A year later,
920-494: A new company, Morrells of Oxford. The new owners sold most of the pubs on to Greene King in 2002. The Lion Brewery was converted into luxury apartments in 2002. Oxford's first legal distillery , the Oxford Artisan Distillery , was established in 2017 in historic farm buildings at the top of South Park . The Taylor family of Loughborough had a bell-foundry in Oxford between 1786 and 1854. This
1012-399: A new research annexe; its staff have been involved with the teaching of anthropology at Oxford since its foundation, when as part of his donation General Augustus Pitt Rivers stipulated that the university establish a lectureship in anthropology. Volvo B10M The Volvo B10M is a mid-engined city bus and coach chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1978 and 2003. It succeeded
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#17327982707331104-648: A number of B10Ms were built and used in the United States. The American B10M was manufactured mostly in its articulated form (which was purchased by SEPTA , SamTrans , and New Jersey Transit ) though a standard length B10M model was made for the RIPTA with one example going to SEPTA as compensation for delays. Canadian production of the B10MA articulated bus under licence to Ontario Bus Industries nearly took place, however it fell through when that company negotiated
1196-412: A pristine Stradivarius violin, regarded by some as one of the finest examples in existence. The University Museum of Natural History holds the university's zoological , entomological and geological specimens. It is housed in a large neo-Gothic building on Parks Road , in the university's Science Area . Among its collection are the skeletons of a Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops , and
1288-441: A railway route between the university cities closed in 1967. The western part of the route replaced an infrequent Stagecoach United Counties service between Oxford and Bedford. The route was initially operated with by ex Wallace Arnold Plaxton Premiere Volvo B10Ms . The route remained largely unchanged until August 2004, when it was diverted via Roxton and Wyboston to replace withdrawn local services. Further changes around
1380-503: A semi-integral coach known as the C10M , with the engine in the middle of the chassis. Production of the C10M was ended in 1987, but the position of the engine was still available as an option and became known as B10M-C. Coach operators National Express , Park's of Hamilton , Shearings and Wallace Arnold all purchased large quantities of B10Ms. In the 1990s, Stagecoach standardised on
1472-463: A third route, also to Paddington, running via Thame , High Wycombe and Maidenhead , was provided; this was shortened in 1906 by the opening of a direct route between High Wycombe and London Paddington by way of Denham . The distance from Oxford to London was 78 miles (125.5 km) via Bletchley; 63.5 miles (102.2 km) via Didcot and Reading; 63.25 miles (101.8 km) via Thame and Maidenhead; and 55.75 miles (89.7 km) via Denham. Only
1564-500: Is 2014, with an average of 11.8 °C (53 °F) and the coldest is 1879, with a mean temperature of 7.7 °C (46 °F). The sunniest month on record is May 2020, with 331.7 hours and December 1890 is the least sunny, with 5.0 hours. The greatest one-day rainfall occurred on 10 July 1968, with a total of 87.9 mm (3.46 in). The greatest known snow depth was 61.0 cm (24.0 in) in February 1888. The city centre
1656-477: Is a small selection of the many notable buildings in Oxford. Oxford is a very green city, with several parks and nature walks within the ring road , as well as several sites just outside the ring road. In total, 28 nature reserves exist within or just outside the ring road, including: In addition to the larger airports in the region, Oxford is served by nearby Oxford Airport , in Kidlington . The airport
1748-706: Is also home to CAE Oxford Aviation Academy and Airways Aviation airline pilot flight training centres, and several private jet companies. The airport is also home to Airbus Helicopters UK headquarters. Direct trains run from Oxford station to London Paddington where there is an interchange with the Heathrow Express train links serving Heathrow Airport . Passengers can change at Reading for connecting trains to Gatwick Airport . Some CrossCountry trains run direct services to Birmingham International , as well as to Southampton Airport Parkway further afield. Bus services in Oxford and its suburbs are run by
1840-466: Is just outside the city, at the park and ride site near Kidlington . The present railway station opened in 1852. Oxford is the junction for a short branch line to Bicester , a remnant of the former Varsity line to Cambridge . This Oxford–Bicester line was upgraded to 100 mph (161 km/h) running during an 18-month closure in 2014/2015 – and is scheduled to be extended to form the planned East West Rail line to Milton Keynes. East West Rail
1932-553: Is now strongly discouraged, and largely prevented, from using the city centre. The Oxford Ring Road or A4142 (southern part) surrounds the city centre and close suburbs Marston , Iffley , Cowley and Headington ; it consists of the A34 to the west, a 330-yard section of the A44 , the A40 north and north-east, A4142/ A423 to the east. It is a dual carriageway , except for a 330-yard section of
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#17327982707332024-467: Is part of Stagecoach's Megabus network. It is also marketed as a rail link service, and appears in the National Rail timetable. In 2009, a fleet of 17 Plaxton Panther bodied Volvo B9Rs were introduced onto the service. These in turn were replaced on 4 January 2015 by 18 Plaxton Elite bodied Volvo B11Rs painted in a new blue colour scheme, with a sky blue towards the front of the coach and
2116-508: Is proposed to continue through Bletchley (for Milton Keynes Central ) to Bedford , Cambridge, and ultimately Ipswich and Norwich , thus providing alternative route to East Anglia without needing to travel via, and connect between, the London mainline terminals. Chiltern Railways operates from Oxford to London Marylebone via Bicester Village , having sponsored the building of about 400 metres of new track between Bicester Village and
2208-519: Is relatively small and is centred on Carfax , a crossroads which forms the junction of Cornmarket Street (pedestrianised), Queen Street (mainly pedestrianised ), St Aldate's and the High Street ("the High"; blocked for through traffic). Cornmarket Street and Queen Street are home to Oxford's chain stores, as well as a small number of independent retailers, one of the longest established of which
2300-614: The B58 and was equipped with the same 9.6-litre horizontally mounted Volvo diesel engine mounted under the floor behind the front axle. An articulated version under the model name Volvo B10MA was also offered, as was a semi-integral version known as the C10M , with the engine in the middle of the chassis. Designed as a successor to the Volvo B58 , a large portion of B10M chassis were built in Sweden, but some were built in other countries, like
2392-678: The Bedford bus station , where drivers change over. Thereafter passengers for stops towards Cambridge change on to service 905 which diverts through Eaton Socon where it picks up a number of passengers before its next stop in St Neots and then on towards Cambridge. Entering the outskirts of Cambridge, it serves the West Cambridge campus on Madingley Road before reaching its terminus at the Drummer Street bus station. The service
2484-1093: The Castle Mill Stream . The rapid expansion of Oxford and the development of its railway links after the 1840s facilitated expansion of the brewing trade. As well as expanding the market for Oxford's brewers, railways enabled brewers further from the city to compete for a share of its market. By 1874 there were nine breweries in Oxford and 13 brewers' agents in Oxford shipping beer in from elsewhere. The nine breweries were: Flowers & Co in Cowley Road , Hall's St Giles Brewery, Hall's Swan Brewery (see below), Hanley's City Brewery in Queen Street , Le Mills's Brewery in St. Ebbes , Morrell's Lion Brewery in St Thomas Street (see below), Simonds's Brewery in Queen Street, Weaving's Eagle Brewery (by 1869
2576-557: The Chiltern Main Line southwards in 2014. The route serves High Wycombe and London Marylebone, avoiding London Paddington and Didcot Parkway . In 1844, the Great Western Railway linked Oxford with London Paddington via Didcot and Reading ; in 1851, the London & North Western Railway opened its own route from Oxford to London Euston , via Bicester , Bletchley and Watford ; and in 1864
2668-606: The Leyland Olympian as the Volvo Olympian in 1993. The B9M was launched in 1982 as a light-weight, stripped-down, budget version of the standard B10M. It was available as B9M-46, B9M-50, B9M-55 and B9M-60. Although technically not a successor to the B57 , it found more or less the same place in the markets where it was available. The B9M had the same 9.6-litre engine as the B10M, but at lower outputs. It sold well in
2760-546: The MTR Corporation because of the merge of mass railways service in Hong Kong in late 2007. In 1994, Stagecoach Hong Kong ordered five B10Ms with Alexander PS bodied and THD101GC engine fitted, these B10Ms were serviced at private house estates residential services in Hong Kong operated by Stagecoach company. But in 1996, Stagecoach company Hong Kong closed, these Volvo B10Ms were sold to New Zealand. The B10M as
2852-687: The Nordic countries , with the exception of Denmark, where only a few were sold. The model was available at least past 1996. In the United Kingdom , the B9M-46 was sold as a shorter 9.5 to 9.7 metre version of the B10M from 1985. From 1984, a RHD version of the B10M-55B was available as the B10MT, later also B10T. In 1984, Swiss bodybuilder Ramseier & Jenzer collaborated with Volvo to unveil
Stagecoach X5 - Misplaced Pages Continue
2944-493: The Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach West as well as other operators including Arriva Shires & Essex and Thames Travel . Oxford has one of the largest urban park and ride networks in the United Kingdom. Its five sites, at Pear Tree, Redbridge , Seacourt , Thornhill, Water Eaton and Oxford Parkway have a combined capacity of 4,930 car parking spaces, served by 20 Oxford Bus Company double decker buses with
3036-461: The Oxford Star (tabloid; free and delivered), and Oxford Journal (tabloid; weekly free pick-up). Oxford is also home to several advertising agencies . Daily Information (known locally as "Daily Info") is an event information and advertising news sheet which has been published since 1964 and now provides a connected website. Nightshift is a monthly local free magazine that has covered
3128-818: The Saxon period . Originally of strategic significance due to its controlling location on the upper reaches of the River Thames at its confluence with the River Cherwell , the town grew in national importance during the early Norman period , and in the late 12th century became home to the fledgling University of Oxford . The city was besieged during The Anarchy in 1142. During the Middle Ages Oxford had an important Jewish community, of which David of Oxford and his wife Licoricia of Winchester were prominent members. The university rose to dominate
3220-529: The Westgate Oxford . The Westgate Centre is named for the original West Gate in the city wall, and is at the west end of Queen Street . A major redevelopment and expansion to 750,000 sq ft (70,000 m ), with a new 230,000 sq ft (21,000 m ) John Lewis department store and a number of new homes, was completed in October 2017. Blackwell's Bookshop is a bookshop which claims
3312-815: The 1970s and 1980s, leaving behind a city which had developed far beyond the university town of the past. Oxford's latitude and longitude are 51°45′07″N 1°15′28″W / 51.75194°N 1.25778°W / 51.75194; -1.25778 , with Ordnance Survey grid reference SP513061 (at Carfax Tower , which is usually considered the centre). Oxford is 24 miles (39 km) north-west of Reading , 26 miles (42 km) north-east of Swindon , 36 miles (58 km) east of Cheltenham , 43 miles (69 km) east of Gloucester , 29 miles (47 km) south-west of Milton Keynes , 38 miles (61 km) south-east of Evesham , 43 miles (69 km) south of Rugby and 51 miles (82 km) west-north-west of London . The rivers Cherwell and Thames (also sometimes known as
3404-612: The 905) and St Neots. It provides interchange facilities for national north–south services at Milton Keynes by serving Milton Keynes Coachway and Milton Keynes Central railway station . The route is 85 miles (137 km) long, and largely follows the path of the notional Oxford-Cambridge Arc . The eastbound service commences at Oxford's Gloucester Green bus station. It then heads for Bicester, stopping near Bicester shopping village and Manorsfield Road in Bicester town centre. The route calls at Bicester North railway station (added to
3496-655: The A40 continued to Oxford. When the M40 extension to Birmingham was completed in January 1991, it curved sharply north, and a mile of the old motorway became a spur. The M40 comes no closer than 6 miles (10 km) away from the city centre, curving to pass to the east of Otmoor . The M40 meets the A34 to the north of Oxford. There are two universities in Oxford, the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University , as well as
3588-421: The A40 where two residential service roads adjoin, and was completed in 1966. The main roads to/from Oxford are: On 28 February 2022 a zero-emission pilot area became operational in Oxford city centre. Zero-emission vehicles can be used without incurring a charge but all petrol and diesel vehicles (including hybrids) incur a daily charge if they are driven in the zone between 7am and 7pm. A consultation on
3680-538: The B10M constructed by Saracakis under the name "Alexandros" in 1993, 1995 and 1997. All the buses were ordered by Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization in Thessaloniki , Greece . In Thessaloniki 44 buses (1997 version) still in use but OASTH fitted them with modern telematics GPS tracking systems. The older versions were recycled and some of buses were sold to Astiko Ktel Patron (the transport organization of Patras ), and are still (Q3 2015) in use in
3772-724: The Eagle Steam Brewery) in Park End Street and Wootten and Cole's St. Clement's Brewery. The Swan's Nest Brewery, later the Swan Brewery, was established by the early 18th century in Paradise Street , and in 1795 was acquired by William Hall. The brewery became known as Hall's Oxford Brewery, which acquired other local breweries. Hall's Brewery was acquired by Samuel Allsopp & Sons in 1926, after which it ceased brewing in Oxford. Morrell's
Stagecoach X5 - Misplaced Pages Continue
3864-606: The Isis locally, supposedly from the Latinised name Thamesis ) run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre. These rivers and their flood plains constrain the size of the city centre. Oxford has a maritime temperate climate ( Köppen : Cfb ). Precipitation is uniformly distributed throughout the year and is provided mostly by weather systems that arrive from the Atlantic . The lowest temperature ever recorded in Oxford
3956-514: The Oxford music scene since 1991. Oxford is home to many museums , galleries , and collections, most of which are free of admission charges and are major tourist attractions . The majority are departments of the University of Oxford . The first of these to be established was the Ashmolean Museum , the world's first university museum , and the oldest museum in the UK. Its first building
4048-470: The United Kingdom and Brazil. The B10M was one of the best-selling chassis in the United Kingdom throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Having originally been produced only as a coach chassis, the B10M was made available as a city bus , in which form it was also very popular. It was available as B10M-46, B10M-50, B10M-55, B10M-60, B10M-62, B10M-65 and B10M-70, where the number represents the wheelbase in decimetres. Many bodybuilders did however shorten or extend
4140-809: The United Kingdom, after the British Library . The Bodleian Library is a legal deposit library, which means that it is entitled to request a free copy of every book published in the United Kingdom. As such, its collection is growing at a rate of over three miles (five kilometres) of shelving every year. As well as the BBC national radio stations , Oxford and the surrounding area has several local stations, including BBC Radio Oxford , Heart South , Destiny 105 , Greatest Hits Radio and Hits Radio Oxfordshire , along with Oxide: Oxford Student Radio (which went on terrestrial radio at 87.7 MHz FM in late May 2005). A local TV station , Six TV : The Oxford Channel,
4232-587: The area is often used by film and TV crews. Aside from the city centre, there are several suburbs and neighbourhoods within the borders of the city of Oxford, including: Oxford is at the centre of the Oxford Green Belt , which is an environmental and planning policy that regulates the rural space in Oxfordshire surrounding the city, aiming to prevent urban sprawl and minimize convergence with nearby settlements. The policy has been blamed for
4324-511: The bus version of the B10M as their full-size single decker . Most received Alexander PS bodies but some received Northern Counties Paladin bodywork. Stagecoach also took numerous examples of the coach version with Plaxton 's Interurban bodywork and Jonckheere 's Modulo bodywork. South Yorkshire Transport and Kelvin Central Buses also purchased large numbers of the type with Alexander PS bodies. The B10MA articulated variant
4416-805: The buyers. In New Zealand, two Volvo B10Ms with VöV bodies built by Coachwork International were ordered by Auckland Regional Council in 1985. These are the only Volvo buses to receive the VoV body. In 1996, five ex-Hong Kong Stagecoach Volvo B10Ms were sold to New Zeleand from Hong Kong because of disposal in Hong Kong residential bus services. At least 168 B10M and B10MA buses were purchased by Belgian operators ( SNCV / NMVB , TEC and De Lijn ). They were fitted with carbodies built by Belgian manufacturers : Van Hool ( A120 [ fr ] , Linea [ fr ] ), Jonckheere ( TransCity , 056 , Transit [ nl ] , Communo [ nl ] , Transit 2000 [ nl ] ) and
4508-521: The chassis to fit their needs. No later than 1981 a tri-axle chassis was introduced, available as B10M-50B, B10M-55B, B10M-60B, B10M-65B and B10M-70B, with some bodybuilders extending them up to 7.25 metres wheelbase. A double-decker version of the B10M was developed for Strathclyde PTE in 1981. It was launched in early 1982, with a downrated engine from the coach , and was named Citybus (also known unofficially as B10MD or D10M). Most early examples were bodied by Alexander Coachbuilders , who provided
4600-819: The city of Patras , Greece. They operate routes connecting the outskirts of Patras to the city center and the city center to the University of Patras in Rion. In 2015, all the Astiko Ktel Patron buses were fitted with GPS tracking systems for use with modern real time bus arrival boards at the bus stops and a mobile application. In Hong Kong, three bus companies purchased Volvo B10Ms. Citybus (CTB) ordered 10 Volvo B10Ms with Van Hool bodied and THD101GD engine fitted between 1990 and 1992 for their border-crossing service between Hong Kong and Mainland China. In 1997, CTB ordered two more Volvo B10Ms with China Volvo bus bodied and DH10A engine fitted into its border fleet. After
4692-795: The city of Oxford was a county borough , independent from the county council. Oxford City Council meets at the Town Hall on the street called St Aldate's in the city centre. The current building was completed in 1897, on a site which had been occupied by Oxford's guildhall since the 13th century. Most of Oxford is an unparished area , but there are four civil parishes within the city's boundaries: Blackbird Leys , Littlemore , Old Marston , and Risinghurst and Sandhills . Oxford's economy includes manufacturing, publishing and science-based industries as well as education, sports, entertainment, breweries, research and tourism. Oxford has been an important centre of motor manufacturing since Morris Motors
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#17327982707334784-411: The closure of border-crossing service, those B10Ms has been sold to private tourist bus companies in Hong Kong. Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ordered 15 Volvo B10Ms in 1995 for replacing second-handed MCW Metrobus fleet, with Northern Counties bodied, ZF4HP500 gearbox and Volvo THD102KF engine fitted. These buses also fitted with Lazzerini chairs inside the interior. All ex-KCRC B10Ms has sold to
4876-415: The corridor. In April 2007 the route was curtailed within Oxford to terminate at Gloucester Green bus station site and no longer serve the little used final section to Oxford railway station . The changes were in part due to new legal restrictions on maximum driver hours limits. A modified double-decker bus with extra luggage space was trialled in 2007, with a view to introducing double-deck operation on
4968-400: The introduction of a wider zero-emission zone is expected in the future, at a date to be confirmed. Oxford has eight bus gates, short sections of road where only buses and other authorised vehicles can pass. Six further bus gates are currently proposed. A council-led consultation on the traffic filters ended on 13 October 2022. On 29 November 2022, Oxfordshire County Council cabinet approved
5060-494: The introduction on a trial basis, for a minimum period of six months. The trial will begin after improvement works to Oxford railway station are complete, which is expected to be by October 2024. The additional bus gates have been controversial; Oxford University and Oxford Bus Company support the proposals but more than 3,700 people have signed an online petition opposing the new traffic filters for Marston Ferry Road and Hollow Way, and hotelier Jeremy Mogford has argued they would be
5152-535: The lack of rail service, route X5 was launched in September 1995 with travel time between the two locations taking about 3.5 hours. Buses operated hourly and provided a number of new links between towns which had not previously been connected by bus or rail services. It was initially branded as Varsity, a reference to a pre- World War II service between Oxford and Cambridge via Luton , and to the Varsity Line ,
5244-493: The large rise in house prices in Oxford, making it the least affordable city in the United Kingdom outside of London, with estate agents calling for brownfield land inside the green belt to be released for new housing. The vast majority of the area covered is outside of the city, but there are some green spaces within that which are covered by the designation, such as much of the Thames and river Cherwell flood-meadows , and
5336-548: The largest single room devoted to book sales in the whole of Europe, the Norrington Room (10,000 sq ft). There is a long history of brewing in Oxford. Several of the colleges had private breweries, one of which, at Brasenose , survived until 1889. In the 16th century brewing and malting appear to have been the most popular trades in the city. There were breweries in Brewer Street and Paradise Street , near
5428-678: The most complete remains of a dodo found anywhere in the world. It also hosts the Simonyi Professorship of the Public Understanding of Science , currently held by Marcus du Sautoy . Adjoining the Museum of Natural History is the Pitt Rivers Museum , founded in 1884, which displays the university's archaeological and anthropological collections, currently holding over 500,000 items. It recently built
5520-416: The original ( Didcot ) route is still in use for its full length, portions of the others remain. There were also routes to the north and west. The line to Banbury was opened in 1850, and was extended to Birmingham Snow Hill in 1852; a route to Worcester opened in 1853. A branch to Witney was opened in 1862, which was extended to Fairford in 1873. The line to Witney and Fairford closed in 1962, but
5612-695: The others remain open. Oxford was historically an important port on the River Thames , with this section of the river being called the Isis ; the Oxford-Burcot Commission in the 17th century attempted to improve navigation to Oxford. Iffley Lock and Osney Lock lie within the bounds of the city. In the 18th century the Oxford Canal was built to connect Oxford with the Midlands . Commercial traffic has given way to recreational use of
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#17327982707335704-519: The pool of Oxford University students and graduates, and, especially for EFL education , use their Oxford location as a selling point. Oxford has numerous major tourist attractions, many belonging to the university and colleges. As well as several famous institutions, the town centre is home to Carfax Tower and the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, both of which offer views over
5796-457: The river and canal. Oxford was the original base of Salters Steamers (founded in 1858), which was a leading racing-boatbuilder that played an important role in popularising pleasure boating on the Upper Thames. The firm runs a regular service from Folly Bridge downstream to Abingdon and beyond. Oxford's central location on several transport routes means that it has long been a crossroads city with many coaching inns , although road traffic
5888-636: The rivers Thames (locally known as the Isis ) and Cherwell . It had a population of 163,257 in 2022. It is 56 miles (90 km) north-west of London , 64 miles (103 km) south-east of Birmingham and 61 miles (98 km) north-east of Bristol . The city is home to the University of Oxford , the oldest university in the English-speaking world ; it has buildings in every style of English architecture since late Anglo-Saxon . Oxford's industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing, science, and information technologies. The history of Oxford in England dates back to its original settlement in
5980-545: The route carries on average 1.3 million passengers annually. It is operated by the group's Stagecoach in Bedford division. At the end of August 2020, the route was reduced to terminate at Bedford, with passengers on the Bedford – Cambridge leg being transferred to a local bus service. As of February 2020, to travel between Oxford and Cambridge directly by bus takes about four and half hours. (The same journey by rail via London takes less than three hours; by car it takes less than two hours.) From 1851 to 1967, there
6072-505: The route in 2008), then moves on to the Tesco superstore in Buckingham , followed by the town centre, before heading for Milton Keynes. In Milton Keynes, the service stops at the Milton Keynes Central railway station to interchange with rail services on the West Coast Main Line , the X6 to Northampton, and route 99 to Luton Airport ; at Milton Keynes Shopping Centre ; and at the Milton Keynes Coachway where it interconnects with National Express north-south services. The route continues to
6164-399: The route won the Coach Marketing award at the 2010 UK Coach Awards for a promotion effort by Stagecoach. Oxford Oxford ( / ˈ ɒ k s f ər d / ) is a cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire , England, of which it is the county town. Founded in the 8th century, it was granted city status in 1542. The city is located at the confluence of
6256-473: The route, but was not deemed successful, so the service continued to be operated with high-floor Volvo B10M coaches. In August 2009 it was reported that some passengers in the St Neots area were being left behind by coaches on the route as they were too full. This problem escalated in December 2009, when higher than expected loadings saw many evening journeys significantly overcrowded. Between 2004 and 2009 patronage increased by 150%. Another name used to promote
6348-427: The same time saw the X5 diverted to serve Eaton Socon and St Neots town centres rather than serving the towns via a stop on the A421 bypass road , thereby adding to the journey time between Bedford and Cambridge. However, evening journeys were sped up by avoiding Eltisley , which was instead covered by another route. Early in 2005 the X5 was doubled in frequency to operate half-hourly and rebranded as Cross County,
6440-458: The second highest percentage of people cycling to work. Oxford railway station is half a mile (about 1 km) west of the city centre. The station is served by CrossCountry services to Bournemouth and Manchester Piccadilly ; Great Western Railway (who manage the station) services to London Paddington , Banbury and Hereford ; and Chiltern Railways services to London Marylebone . Oxford has had three main railway stations. The first
6532-403: The service was The X Factor. The service was slightly rerouted in August 2011 to serve the town centre in Buckingham instead of stopping at the more remote Tesco superstore. Its timetable was also recast, with additional peak-hour journeys introduced. Tesco superstore has since been added back to the route, with the bus stopping at Tesco superstore stop B. From 30 August 2020, the X5 service
6624-689: The specialist further and higher education institution Ruskin College that is part of the University of West London in Oxford. The Islamic Azad University also has a campus near Oxford. The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and one of the most prestigious higher education institutions of the world, averaging nine applications to every available place, and attracting 40% of its academic staff and 17% of undergraduates from overseas. In September 2016, it
6716-532: The spires of the city. Many tourists shop at the historic Covered Market . In the summer, punting on the Thames / Isis and the Cherwell is a common practice. As well as being a major draw for tourists (9.1 million in 2008, similar in 2009) , Oxford city centre has many shops, several theatres and an ice rink. There are two small shopping malls in the city centre: the Clarendon Centre and
6808-660: The town. A heavily ecclesiastical town, Oxford was greatly affected by the changes of the English Reformation , emerging as the seat of a bishopric and a full-fledged city. During the English Civil War , Oxford housed the court of Charles I and stood at the heart of national affairs. The city began to grow industrially during the 19th century, and had an industrial boom in the early 20th century, with major printing and car-manufacturing industries. These declined, along with other British heavy industry, in
6900-591: The village of Binsey , along with several smaller portions on the fringes. Other landscape features and places of interest covered include Cutteslowe Park and the mini railway attraction, the University Parks , Hogacre Common Eco Park, numerous sports grounds, Aston's Eyot , St Margaret 's Church and well, and Wolvercote Common and community orchard. There are two tiers of local government covering Oxford, at district and county level: Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council . From 1889 to 1974
6992-426: Was Boswell's , founded in 1738. The store closed in 2020. St Aldate's has few shops but several local government buildings, including the town hall , the city police station and local council offices. The High (the word street is traditionally omitted) is the longest of the four streets and has a number of independent and high-end chain stores, but mostly university and college buildings. The historic buildings mean
7084-412: Was 1788, with 336.7 mm (13.26 in) of rainfall. The wettest year was 2012, with 979.5 mm (38.56 in). The wettest month on record was September 1774, with a total fall of 223.9 mm (8.81 in). The warmest month on record is July 1983, with an average of 21.1 °C (70 °F) and the coldest is January 1963, with an average of −3.0 °C (27 °F). The warmest year on record
7176-521: Was a direct rail service from Oxford to Cambridge with travel time about two hours, known as the Varsity Line . In response to the 1963-65 Beeching cuts , rail service ended in 1966 with no plans for replacement bus, rail, or motorway construction. The former track and railbed was mostly demolished and the railroad right of way sold off. Plans to rebuild the railway as past of the East West Rail projects will cost over £300 million. In response to
7268-607: Was also available but closed in April 2009; a service operated by That's TV , originally called That's Oxford (now That's Oxfordshire), took to the airwaves in 2015. The city is home to a BBC Television newsroom which produces an opt-out from the main South Today programme broadcast from Southampton . Local papers include The Oxford Times (compact; weekly), its sister papers the Oxford Mail ( tabloid ; daily) and
7360-601: Was an air-conditioned single-deck bus bodied by Van Hool and was acquired in 1986. It was also the only Volvo B10M Mark I acquired by Singapore Bus Service and it was sold to an operator in New Zealand by the end of the 1990s. SBS Transit purchased 977 units between 1988 and 2000, making up a large part of its single-decker bus fleet. The Volvo B10M Mark IIs were the first to be used, with 200 delivered between March 1988 and April 1989. They were retired by May 2008 after fulfilling their 19-year lifespan, except one which
7452-619: Was erected in 1678–1683 to house a cabinet of curiosities given to the University of Oxford in 1677. The museum reopened in 2009 after a major redevelopment. It holds significant collections of art and archaeology, including works by Michelangelo , Leonardo da Vinci , Turner , and Picasso , as well as treasures such as the Scorpion Macehead , the Parian Marble and the Alfred Jewel . It also contains " The Messiah ",
7544-529: Was established in 1990, and the Begbroke Science Park , owned by the university, lies north of the city. Oxford increasingly has a reputation for being a centre of digital innovation, as epitomized by Digital Oxford. Several startups including Passle, Brainomix, Labstep, and more, are based in Oxford. The presence of the university has also led to Oxford becoming a centre for the education industry. Companies often draw their teaching staff from
7636-527: Was established in the city in 1910. The principal production site for Mini cars, owned by BMW since 2000, is in the Oxford suburb of Cowley . The plant, which survived the turbulent years of British Leyland in the 1970s and was threatened with closure in the early 1990s, also produced cars under the Austin and Rover brands following the demise of the Morris brand in 1984, although the last Morris-badged car
7728-592: Was founded in 1743 by Richard Tawney. He formed a partnership in 1782 with Mark and James Morrell, who eventually became the owners. After an acrimonious family dispute the brewery was closed in 1998. The beer brand names were taken over by the Thomas Hardy Burtonwood brewery, while the 132 tied pubs were bought by Michael Cannon, owner of the American hamburger chain Fuddruckers , through
7820-632: Was of limited popularity among bus operators in the United Kingdom. British Caledonian Airways took four in 1988, the next examples sold in Britain were supplied eight years later, with the delivery of four to Ulsterbus . Stagecoach was the biggest customer for the model in the UK, purchasing 18 in the mid- to late-1990s, with the last delivered in 1999. Singapore Bus Service evaluated a mid-engine Volvo B10MD double-decker bus bodied by East Lancashire Coachbuilders in 1984. No further double-deck B10MD units were acquired however. A second B10M demonstrator
7912-565: Was opened at Grandpont in 1844, but this was a terminus, inconvenient for routes to the north; it was replaced by the present station on Park End Street in 1852 with the opening of the Birmingham route. Another terminus, at Rewley Road , was opened in 1851 to serve the Bletchley route; this station closed in 1951. There have also been a number of local railway stations, all of which are now closed. A fourth station, Oxford Parkway ,
8004-581: Was produced there in 1982. Oxford University Press , a department of the University of Oxford , is based in the city, although it no longer operates its own paper mill and printing house. The city is also home to the UK operations of Wiley-Blackwell , Elsevier and several smaller publishing houses. The presence of the university has given rise to many science and technology based businesses, including Oxford Instruments , Research Machines and Sophos . The university established Isis Innovation in 1987 to promote technology transfer. The Oxford Science Park
8096-731: Was purchased in 1995 (UITP Congress 1995) and retired in October 2012. A 19m B10MA articulated bus , also bodied by Duple Metsec , was purchased in 1996. It was known as "Asia's Longest Bus". In 2006, it was sold to Bayes Coachlines in New Zealand. For Expo '85 in Tsukuba , Fuji Heavy Industries bodied 100 B10MLs. Seventy-nine were exported to Australia in 1986 with Brisbane Transport , Busways , Grenda's Bus Service , Hornibrook Bus Lines , Invicta Bus Service , Kangaroo Bus Lines , Metro-link Bus Lines , Metropolitan Transit Authority , Premier Roadliners , Sunbury Bus Service and Surfside Buslines purchasing examples. From 1983 to 1986,
8188-586: Was ranked as the world's number one university, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings . Oxford is renowned for its tutorial -based method of teaching. The University of Oxford maintains the largest university library system in the United Kingdom, and, with over 11 million volumes housed on 120 miles (190 km) of shelving, the Bodleian group is the second-largest library in
8280-890: Was sold to New Zealand. The Mark IIs were replaced by Scania K230UB Euro IV and the Volvo B10BLE CNG . 300 B10M Mark IIIs were delivered between November 1992 and June 1993. They were bodied by Duple Metsec , and had received mid-life refurbishment. Most units received a two-year lifespan extension due to insufficient replacement buses, and were all retired by June 2012. 475 B10M Mark IVs were delivered between June 1995 and December 2000. They were bodied by either Duple Metsec , PSV Soon Chow or Walter Alexander Strider . Most buses extended their lifespan by two years, and 30 DM3500-bodied buses received another one-year extension in 2017 due to insufficient replacement buses. All these buses have been retired as of 23 December 2018. A 14.5m B10M Superlong tri-axle bus , bodied by Duple Metsec ,
8372-596: Was truncated at Bedford, and a new service numbered 905 was introduced running between Bedford and Cambridge using double-deck vehicles. The timetable for both the X5 and the 905 is designed so an easy transfer is possible for customers changing for St Neots/Cambridge or Milton Keynes/Buckingham/Oxford. In 2021, the coaches on the route were swapped for Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC double-decker buses. The X5/905 connects Oxford and Cambridge via Bicester, Buckingham, Milton Keynes, Bedford (where through passengers have to change to
8464-617: Was −17.8 °C (0.0 °F) on 24 December 1860. The highest temperature ever recorded in Oxford is 38.1 °C (101 °F) on 19 July 2022. The average conditions below are from the Radcliffe Meteorological Station . It has the longest series of temperature and rainfall records for one site in Britain . These records are continuous from January 1815. Irregular observations of rainfall, cloud cover, and temperature exist since 1767. The driest year on record
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