West Oxfordshire Community Transport carries over 31,000 passengers in first year and has recently introduced another new service; returns buses to some villages after considerable period of absence
West Oxfordshire Community Transport (WOCT) celebrated its first anniversary with an event in Witney on 23 January.
WOCT was founded following Oxfordshire County Council’s (OCC) decision to remove bus subsidies in 2016 and it began operation in January 2017 with one minibus on two services.
In 12 months it has carried over 31,000 passengers and it now runs four routes. The most recent addition was the 210 between Witney and Chipping Norton.
Its launch on 12 February was preceded by a tour of the route that stopped in villages along the way.
Supporters distributed timetables and other information to residents, some of whom have been without a usable bus link for well over a year but are now served up to five times per day by WOCT.
The operator does not rule out adding more services in the future as it strives to restore links that were lost following OCC’s well-publicised slashing of subsidies.
Speaking in the Witney Gazette, founding member and West Oxfordshire district councillor for Witney Andrew Coles said: “The services have made a real difference to those who would otherwise be isolated or reliant on others. Sadly there are still some communities without a bus. I very much hope that we will be able to offer them something in the future.”
