Record response to Brand the Bus competition as entries shortlisted

The Oxford Bus Company’s Brand the Bus competition has attracted a record-breaking 12,266 votes from the public as its 2025 edition moves into the final judging stage.

The competition is in its seventh year and invites Oxfordshire-based charities and not-for-profits to vie for an advertising opportunity worth up to £100,000. That includes a full bus livery, onboard digital screen advertising, radio airtime and a partnership with Oxford City Football Club.

This year, 64 good causes entered the competition, which opened for voting on New Year’s Day and closed at Midnight on 1 April.

Each submitted a short online entry explaining what the prize would mean for their organisation. The top 10 entries, as voted for by the public, will now go before a panel of judges, who will determine the winner and two runners-up based on how well they fulfilled the brief.

The winning organisation will be announced in June. Branding will be unveiled on a zero-emission double-decker bus operating across Oxford and surrounding areas in the autumn. The two runners-up will receive onboard advertising packages valued at £2,000 and £1,000 respectively.

Luke Marion, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, comments: “We have had a fantastic response to this year’s competition with record numbers of public votes and every year we see more nominations. Brand the Bus clearly continues to capture the imagination of the public who want to support all the good causes doing great work in our community. As ever the standard of entries was incredibly high, and it will be extremely difficult to choose a winner.

“I’d like to thank all charities who took time to enter Brand the Bus 2025 and wish all the shortlisted entrants the best of luck.”

The competition’s growing impact has prompted expansion across the group with Carousel Buses, the High Wycombe-based sister company, launching its own Brand the Bus initiative. That debuted with 5,587 votes and 42 entries from charities across Buckinghamshire, with a similar judging process now underway. The winning bus is also expected to take to the roads later this year.

The Oxford-based scheme’s previous winners include young people’s grief support charity SeeSaw, Girl Guiding Oxfordshire, family support organisation Home-Start Oxford, children’s brain tumour charity Blue Skye Thinking, and mental health charity Restore.