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200 bus service saved – for now
16/03/2022
Temporary funding will keep the Daventry to Banbury bus operating until the end of August
A vital bus route which passes through Wardington and Chipping Warden has been thrown a lifeline after two local authorities came together to provide temporary funding.
Stagecoach announced in February that the 200 service between Daventry and Banbury would end on April 4. The company told Banbury FM: “The service hasn’t covered its operating costs for several years, and these financial challenges have worsened in recent years with passenger levels now at less than 75% of pre-Covid levels.”
West Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire County councils have now joined forces to provide support to fund the service on its current timetable until August 27.
Cllr Phil Larratt is the Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport, Highways and Waste at West Northamptonshire Council. He said: “We understand the financial pressures on bus operators, particularly during the pandemic when passenger numbers were understandably lower.
“However bus services such as this offer a lifeline to people in our rural communities, so we are pleased to work alongside Oxfordshire County Council in order to step in and offer this support, allowing this important route to continue running during the summer.”
The 200 service currently runs between Daventry and Banbury, calling at Badby, Charwelton, Byfield, Woodford Halse, Hinton, Aston le Walls, Chipping Warden, Wardington, and Williamscot. In Banbury the route also takes in stops in Grimsbury at Stroud Park, Priory Vale Road, Tesco and the Co-op.
The future of the route after the summer will form part of a review of bus services across West Northamptonshire. which will be completed in the coming months.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam