Thames Transit Tigers tear into Oxford Motor Services
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• The battle for business in the deregulated PSV market has hotted up with the news that Exeter-based Devon General — the first NBC operating subsidiary to be privatised — is setting up a new bus company called Thames Transit, which begins trading in Oxford this week — in direct competition to City of Oxford Motor Services.
Thames Transit represents an investment of around million and according to Devon General's managing director Harry Blundred, it will initially operate an express coach service from Oxford to London,
and a high-frequency minibus service from Blackbird Leys to Oxford city centre. A further three minibus routes will follow in April.
The Thames Transit coach service will operate during the day at half-hourly intervals, competing against City of Oxford's own Citylink express service.
The Thames coach, however, will terminate at Marble Arch, and its fares will be priced at slightly less than half the cost of Oxford's Citylink, claims Blundred.
The eight Tiger coaches are all fitted with toilets and will have a hostess service and an on-board telephone link. All the new Thames Transit vehicles are being leased.
Blundred says that he expects Thames Transit to provide a large, rather than comprehensive operating system in the Oxford area. Before joining Devon General as manager in 1983 he was traffic manager for City of Oxford from 1979.