Operators angry over Oxford ban
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MANY London coach and tour operators will have to rearrange their Stratford-uponAvon day tours this season when the City of Oxford ban on tourist coaches takes effect from April 1.
Sightseeing coaches, which had traditionally taken their passengers on a swift picturesque tour of Oxford's colleges and historical buildings, will find that they must now drop passengers off outside the centre and allow them to walk around the city's attractions. This will effectively damage the already tight schedules on the day tour.
The mini coach cordon, which will not apply to stage carriage, school contract or works buses, will stop coaches from crossing Magdalen Bridge and entering St Aldates, Broad St, and George St, in a bid to stop "perceived" congestion said to be caused by tourist coaches.
Many operators and tour organisations are incensed by the ban, which they see as a result of an increasing use of complicated and fairly short term traffic management schemes which have previously forced coaches to take complicated through routes.
They feel that the ban will cheat tourists of some of the major attractions of their day tours and note that the council has failed to take into account the distinct advantages of keeping tourists together on a coach rather than leaving them bustling in groups through buildings and along pavements causing inconvenience to the local populace.
Oxford City Council has designated a number of coach stops and picking-up points near the banned area. A leaflet giving details can be obtained from the City Engineer's Department, Town Hall, Oxford, OX11 BX.