Local Voices
Read the stories of Oxfordshire residents who make bikes, buses, walking or wheeling a part of their everyday lives.
Wendy and Maria
Wendy and Maria both live in Ambrosden, near Bicester and work at the John Radcliffe. They get the H5 bus everyday to work, and have become good friends with each other and their other bus buddies. Read their story here.
Elizabeth
While participating in the Oxford Car Free Challenge Elizabeth travelled by bus and on foot, and enjoyed encouraging fellow students on her nursing course to join her in walking with her to the next bus stop: "They all went with me. And along the way, we’re talking, we’re engaging. So I gained friends.” She felt walking was also good for her physical health: “At times I could become breathless, but when I started walking it was flowing, it was easy. I really enjoyed it.”
Felicity
Felicity bought an electric folding bike through the Cycle to Work scheme. She’s able to take it on the bus so that she can commute to work from outside Abingdon part by bus and part by cycle. She says her new commute is cheaper, more flexible and makes her feel more connected to people. She also loves that she can get in her exercise on the way to work instead of spending time and money on a trip to the gym.
Katherine
Katherine, a participant in the Oxford Car Free Challenge, found the adult cycle training she received through the project very useful. And for journeys in and out of town, she usually uses the bus. During the three-week Challenge, Katherine was surprised to discover how little she missed using her car. She says she is now thinking hard about the options when it needs to be replaced, at which point she will consider using a car club instead. With the money she'd save, she thinks she might purchase a Brompton bike, which would help her in reaching her nearest car club car.
James
When he joined the Challenge, he says, he quickly met colleagues and neighbours travelling the same way: “I found the experience very enjoyable, very social, made lots of friends on the buses.” His journey became a chance to chat, even to have an occasional work meeting, or just relax and watch the world go by.
Oxon4Buses
When Oxon4Buses asked people from across Oxfordshire why they like taking the bus, they got lots of different answers: from comfort, convenience and cost to joy, pleasure and relaxation. You can read some of their stories here.