Oxford Bus Company welcomes plan to tackle 'devastating' traffic
A bus company has welcomed council plans to develop proposals to tackle Oxford's "devastating" traffic.Oxford Bus Company previously urged Oxfordshire County Council to find a "Plan B", after the ongoing Botley Road closure delayed the authority's planned introduction of traffic filters.The council responded to this by confirming it would be drafting new plans to deal with the city's congestion problem.Luke Marion, the bus company's managing director, said he was "encouraged by the announcement" and "looked forward to engaging" with the council to "improve journeys" for bus users.
"A robust bus network is critical in order for the Council to achieve its sustainability targets on the county's roads which we are wholly supportive of," Mr Marion said."To further enhance the appeal of travelling by bus, we need journeys to be faster and more reliable than is currently possible."Present levels of congestion are having a devastating impact on our city which we're keen to help resolve through positive discussion."Oxford Bus Company said journey times on the Abingdon Road had increased by an average of 17% since the Botley Road was closed, with services between Blackbird Leys and Oxford city centre slowing by 33% compared with 2013.Following Mr Marion's correspondence, the council confirmed that potential options to improve travel conditions would be discussed by the cabinet.The council had planned to introduce contentious traffic filters on several major roads in autumn 2024, but they were pushed back for another two years due to the ongoing closure of Botley Road.Labour councillor Brad Baines previously argued argued that the county council plans did "not answer questions about affordability of bus services or routes going where people need to go"."These are key barriers which are yet to be addressed or even considered."
You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Fury as ‘disgusting' Cadbury cuts size of popular multipack from six bars to four but keeps price the SAME
CHOC-lovers are fuming after Cadbury reduced the size of its Dairy Milk Little Bars multipacks by a third. New packs of four are being sold for £1.40, even though packs of six cost the same last month. 1 The change has been blasted by shoppers, including many parents who bought them as kids' snacks. One fumed on the Tesco website: 'Advertised as new, only thing new is you get 4 instead of 6!! For the same price. Disgusting!' A second said: 'Stop reducing how much is in the packet and charging the same price!!!' A third added: 'Was a six pack now a four pack for the same price, a third less chocolate, unacceptable shrinkflation.' It comes after Cadbury reduced packs of Freddos from five to four and Cadbury Dairy Milk multipacks were cut from nine bars to seven. Cadbury said: 'We understand the economic pressures that consumers continue to face and any changes to our product sizes is a last resort for our business. 'However, as a food producer, we are continuing to experience significantly higher input costs across our supply chain, with ingredients such as cocoa and dairy, which are widely used in our products, costing far more than they have done previously. 'Meanwhile, other costs like energy and transport, also remain high. This means that our products continue to be much more expensive to make and while we have absorbed these costs where possible, we still face considerable challenges 'As a result of this difficult environment, we have had to make the decision to slightly reduce the weight of our Cadbury Dairy Milk Little Bars multipacks so that we can continue to provide consumers with the brands they love, without compromising on the great taste and quality they expect.' Dan Coatsworth, analyst at the investment firm AJ Bell, explained: 'The cost of producing chocolate has gone up a lot in recent years, driving up prices and prompting firms to make products smaller. We've outdone ourselves with this one' say Cadbury Ireland as they reveal new limited edition bar 'coming soon 'When production costs rocket, companies only have a limited range of options. 'They can pass on the costs to the customer through higher prices, which is difficult with a product like chocolate where people are often looking for a cheap treat. 'Another option is to reduce the size of the product in order to reduce the manufacturing cost for each bar of chocolate. Or they can try a combination of the two. 'As a last resort, companies may have to tolerate lower profit margins, especially if consumers refuse to tolerate price rises and stop buying.' The British Retail Consortium said global cocoa prices are around three times higher than in 2022, after being badly affected by poor harvests in parts of Africa.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Labour at war over spending plans as Number 10 tries to stem threat from Farage
Sir Keir Starmer is fighting to quell mounting Labour tensions over how to deal with the threat from Nigel Farage, as bitter Whitehall negotiations over the Government's Spending Review go down to the wire. Sources describe 'very unpleasant' exchanges between Rachel Reeves and senior Cabinet ministers, including Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner, as the Chancellor prepares to give the NHS a £30billion boost at the expense of the police and local councils. Preparations for Wednesday's announcement have been held against the backdrop of slamming doors and raised voices, as No 10 and the Treasury work out how to divide a limited pot of public money in a way most likely to arrest the surge in support for Mr Farage's Reform UK. Ms Reeves is expected to set out plans for an extra £113billion in spending on infrastructure projects such as Sizewell C nuclear power plant, and an extra 2.8 per cent real-terms increase in the NHS's £200billion-a-year budget, amounting to an extra £30billion by 2028. But with the economy barely growing, other departments have had to take a hit as a result. A source said: 'It turned nasty between Yvette and Rachel. It was just as bad as that between Rachel and Angela, who walked out during her negotiations. 'Yvette was just passing on the concerns of the police, who said that without more money they would be forced to make stark choices about which crimes they prioritise. 'The anger of the police shows they've been briefed by Cooper on how the negotiations are going, and they're not happy.' Reeves plotting £3bn tax raid on pension By CALUM MUIRHEAD Rachel Reeves is planning a £3billion tax raid on millions of pensions. The new Pension Schemes Bill lays out a blueprint for companies to take out 'surplus' cash from certain schemes. The theory behind the plan is that companies can use the money to invest in their business and that would fuel growth. But experts fear this could lead to a repeat of the Robert Maxwell scandal of the early 1990s, when the late tycoon stole £400 million from his staff pension fund to prop up his companies. The Chancellor, who is desperate to raise tax revenues, would benefit because any 'surpluses' released are taxed at 25 per cent, which could raise almost £3billion over a decade. The bill, tabled in Parliament last week, will affect old-style pension schemes where retirement incomes are linked to people's pay packets, which have around nine million members. A minister said: 'The negotiations over the final settlements are still not sorted for some departments. They're going to carry on fighting it out over the weekend.' Another source added: 'Rachel will stand up and promise things she can't deliver. There will be a lot of guff about how she will deliver security for the country. 'But how can you promise to deliver security when Trump's doing what he's doing on tariffs and Putin is so active?' At the heart of the schism is an ideological divide between the party's Blairites, represented in No 10 by Liz Lloyd, Sir Keir's head of policy delivery, and Morgan McSweeney, the Downing Street chief of staff. Mr McSweeney is desperate to tackle small boats migration while Ms Lloyd is encouraging spending more on the NHS. Rachel Reeves is planning a £3billion tax raid on millions of pensions. The new Pension Schemes Bill lays out a blueprint for companies to take out 'surplus' cash from certain schemes. The theory behind the plan is that companies can use the money to invest in their business and that would fuel growth. But experts fear this could lead to a repeat of the Robert Maxwell scandal of the early 1990s, when the late tycoon stole £400 million from his staff pension fund to prop up his companies. The Chancellor, who is desperate to raise tax revenues, would benefit because any 'surpluses' released are taxed at 25 per cent, which could raise almost £3billion over a decade. The bill, tabled in Parliament last week, will affect old-style pension schemes where retirement incomes are linked to people's pay packets, which have around nine million members.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Is Angela 'Two Homes' Rayner paying the council tax surcharge on her grace-and-favour second residence?
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner was last night facing questions over whether she is paying her own council tax surcharge on her second home. 'Two Homes' Rayner moved into her four-bedroom, grace-and-favour residence in Admiralty House in December – four months before her Local Government Department started levying an extra 100 per cent council tax charge on second homes. Official records of MPs' expenses show that when she entered the Government, Ms Rayner designated her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency home as her 'primary residence', and her pre-Admiralty home – a rented London flat – as her second home. That allowed her to claim back the £1,621 council tax bill on the London flat from the taxpayer as one of the housing costs reimbursed by Commons authorities. But if she is still designating Ashton as her primary residence now, the £2,034 council tax bill for Admiralty House doubles to a whopping £4,068 if classed as a second home. And, as a minister living in an official residence, she would have to pay both that and the £3,338 bill for the Ashton house herself – a total of £7,406. Ashton does not attract a second-home premium because she has family members living there permanently, but questions have been raised as to whether or not she is paying the full £7,406. Tory Shadow Minister Richard Holden asked the PM and the Chancellor if they were paying council tax on their Downing St flats as primary residences, and was informed that they were. If she is still designating Ashton as her primary residence now, the £2,034 council tax bill for Admiralty House (pictured) doubles to a whopping £4,068 if classed as a second home But on asking the same of Ms Rayner, he was stonewalled with: 'The Deputy Prime Minister's council tax responsibility is properly discharged.' In a letter to Ms Rayner, Kevin Hollinrake, Shadow Secretary for Housing and Communities, asked if she had evaded the surcharge by 'flipping' her primary residence designation. He said: 'If the minister in charge of council tax has dodged the super-tax by 'flipping', this raises serious concerns about the ethics and integrity of Labour ministers.' She became known as 'Two Homes' Rayner after this newspaper revealed she shuttled between two council properties early in her marriage. When her office was asked if she was paying a bill of £4,068 in London and £3,338 in her constituency, a source said: 'The administration of council tax for Admiralty House is for the Cabinet Office and Westminster Council, as has been the case for successive Secretaries of State.'
