Banbury bus isnt so reliable. Got stuck yesterday coming back between Wigginton and Hooky for an hour until next bus arrived. The driver couldnt get a mobile signal to report it and told us that bus is always breaking down.

Is it because they mainly use buses about 12 or 13 years old on the 488/489?

The general discussion whilst we were stuck is that as the road is a country route with rough surfaces th Ey dont want to use newer buses on it. The driver asked us if we had any water on us. Ummm if we had we would have drunk it and how was a small bottle of water going to help a bus that had overheated? Eventually he walked and got some water which only took us another half a mile before we came to a halt again.

They did, about 7 or 8 years ago, put a batch of, then new Optare 30 seat single deck buses on the route, with the slogan 'Better Buses for Banbury & Chipping Norton' Maybe it's about time to replace the buses now used with new ones, whatever the conditon of the roads. After all,they travel along Walterbush Road, as do the much newer double deckers used on the S3, and get shaken up there anyway!