Oxford and Chilterns Bus Page Issue 35 (November 18th 2018)
A history of route 66 now the S6
In 1922 COMS operated service 10 via Abingdon and Wantage, and 13 via the main A420 road via Kingston Bagpuize. Both COMS and BT had reached Faringdon by 1922, but it was not until 1951 that a through service was introduced.
The Bristol Omnibus timetable dated April 1947 shows eight journeys each way between Swindon and Faringdon on its 68, some of which extended to Bampton.
By 1951 the main road service was 66/67 and so the through Oxford - Swindon service was numbered 66. Some of Bristol's 30C's Swindon area routes were in the series 61-78, with gaps - others were upwards from 182. Its' 66 was a relatively minor route operating three times Mondays to Saturdays to Cricklade, so rather than renumbering that route, 74 was chosen for the Oxford service instead!
Indeed it was in 1951 that the through service was introduced between Swindon and Oxford when the through Oxford- Swindon service numbered 74. Sometime between 1956 and 1958 Oxford participated and numbered the service 66 but Bristol insisted on retaining number 74!! This continued from Summer 1958 but from 1967 the service became 66 for Oxford buses and 466 for services operated by Bristol Omnibus (Swindon depot.) The 67 (a wholly COMS operation) operated between Oxford and Faringdon via Stanford in the Vale but there were only a limited number of services.
However, while COMS acknowledged what was now BOC's number, there was no reciprocation by the latter in its timetables. Eventually BOC dropped its former number, and since then both operators used not only 66, but also 67, 68 and their 4xx equivalents.
In the early 1980s the two-hourly headway was continued by what had become the Cheltenham & Gloucester Omnibus Co (CGOC), trading locally as Swindon & District, and South Midland. At this time we can trace the use of route number 68 for some departures as well ?? It may be that the Bristol controlled company still objected to the use of 66???
Swindon and District AAE659V Leyland National 2 in the then current NBC livery for that unit, this time on the 68 in 1984 by Tony Bungay.
The National 2 is seen in what was then Gloucester Green Bus Station bordered by Worcester Street.
Swindon & District Bristol RE 2070 GHY132K seen again in Gloucester Green in November 1985 by Tony Bungay, some 33 years ago!
COMS (Oxford) had some of these dual purpose Res which were used on London's and were lovely warm machines to ride on.
The above pictures have been used previously but were most appropriate to this article.
By now, though the Sunday service was down to two journeys each way, with through passengers being required to change at Faringdon, whereas before this the Sunday service was just two Oxford and two Swindon through journeys per day!
At deregulation, however, South Midland which had no depot in Oxford, diverted its weekday service to operate Wantage-Faringdon-Swindon. This left what was by now the Western Travel subsidiary in the unfortunate position of continuing its three journeys each way — surely the nadir of the route. By one of the many quirks of deregulation, the two Sunday journeys continued as before, with South Midland operating Oxford-Faringdon and Swindon & District the western section.
It took the purchase of the Western Travel Group by Stagecoach, in November 1993, to revive its fortunes — and how! Various vehicles were used from those early Stagecoach days and it was operated by service buses recorded from 1998 by Malcolm Crowe.
Those early days shows the local fleet numbering scheme used until the early 2000's when a National scheme was adopted and a revised livery introduced.
Above we see Swindon & District's 901 (later renumbered 32901) leaving Gloucester Green on September 29th 1998 by Malcolm Crowe.
As with any nationally controlled group buses and coaches from other areas migrated to different companies and this is shown below by this Volvo/Alexander PS new to Stagecoach in Manchester.
This PS was variously with Gloucester, Cheltenham and then Swindon, 417 then later renumbered in the national scheme 20817
seen leaving Gloucester Green on August 2nd 1999 by Malcolm Crowe.
For a period from around 2005/6 a batch of 1995 Volvo/Alexander PS 48 seat DPs (401-409), originally allocated to Gloucester and Cirencester were moved to Swindon and given a refurb' used on the 66 to Oxford. They by then had fleet numbers 20681-20689 and became regular visitors to Gloucester Green.
Volvo PS 20684 seen working service 98 in Cheltenham on August 26th 2008 by Marcus Lapthorn.
20685 with a 66 working in Faringdon heading for Oxford on April 7th 2008 by Marcus Lapthorn
First is 20687 with a 66 in Faringdon on April 7th by Marcus Lapthorn and then leaving Oxford on May 24th by Gavin Francis both in 2008,
later seen at the Alton Rally on July 20th 2017 by Marcus Lapthorn, a nice development!
20688 with a 65 working to Watchfield leaves Swindon Bus Station on July 17th 2012 by Marcus Lapthorn.
A 65 working to Swindon sees 20689 with a 65 in Faringdon February 14th 2012 and then again heading out of Faringdon on July 8th 2012 both by Marcus Lapthorn.
The now withdrawn 65 route ran a few times a day between Faringdon and Swindon through Fernham, Longcot, Watchfield, Shrivenham, Bourton, South Marston with only three full journeys per day - Mondays to Fridays only.
Former 65 timetable at this link:
https://smpc.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/bus-service-65-timetable.pdf
West's Leyland Olympian 14271 with the 65 near Faringdon on April 28 2009 by Marcus Lapthorn.
On January 29th 2008 the picture above shows the one double decker which was painted in this striking Swindon & District livery.
Leyland Olympian 14272 with a 65 near Faringdon by Marcus Lapthorn.
Now some variety on the route 66.
In 2007 coaches appeared on the 66 as seen above. Volvo/Plaxton 52265 with the 66 in Faringdon on July 16th 2007 by Marcus Lapthorn.
West's Volvo/Plaxton 52400 is seen heading for Oxford nearly in Faringdon with a 66 working on July 12th 2007 by Marcus Lapthorn.
Also between 2005 and 2007 small buses such as Dennis Darts were still used in spite of increasing passenger numbers.
Only a 36 seater, E200 33914 is seen leaving Gloucester Green with a 66 working on January 10th 2005 seen by Gavin Francis.
E200 33939 with a 66 in Gloucester Green on April 24th 2006 and 33504 on October 10th 2007 both by Gavin Francis.
An interesting development took place in 2008 when a batch of M A N Lion City/ADL E300s with DP48 seat bodywork, took to the road, being used on the 66. Of interest was that due to new EU regulations regarding services of over 50 kilometers (30.1 miles), they had to operate using tachographs, which meant drivers complying to EU regulations. You can refer to these at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/drivers-hours/passenger-carrying-vehicles
The mileage from Oxford to Swindon via Faringdon is 48 kms which when the various actual route is assessed is over the 50 kms. Thus later, by 2011, it was decided to split the route into two sections thereby avoiding the E U rules which improved matters for rostering drivers. U K domestic rules allow drivers to work for 13 consecutive days whereas E U rules make it 6 days before a rest must be taken.
We've tried to make this simple for readers but it is not unusual here in the U K for routes to be split to allow domestic rules to be applied. This thus accounts for the fact sometime after the introductions of these buses the route was split and buses no longer showed i.e. Oxford via Faringdon but instead Faringdon for Oxford.
The new buses.
Brand new deliveries, 22620 and 22621 at Swindon depot on May 21st 2008 by Marcus Lapthorn.
This picture from Marcus Lapthorn clearly shows the greater length of these buses, with 22622 seen above on May 3rd 2010.
22623, 22624 and two pictures of 22625 (the first of which emphasising the length, showing the branding applied promoting the 30 minute service
and the blinds showing a "through" service" Pictures taken in 2008 and 2011 by Marcus Lapthorn.
The picture of 22623 taken on May 27th 2011 clearly shows the Faringdon for Swindon destination.
Trident 18178 with a 66 working just outside Faringdon on June 17th 2009 by Marcus Lapthorn.
and a month later after it had burst into flames at Shrivenham on July 18th 2009 photographer unknown.
In 2010 despite the introduction of the new "long" M A N s on some occasions E200s often appeared as shown in the two pictures below.
E200's 36127 and 36128 are seen in Gloucester Green (picture by Gavin Francis) and 36128 outside Faringdon (picture by Marcus Lapthorn.
These were almost brand new but seating capacity was reduced by 10 to 38 as opposed to branded buses.
Gold double decks replace the single deck fleet, offering a whole new experience for customers on the 66
Both pictures provided by Marcus Lapthorn showing the launch of Scania-ADL E400 Gold buses for the route on January 20th 2012.
Scania 15763 with a 66 working for Oxford in Faringdon on February 14th 2012 by Marcus Lapthorn.
The nice branding is very apparent in spite of the poor weather conditions causing a rather dirty bus.
On a pleasant autumn day 15767 is seen on its way to Swindon passing through the outskirts of Faringdon on October 12th 2012 by Marcus Lapthorn.
Things did not always go according to plan and in a period around 2015 ordinary double decks were seen on the service
as above 15975 is working the 66, leaving Gloucester Green on June 7th 2015 by Gavin Francis.
Quite often buses fully branded for the 55 route could be seen in Oxford and single decks also appeared even on rush hour services. At that time it appeared to the observer that scant concern was given to providing Gold buses on a Gold route!
Nowadays, the service has been re-numbered from 66 to S6 to fit in with the numbering of Gold services from Oxford. It is operated entirely from Swindon, with an incredible main daytime frequency of every twenty minutes during the week (with a PVR of nine), and half-hourly on Sundays.
The number of passengers using the 66 route
has tripled since 2006! This contrasts markedly with the picture in other parts of the country where routes are being severely cut back.
Stagecoach West has invested a fleet of buses for the regular S6 service, investing £3 million in a dozen premium Gold S6 vehicles at £250,000 per bus.
The new buses promise passengers extra leg room, leather seats, free Wi-Fi and USB charging points, and quieter engines. Drivers have undergone extra customer care training.
Guests and councillors went to a special launch event for the buses and
Chris Parkinson, public transport team leader for Swindon Borough Council, said:
“This is a very important service to keep Swindon connected with the major cities around us such as Oxford."
Stagecoach West Managing Director Rupert Cox said:
“It is a major investment in the future of bus travel but one we believe is well worth making, both for our customers and the environment."
He added:
“Each of the 12 vehicles in the new fleet cost £250,000 and they have the latest engine technology which means a reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions and other particulates by 90 per cent compared to the buses they are replacing.
“We are determined to provide the best possible service we can for our customers and we hope even more people will help the environment and relieve congestion on our roads by taking the Stagecoach Gold bus and leaving the car at home.”
Stagecoach West's S6 ADL/E400MMC 10990 with management and drivers on September 24th 2018 by Bill McCartney.
Part of the new fleet at the launch on September 24th 2018 by Bill McCartney.
From January 2012 when a fleet of Gold Buses were introduced on the 66 bringing increased comfort and service to passengers. This was further improved in September 2018 when a brand new fleet of Gold buses with all the latest options available. You can read fully about this in the article above with a £3 million investment in twelve new ADL/E400 gold buses on the route now renumbered S6 to fall in line with other Oxford based Gold routes.
Looking very smart indeed, 10983, a few weeks after the revised service was launched, leaves Gloucester Green heading for Swindon on October 3rd 2018.
Picture by Gavin Francis.
