Witney now has up to six buses an hour to Oxford. The 20 September shake-up adds a new S1A, school runs to Burford, and takes the S2 out of Eynsham village.

Witney came out of Saturday’s county-wide bus shake-up with more buses than it has had in years: a brand new S1A service, a bus to Oxford every 15 minutes, and what Stagecoach calls up to six buses an hour on the A40 corridor. Both of Oxfordshire’s big operator groups rewrote their networks on 20 September, the day Botley Road in Oxford reopened after more than three years.

For West Oxfordshire the changes add up to this:

  • a new S1A between Oxford and Witney, serving De Havilland Way on the Downs Road industrial estate and the Windrush Estate
  • the S1 and S1A together run every 15 minutes between Oxford, Botley, Farmoor, Eynsham and Witney, with each service every 30 minutes
  • selected school-day S1 journeys extend to Burford School
  • the S2 no longer goes into Eynsham village on its half-hourly Carterton to Oxford run
  • Charlbury’s buses are renumbered S3A so they are easier to tell apart from the Chipping Norton S3
  • the Oxford Bus group’s X1 is withdrawn, with an enhanced X15 continuing to Witney hourly
  • the Pulhams X52 now calls at Witney High Street, with faster times to Oxford

How the S1 and S1A fit together

The S1 and S1A follow the same road between Oxford and Witney. Beyond Witney they split. The S1 carries on to Carterton, while the new S1A loops through De Havilland Way and the Windrush Estate before heading back to Oxford. Stagecoach says the pairing is aimed at the employment areas around the town as much as the town centre.

The new timetable has the first bus to Oxford leaving Witney Market Square at 5.08am on weekdays, and a daytime journey of about 45 minutes. The last standard S1 leaves Oxford George Street at 11.20pm, and NS1 night buses run into the early hours after Friday and Saturday nights, at special fares. On Sundays the S1 runs alone.

Counting the half-hourly S2, Stagecoach’s own wording is that the revised services “provide six buses an hour between Witney and Oxford via the A40 corridor”.

The Burford extension is a school-days change. Selected S1 journeys will start from or continue to Burford School, which Stagecoach says will help “address existing capacity pressures on Services 233 and 234”.

The S2 is quicker, but Eynsham loses it

The S2 runs every 30 minutes between Carterton, Witney and Oxford via the A40 and Woodstock Road, Monday to Saturday. There is no Sunday service. The 9am from Oxford Railway Station reaches Witney Market Square at 9.40am, a 40 minute run.

The catch is at Eynsham. Stagecoach states that “Eynsham village will not be served by the S2, with alternative connections available through the S1 and S1A”. The new timetable keeps a stop at The Evenlode, on the A40 at the edge of Eynsham, but nothing into the village itself. Eynsham keeps its 15 minute frequency to both Oxford and Witney, on the S1 and S1A.

The X1 goes, the X15 takes over, and the X52 stops on the High Street

On the Oxford Bus group side, the X1 was withdrawn on 20 September. It is replaced by an enhanced X15, running up to every 30 minutes between Oxford, Abingdon, Marcham and Southmoor, “with services continuing to Witney hourly”. The X15 no longer serves Oxford Railway Station and instead terminates at Westgate, and NX15 journeys on Friday and Saturday nights partially replace the NX1.

Pulhams’ X52 between Oxford, Witney, Burford and Cheltenham gets a revised timetable with faster journey times between Oxford and Witney, and new stops at Witney High Street, Cassington Turn and Summertown First Turn. Witney High Street is running northbound only while the town centre works continue, which our roadworks and travel page covers in full.

Diagram of Witney's bus network from 20 September 2026: S1 and S1A combined every 15 minutes to Oxford, S2 every 30 minutes via Woodstock Road, S3A to Charlbury, X15 hourly to Abingdon and Oxford, X52 to Burford and Cheltenham with a new Witney High Street stop
Witney's buses from 20 September, route by route.
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What it means for you

  • If you commute to Oxford: you no longer need a timetable in the daytime. The S1 and S1A give a bus every 15 minutes, and the half-hourly S2 via Woodstock Road is the quicker run at about 40 minutes.
  • If you work on the Downs Road industrial estate or live on the Windrush Estate: the S1A is your new direct link, every 30 minutes.
  • If you live in Eynsham: do not wait for an S2 in the village. Your buses are now the S1 and S1A, still every 15 minutes.
  • If you used the X1: it no longer exists. The X15 covers the road through Southmoor and Marcham hourly, but ends at Westgate rather than the railway station.
  • From Monday 28 September: Oxford’s traffic filters replace the congestion charge, and buses are exempt. If the filters push you off four wheels, this is the network that replaces the car. The detail is on our roadworks and travel page.

Stagecoach also points to the £3 single fare cap, which applies across these routes. Getting to a train is a separate question, and our Witney train times to London page compares the four stations Witney commuters actually use.

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