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Stagecoach X5 is an inter-urban bus service linking
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...
via
Bicester Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an eco town at North-East Bicester and self-build village aGraven Hill Its loca ...
,
Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...
and
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
The route started in 1992 with an hourly service which was increased to half-hourly in 2005; new vehicles were introduced in 2009 and again in 2015. It operates with a 30-minute frequency for much of the day. Vehicles advertise free
WiFi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wa ...
access, air conditioning and leather seats and are wheelchair accessible. The route carried 500,000 users in 2008; passenger numbers have grown by 150% between 2004 and 2009, leading to some problems with overcrowding. As of 2014, according to
Stagecoach East Stagecoach East is the divisional name for the bus operations of the Stagecoach Group in eastern England. History Under the control of the National Bus Company, ''Cambus Ltd.'' was set up when the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company was split in ...
's Managing Director, Andy Campbell, the route carries on average 1.3 million passengers annually. It is operated by the group's Stagecoach in Bedford division.


History

From 1851 to 1967, there was a direct rail service from Oxford to Cambridge with travel time about two hours, known as the
Varsity Line The Varsity Line (or the Oxford to Cambridge railway line) was the main railway route that once linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway. During World War II the line wa ...
. In response to the 1963-65
Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the M ...
, rail service ended in 1966 with no plans for replacement bus, rail, or motorway construction. The former track and railbed was mostly demolished and the railroad right of way sold off. Plans to rebuild the railway as past of the
East West Rail East West Rail is a major project to establish a strategic railway connecting East Anglia with Central, Southern and Western England. In particular, it plans to build (or rebuild) a line linking Oxford and Cambridge via Bicester, Milton Keyn ...
projects will cost over £300 million. In response to the lack of rail service, route X5 was launched in September 1995 with travel time between the two locations taking about 3.5 hours. Buses operated hourly and provided a number of new links between towns which had not previously been connected by bus or rail services. It was initially branded as Varsity, a reference to a pre-
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
service between Oxford and Cambridge via
Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...
, and to the
Varsity Line The Varsity Line (or the Oxford to Cambridge railway line) was the main railway route that once linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway. During World War II the line wa ...
, a railway route between the university cities closed in 1967. The western part of the route replaced an infrequent Stagecoach United Counties service between Oxford and Bedford. The route was initially operated with by ex
Wallace Arnold Wallace Arnold (Barr & Wallace Arnold Trust) was one of the UK's largest holiday motorcoach tour operators. History Wallace Arnold was founded in 1912 and was named after two of its founders Wallace Cunningham and Arnold Crowe. In 1926, the Bar ...
Plaxton Premiere The Plaxton Premiere, Plaxton Excalibur and Plaxton Prima were closely related designs of Coach (vehicle), coach Coachwork, bodywork built by Plaxton. The Premiere and Excalibur were introduced in 1991 as replacements for the Plaxton Paramount ...
Volvo B10M The Volvo B10M was a mid-engined city bus and coach chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1978 and 2003. It succeeded the B58 and was equipped with the same 9.6-litre horizontally mounted Volvo diesel engine mounted under the floor behind the ...
s."Elites on the X5" ''Buses'' issue 721 April 2015 pages 52-55 The route remained largely unchanged until August 2004, when it was diverted via Roxton and
Wyboston Wyboston is a village in the English county of Bedfordshire,adjacent to the town of St Neots, on the Cambridgeshire border. The eastern part of the village is dominated by the A1 Great North Road. Approaching the Black Cat Roundabout from the Be ...
to replace withdrawn local services. Further changes around the same time saw the X5 diverted to serve
Eaton Socon Eaton Socon is a community in south-west Cambridgeshire. Eaton Socon is a component of the town of St Neots, located on its south-west margin. Eaton Socon lies on the west side of the River Great Ouse, and is bounded on the west by the A1 road ...
and
St Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...
town centres rather than serving the towns via a stop on the A421 bypass road, thereby adding to the journey time between Bedford and Cambridge. However, evening journeys were sped up by avoiding
Eltisley Eltisley is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, on the A428 road about 5.5 miles (9 km) east of St Neots and about 11 miles (18 km) west of the city of Cambridge. The population in 2001 was 421 people, falli ...
, which was instead covered by another route. Early in 2005 the X5 was doubled in frequency to operate half-hourly. This received some positive feedback, although evening services were criticised for being too infrequent and offering few through journeys. In 2006 the route briefly faced competition in the form of an air service between the two termini operated by Sky Commuter. This followed an unsuccessful attempt by
Alpha One Airways Martin Richard Alexander Halstead (born ) is a pilot and former entrepreneur who founded two short-lived aviation businesses. Biography His secondary education was at Abingdon School and D'Overbroeck's College. After a spell at Oxford Aviation ...
to operate on the corridor. In April 2007 the route was curtailed within Oxford to terminate at
Gloucester Green Gloucester Green is a square in central Oxford, England, and the site of the city's bus station. It lies between George Street to the south and Beaumont Street to the north. To the west is Worcester Street and to the east is Gloucester Street. ...
bus station site and no longer serve the little used final section to
Oxford railway station Oxford railway station is a mainline railway station, one of two serving the city of Oxford, England. It is about west of the city centre, north-west of Frideswide Square and the eastern end of Botley Road. It is on the line for trains betwe ...
. The changes were in part due to new
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
driver hours limits. A modified double-decker bus with extra luggage space was trialled in 2007, with a view to introducing double-deck operation on the route, but was not deemed successful, so the service continued to be operated with high-floor
Volvo B10M The Volvo B10M was a mid-engined city bus and coach chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1978 and 2003. It succeeded the B58 and was equipped with the same 9.6-litre horizontally mounted Volvo diesel engine mounted under the floor behind the ...
coaches. In 2008 the route was rebranded as Cross County, a name also used for the X4 service between Milton Keynes and
Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...
. Passenger numbers improved dramatically, with over 500,000 users in 2008. In August 2009 it was reported that some passengers in the St Neots area were being left behind by coaches on the route as they were too full. This problem escalated in December 2009, when higher than expected loadings saw many evening journeys significantly overcrowded. Between 2004 and 2009 patronage increased by 150%. Another name used to promote the service was The X Factor. The service was slightly rerouted in August 2011 to serve the town centre in
Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...
instead of stopping at the more remote
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues an ...
superstore. Its timetable was also recast, with additional peak-hour journeys introduced. Tesco superstore has since been added back to the route, with the bus stopping at Tesco superstore stop B. From 30 August 2020, the X5 service was truncated at Bedford, and a new service numbered 905 was introduced running between Bedford and Cambridge using double-deck vehicles. The timetable for both the X5 and the 905 is designed so an easy transfer is possible for customers changing for St Neots/Cambridge or Milton Keynes/Buckingham/Oxford. In 2021, the coaches on the route were swapped for
Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC (sold as the Alexander Dennis Enviro400) is a low-floor bus, low-floor double-decker bus produced by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis since 2014, replacing the Alexander Dennis Enviro400. The Envi ...
double-decker buses.


Route

The X5 connects Oxford and Cambridge via Bicester, Buckingham, Milton Keynes, Bedford and St Neots.X5 stops
Stagecoach
It provides interchange facilities for national north–south services at Milton Keynes by serving
Milton Keynes Coachway The Milton Keynes Coachway (also Milton Keynes coach station) is a Coachway interchange close to junction 14 of the M1 motorway on the eastern edge of Milton Keynes, north Buckinghamshire, England. It supports National Express intercity coach s ...
and
Milton Keynes Central railway station Milton Keynes Central railway station serves Central Milton Keynes and the surrounding area of Milton Keynes, England. The station is located on the West Coast Main Line about northwest of London. The station is served by Avanti West Coast int ...
. The route is long, and largely follows the path of the notional Oxford-Cambridge Arc. The eastbound service commences at Oxford's
Gloucester Green Gloucester Green is a square in central Oxford, England, and the site of the city's bus station. It lies between George Street to the south and Beaumont Street to the north. To the west is Worcester Street and to the east is Gloucester Street. ...
bus station. It then heads for Bicester, stopping near Bicester shopping village and Manorsfield Road in Bicester town centre. The route calls at Bicester North railway station (added to the route in 2008), then moves on to the Tesco superstore in
Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...
, followed by the town centre, before heading for Milton Keynes. In Milton Keynes, the service stops at the
Milton Keynes Central railway station Milton Keynes Central railway station serves Central Milton Keynes and the surrounding area of Milton Keynes, England. The station is located on the West Coast Main Line about northwest of London. The station is served by Avanti West Coast int ...
to interchange with rail services on the
West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
and the
Stagecoach bus route X4 Stagecoach Gold bus route X4 is a bus route in England that links Northampton and Peterborough via Wellingborough, Kettering and Corby. This service is operated by the Stagecoach Midlands bus company. Route This route was launched on May 28, 20 ...
to
Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...
and route 99 to
Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by L ...
, at
Milton Keynes Shopping Centre The Central Milton Keynes shopping area is a regional shopping centre located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England which is about north-west of London. It comprises two adjacent shopping centres, the grade II listed building thecentre: ...
, and at the
Milton Keynes Coachway The Milton Keynes Coachway (also Milton Keynes coach station) is a Coachway interchange close to junction 14 of the M1 motorway on the eastern edge of Milton Keynes, north Buckinghamshire, England. It supports National Express intercity coach s ...
where it interconnects with National Express north-south services. The route continues to the Bedford bus station, where drivers change over. Thereafter, the service diverts through
Eaton Socon Eaton Socon is a community in south-west Cambridgeshire. Eaton Socon is a component of the town of St Neots, located on its south-west margin. Eaton Socon lies on the west side of the River Great Ouse, and is bounded on the west by the A1 road ...
where it picks up a number of passengers for its next stop in St Neots and then on towards Cambridge. Entering the outskirts of Cambridge, it serves the
park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system ( ...
site at Madingley Road before reaching its terminus at Cambridge's Parkside on
Parker's Piece Parker's Piece is a flat and roughly square green common located near the centre of Cambridge, England, regarded by some as the birthplace of the rules of association football. The two main walking and cycling paths across it run diagonally, an ...
. The service is part of Stagecoach's
Megabus Megabus may refer to: * Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro. * Megabus (North America), a low-cost bus service in the United States and Canada owned by Variant Equity Advisors. * Megabús, a ...
network. It is also marketed as a rail link service, and appears in the National Rail timetable.


Vehicles

In 2009, a fleet of 17
Plaxton Panther The Plaxton Paragon and Plaxton Panther are closely related designs of coach bodywork built by Plaxton in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, since 1999,Millar, Alan (2007) ''Bus & Coach Recognition'' : Ian Allan Ltd., and still in producti ...
bodied Volvo B9Rs were introduced onto the service. These in turn were replaced on 4 January 2015 by 18
Plaxton Elite The Plaxton Elite is a coach body unveiled at the Euro Bus Expo at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham in November 2008 by the British bus and coach manufacturer Plaxton. It is primarily targeted at the premium touring market. It went in ...
bodied
Volvo B11R The Volvo B11R is a 10.8-litre engined coach chassis available as both two- and tri-axle from Volvo since 2011. It was introduced as the second of the Volvo BXXR series, replacing the rest of the B12B range in 2011, and later its fellow BXXR pl ...
s painted in a new blue colour scheme, with a sky blue towards the front of the coach and a navy blue containing outlines of Stagecoach's logo in sky blue towards the rear.


Awards

Following the 2008 relaunch the route won two industry awards. The first came at the 2009 UK Bus Awards, where the route won the Express Operation of the Year award by a unanimous decision.UK Bus Awards - Express Operation of the Year 2009
A year later, the route won the Coach Marketing award at the 2010 UK Coach Awards for a promotion effort by Stagecoach.UK Coach Awards ceremony 2010


References

{{Reflist, 2


External links


Stagecoach X5 website
Bus routes in England Stagecoach Group Transport in Bedfordshire Transport in Cambridgeshire Transport in Oxfordshire