Worth’s Coaches based in Enstone, Oxfordshire, have brought the curtain down on two of their regular bus services after 80 years.

The number 69 and the 81 bus services from Chipping Norton to Witney and Banbury have been cancelled after dwindling passenger numbers. The services were further hit when the council stopped subsiding the route.

Competition from a rival service, which receives a subsidiary from the council, was another contributory factor in the demise of Worth’s Coaches route. The service was no longer deemed economically viable, and so the decision was made to pull the plug on the number 69 and the 71 buses.

Despite the declining passenger numbers, the bus routes had a strong following of loyal customers with 5,000 passengers a month travelling on the service.

The current director at Worth’s Coaches, Paul Worth, described it as a “sad day” when the company ran its last number 69 and 71 services. Recalling the days when his grandfather started operating the bus services during the 1930’s, Mr Worth said that the route was so popular, that even double-decker buses couldn’t cope with the demand.

The company still has 12 coaches and says they will now be concentrating on private hire business.

The police and TFL are trying to establish the circumstances of the bus crash in Piccadilly

One woman was left with injuries to her arm and leg after a double-decker London bus careered off the road, colliding with railings in Piccadilly earlier this week.

It’s believed the woman, who is in her 50’s, was emerging from the Piccadilly tube exit when the bus struck the railings outside, and the woman was hit by falling masonry from the collision.

An ambulance was sent to treat the woman at the scene of the accident, she has since been admitted to a South London hospital where she is receiving further treatment. Two fire engines also attended the scene.

The police are still trying to establish the cause of the accident. Transport for London (TFL) are also carrying out there own investigation into why the driver didn’t stop at the scene of the crash, but continued a few hundred yards down the road to the Haymarket area before brining the bus to a halt.

The number 9 double-decker bus was seen to hit the railings outside exit 2 at Piccadilly tube station. One eyewitness said the force of the crash meant the railings then fell down into the station. A lamppost at a nearby bus stop was also struck by the bus.

Aside from the woman, no other casualties have been reported as a result of the accident.

The police and TFL are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the crash.

No charge to be brought after boy is struck by a brick thrown through a coach window

boy struck by brick thrown through coach window

A mother from Shropshire has spoken out to the BBC this week about her disgust that no charges will be brought after her son suffered severe injury following an incident where a brick was hurled through a coach window where he was sitting. The 14-year-old football fan had gone on a coach trip to support his team, Telford FC, who had just won the Setanta Shield final against Forest Green Rovers when the injury was sustained.

The incident happened in April of this year and has left the 14-year-old with facial scars which he will have to live with for the rest of his life. A 19-year-old was arrested at the time but the Crown Prosecution Service announced this week that they didn’t have enough evidence to bring the case to court.

Ryan Asson is an avid football supporter and never misses a match played by his home team. He was sitting with his father next to the window when the brick was thrown. Ryan needed 15 stitches after being struck and both he and his dad had shards of glass shattered in their eyes as a result of the force at which the brick hit the coach window.

Both the football club, Forest Green and Ryan’s family have expressed extreme anger at the decision to not press charges. Mrs Asson said she was “absolutely disgusted” and the football club commented that the incident had saddened everyone involved at Forest Green Rovers.

Newspaper apologises to Solus Coaches for wrongly naming them in a news article

Staffordshire Newspaper, Burton Mail, have issued a public apology to Solus Coaches Ltd after they wrongly named them as the company involved in an investigation following an accident. The incident in question occurred when a school boy fell from a moving coach during a school run.

We also covered the story here at go2.co.uk News under the headline “Coach Hire Company investigated after teenager falls from moving coach.” However we would also like to extend out apology as it has now been established that Solus Coaches were not involved in the incident at all and are in no way under investigation.

In a public apology published by the Burton Mail they say, “We are happy to set the record straight and apologise to Solus Coaches for any confusion caused.” The newspaper has also gone a step further and is making a donation to St Giles Hospice, Wittington by request of the coach company.

New Routemaster London bus prototype unveiled

A full scale prototype of the new generation of the London Routemaster bus has been unveiled this week for the very first time.

Dubbed the “Boris Bus” because of the London mayor Boris Johnson’s involvement in reviving the iconic bus, the replica complete was revealed at the London Transport Museum by the mayor himself.

It was thought the days of the open-platform London buses were gone forever after former mayor Ken Livingstone, removed the last surviving Routemasters from the city’s transport system back in 2005.

However the new and improved Routemaster is now in the pipeline with the first new double-decker bus due hit the streets of London in 2012, just in time for the London Olympics.

The prototype, which comes complete with an engine, will be trialled on London bus routes next year. TFL bosses, stakeholders, and passenger organisations will have the chance to give the prototype the once over, and give feedback on any elements which they feel need changing or improving before the design is finalised.

The new double-decker buses will emit 40% less emissions than the current London bus. Plus steps have been made to make the new design more accessible with three entry and exit points, and also two staircases onboard.

The first of the new design of Routemasters will be introduced in 2012.