Milton Park renews popular partnership with Thames Travel

Published by

Daniel Face

Milton Park near Didcot is set to continue its contract with Thames Travel, boosting the frequency and capacity of its bus services to and from the business campus.

The park’s £20 employee bus pass has proven popular among commuters, with more than 50 per cent of the 1,000-plus employees surveyed opting for more sustainable methods of transport than single occupancy vehicles.

That same survey found an 18 per cent uplift in bus usage since the pandemic.

Veronica Reynolds, sustainability and community manager at Milton Park, said: “The latest survey shows people are becoming increasingly climate-conscious when choosing how they want to travel to Milton Park.

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“With an improved frequency of services in 2024, Milton Park is delighted to renew its partnership with Thames Travel.

“The park looks forward to seeing how employees and residents alike will benefit from these improved services in the new year, in the hope it will encourage even more people to leave their cars at home.”

The subsidised pass can be used on all bus services by employees commuting from Didcot, Drayton, Great Western Park, Ladygrove, Milton, Northbourne, Steventon and Sutton Courtenay.

Luke Marion, MD of Thames Travel, added: “Whilst roadworks across Oxfordshire have caused problems with congestion in recent months, this significant investment from Milton Park will allow Thames Travel to work closely with Milton Park’s team to improve the punctuality and reliability of timetables and services, especially on the X32 route.

“Performance has been monitored closely through a real-time tracking system, which shows the route needs greater capacity, which is why an extra bus will be added to the service from 7th January 2024.

“Thames Travel hopes the improvements will bolster reliability, giving the service extra resilience and in-built capacity to cope with future traffic conditions.”

13 Milton Park-branded buses are also set to run on routes across the county, with single-deckers gradually phased out for double-deckers from March 2024.

Daniel Face

Born and raised in Berkshire, Dan fell into journalism after completing his bachelor’s degree in English at UCL. Writing for The Business Magazine and local Biz News sites has given him the opportunity to chat with all manner of small business owners and share their success stories with a wider audience. Outside of work, Dan enjoys live music, board games and quiz shows, and is making a slow but persistent effort to learn Spanish.