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New fleet of Park-branded buses improve commutes
Published on 30 January 2025
Renewed Thames Travel partnership increases number of double deckers and improves service capacity
Following the renewed partnership between Milton Park and Thames Travel, a fleet of thirteen new Milton Park-branded double decker buses have replaced single deckers on Oxfordshire’s roads, increasing the capacity of services to the UK’s largest single ownership innovation community with an added splash of colour.
News of the newly wrapped bus fleet follows the adoption of a refreshed Local Development Order (LDO) at Milton Park, enabled by an innovative Section 106 (S106) planning agreement with the Vale of White Horse District Council, which focuses on green travel. The LDO incentivises greener methods of travel, with contributions towards public investment in bus services in support of the ongoing partnership with Thames Travel, alongside new cycle and walking pathways and road upgrades.
To celebrate the double deckers’ introduction and new branding, people working at Milton Park were asked to give each vehicle a special name by picking their favourite names beginning with ‘M’. From Mabel to Mungo, members of the public can now keep an eye out to spot the branded Milton Park buses on the road.
You can see the buses connecting Milton Park to Didcot Parkway station every 8-10 minutes, providing access to fast rail services to London Paddington, Reading, Birmingham and Oxford. There are also frequent bus connections to Milton Park from Abingdon, Didcot, Wallingford, Wantage and Henley and fast services to Headington’s Life Sciences sector in Oxford, with the journey from the Park to Oxford taking just 25 minutes.
Veronica Reynolds, Sustainability & Community Manager at Milton Park, commented: “We’re delighted to have renewed our partnership with Thames Travel, which has coincided with the reveal of our new-look double decker buses. Thank you to everyone who helped to name them.
“Newer double decker buses will now be operating on the majority of routes to and from Milton Park, greater enhancing the comfort of journeys for our occupiers. I would encourage anyone in need of a New Year’s resolution to trial the double deckers in 2025, and if you work at Milton Park, don’t forget to sign up for the £20 bus pass!”
Luke Marion, Managing Director of Thames Travel, said: “We’re thrilled to be continuing the partnership between Milton Park and Thames Travel, which has already proved a great benefit to Park occupiers, visitors and the public alike.
“We look forward to seeing the public making the most of the increased bus capacity, which we hope will lead to a further increase in sustainable travel to Milton Park this new year.”
The renewed partnership with Thames Travel, first established in 2021, was driven by increased demand for bus travel to Milton Park and the success of its £20 annual employee bus pass. The Milton Park bus pass provides unlimited travel on all Thames Travel services in the Didcot Zone, including Didcot Parkway railway station and the Orchard Centre, as well as Drayton, Steventon, Sutton Courtenay and Milton.
Milton Park’s dedication and ongoing investment into sustainable transport, has led to an 18% increase in bus usage since the pandemic.
The Park’s commitment to sustainable travel was recently recognised at the United Kingdom Science Park Association’s (UKSPA) 40th anniversary conference, where the Park received an Environmental Sustainability Award, thanks to its initiatives to reduce carbon emissions and maximise biodiversity. Highlighted in the UKSPA award win was its contribution as a test-bed location for the UK’s first fully electric, autonomous bus trial.
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