Heyfordian had been due to operate three of the four HMBus Late Bus routes: Late Bus A – Kidlington/Bicester; Late Bus B – Lewknor/Stokenchurch; and Late Bus D – Woodstock. Pearces’ have been contracted to operate Late Bus C – Abingdon/Wallingford.
Whilst potential operators have now been identified to operate Late Bus routes A, B and D, logistics and contracts have not yet been finalised for those services. Therefore, we are only able to run Late bus C from 11th September. We are mindful too that take-up of the Late Bus service has been extremely low to date and therefore we are also reassessing the proposed Late Bus routes in light of responses received to the recent parent survey. We are confident that we will be able to have further Late Bus services running from after the Autumn half-term and will update you on routes prior to the half-term.
Initially, the Late Bus will only be available to Senior pupils (Year 7 and above) who have a ticket for the Core Service (AM and/or PM). The Late Bus will be charged per half term block (additional to the Core Service fare) and will be shown when booking. Please note: there is no reduction to the half termly charge if booking part way through a term. Sibling discounts do not apply to the Late Bus bookings.
You will be able to book travel in half term blocks for the whole of the 2023-24 academic year when the Late Bus booking opens or, for parents who prefer to book on a ‘half-term’ by ‘half-term’ basis, this is still possible (subject to seat availability) as bookings can be made at any point of the year. Bookings are non-refundable.
Late Bus C timetable – Pearces
| Late Bus Route | Stops served | Depart Headington | Depart MCS | Drop-off |
| Late Bus C – Pearces | Redbridge P&R – Go Outdoors bus stop | 1745 Headington Rd – outside Headington School by school gate past public bus stop (B8) | 1735 Iffley Rd – public bus stop on school side (by pedestrian gate) | 1800 |
| Abingdon – High Street bus stop A7 | 1817 | |||
| Didcot – Broadway, The Marlborough Club | 1837 | |||
| Wallingford – Market Place | 1852 |
Last updated: 12th October 2023
Days of operation for the Late Bus days are linked to the schools’ after school activity schedules so there are some days when the Core Service will be operating but the Late Bus will not be running. The Late Bus days of operation for 2023/24 are shown below:
| From (inclusive) | To (inclusive) | When does Core Service run but Late Bus does not? | |
| Michaelmas/ Autumn Term 2023 | Mon 11th Sept 2023 | Fri 13th Oct 2023 | Weds 6th Sept 2023 to Fri 8th Sept 2023 inclusive |
| | Mon 30th Oct 2023 | Tues 12th Dec 2023 | Weds 13th Dec 2023 |
| Hilary/ Spring Term 2024 | Mon 8th Jan 2024 | Thurs 8th Feb 2024 | Fri 9th Feb 2024 |
| | Mon 19th Feb 2024 | Thurs 21st March 2024 | Fri 22nd Mar 2024 to Weds 27th Mar 2024 inclusive |
| Trinity/ Summer 2024 | Mon 15th April 2024 | Fri 24th May 2024 | |
| Mon 3rd June 2024 | Thurs 4th July 2024 | Fri 5th July 2024 |
Schools will publish their after school activities as soon as they are able, and parents may wish to wait until dates have been published before making their Late Bus booking. Late Bus bookings are non-refundable and non-transferable and can be used by Senior pupils (Year 7 and above). Schools will review arrangements and use of the Late Bus in Spring 2024.