THAMES TRAVEL UNVEIL NEW LOW CARBON DEPOT IN DIDCOT AS PART OF LONG-TERM COMMITMENT TO THE AREA

Thames Travel have opened a new depot in Didcot to act as its central hub for its growing team and fleet of buses.

Lord Bradshaw, Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party Committee on Transport cut a ceremonial ribbon with Thames Travel Managing Director Phil Southall to officially open the new facility today / on Tuesday.

Thames Travel have moved to Didcot as part of its strategy to continue to play a key part of the economic growth in the "garden town." The move from Wallingford is part of a £2.5m investment by Thames Travel into the fleet, infrastructure and people. The depot in Collett, Didcot, is home to a fully equipped workshop to maintain the fleet of buses, fuelling and washing facilities, newly refurbished office space, and a large parking area for vehicles to be housed while not in service.

The building has been fitted with the latest energy efficient LED lighting, and solar panels are due to be installed soon, in partnership with Oxfordshire social enterprise Low Carbon Hub.

Thames Travel Managing Director, Phil Southall said: “Didcot is an exciting growth area in the county, and we are committed to ensuring we continue to play a key role in its success. We are proud to be a large and growing employer in the area, and to pay our colleagues above the Oxford Living Wage. Our depot move was an important strategic decision to ensure we are well placed to cater for the growth we are seeing both in Didcot itself, and across the surrounding employment hubs at Milton Park and Harwell Campus."

Thames Travel is the third largest bus operator in Oxfordshire. It serves South Oxfordshire and into Berkshire, carrying 2.5M passengers per year.