BUSES should run in Littlemore over the festive period to reduce drink-driving and loneliness among the elderly, a parish councillor has claimed.

Stagecoach’s number one service to Blackbird Leys and the X13 service from Abingdon to the John Radcliffe Hospital, operated by Oxford Bus Company, are the only buses that run in Oxford on Christmas Day.

But Littlemore parish councillor and public transport representative Dorian Hancock said Littlemore residents deserved the same service as those in Blackbird Leys.

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He said: “It is an issue of public safety as much as anything else.

“If people go to visit a friend, grandfather, aunt or whatever they will have a drink.

“If they know they have a bus they know they do not have to get their car out.”

He added: “People are told they cannot drink and drive but then at Christmas there are no buses.

“If you are expecting the public to have a conscience then so should the bus companies.

“Why should the people of Littlemore be considered any less important than people in Blackbird Leys?”

Mr Hancock also said the lack of a bus service meant older people could be cut off on Christmas Day.

He said: “It is a question of loneliness.

“Older people like to visit family but also friends who are only a bus ride away and even if it is just from one end of Littlemore to the other it is too far for a lot of OAPs.

“It affects young people too but it is victimising the elderly.

“We have a Christmas lunch for old people on Christmas Day at John Henry Newman Academy but they cannot even catch a bus to get there.”

Bodley Road resident Hilda Beesley said a number 16 bus should operate on Christmas Day on a reduced timetable.

She said: “A lot of people go to church in Littlemore on Christmas Day and they would need a bus.

“It is alright for people who can walk but not for those who cannot.

“I should think it would stop drink driving as well.”

Stagecoach spokeswoman Karen Coventry said: “There are very few bus routes running anywhere in the UK on Christmas Day and only on the busiest routes is there sufficient demand for such services.

“We have been operating route 16 to Littlemore since 2006 and since then have not seen sufficient demand to cover the costs of running a service on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.”

She added: “We continually monitor the use of our services and take all factors into consideration when planning for the festive season.”

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