Our Service

The Villager buses carry 300 passengers from 66 villages in the Cotswolds every week

We operate nineteen regular, scheduled timetabled bus routes In country areas, together with the Chippy Shuttle which provides a weekday hourly service around Chipping Norton from 9 to 5. Routes are decided in conjunction with the various County Councils whose responsibility it is to provide transport facilities for rural areas. We do not compete with commercial bus operators’ services but rather we complement them in terms of the routes and villages we serve. Our buses are generally smaller, to help penetrate some of the less accessible but still important (and by and large prettier) parts of the Cotswolds. Because our drivers and administrative staff are all volunteers, we can keep our costs and prices low.

The Villager is supported financially by Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire County Councils which enables us to ensure that our fleet of six buses is maintained, serviced and regularly tested professionally, and that we can invest in new replacement buses as needed. Buses carry full insurance for passengers and drivers. All our drivers take the MIDAS minibus proficiency course and are re-tested every four years to ensure that they, as well as the buses, are in the best possible condition to serve our passengers.

Our buses run Monday to Friday every week (excluding Bank Holidays, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day) on routes centred on Stow on the Wold, Chipping Norton, Moreton in Marsh, Burford, and Witney serving their outlying villages. Different routes run each day but each route is to a fixed schedule. Some stops are by request only and need a telephone call to make sure the driver is aware of the pick-up (see Contacts).

Payment for travel can be made either by cash or national bus pass. We are unable to accept payment by debit or credit cards.

Given the voluntary nature of our services, donations are always welcome as are new drivers who can commit to at least one morning or afternoon a fortnight (see Volunteer Drivers).