It was Gray Matter wot done it, if I may be so bold – and boastful – as to borrow and paraphrase the famous Sun headline recording John Major’s surprise defeat of Neil Kinnock in the 1992 General Election.

The achievements in question – yes, there are two of them – involve nothing anywhere near as momentous. Indeed, they may not be achievements of mine at all, yet claim the credit for them I certainly shall, at least in some measure.

Both successes, in truth – concerned as they are with changing the mind of council traffic engineers – probably owe much more to the tireless work of our city and county councillor Susanna Pressel. I feel confident, though, that she won’t object to my self-administered pat on the back.

Victory One comes in the matter of Osney’s out-of-action bus stops, which were suspended for no good reason that I could see – certainly in the case of one of them – in connection with SGN’s gas main repairs, which have brought traffic on the west side of the city to a grinding half for the past two months.

I first addressed the matter here in July, and returned to the subject last week when I wrote: “Through the cold and wet of the coming months – indeed, the cold and wet of the present week – Osney’s bus passengers, and the old people of Tumbling Bay Court on the other side of Botley Road, are faced with a trudge in one direction as far as the railway station and in the other all the way to Waitrose.

“But need they be? In attributing blame to the county council in this matter, I do so in part through its officers’ defence of the bus stop closures. They say that allowing buses to set down and pick up passengers would hold up traffic.

“I maintain this is a false argument. Heading west there is a dedicated bus lane at the stop which other traffic can easily pass. And in the early days of the work, when the stops were still open, I watched vehicles passing stationary buses in the other direction.

“But suppose I am wrong? Must authority be so uncompromising on this? Why not permit one service to call at the Osney stops, or perhaps – with no risk of obstruction – just at the one for westbound services with its dedicated bus lane. This would give locals a ‘shuttle’ to stops where they could pick up the bus they really wanted [retracing their steps for a journey into the city centre]. “

Well, the very day after the article appeared came news that the council officers had a change of heart. While the stop for services into the city centre would remain out of action, that for westbound buses was to be be reinstated, perhaps from this Tuesday, a deadline which, alas, has passed.

In an email to Osney Island residents announcing the decision, Susanna said: “As Chris Gray has pointed out, anyone who wants to go east and has a bus pass (and plenty of time) would be able to catch a bus to Waitrose and then cross the road to catch another.”

By then, I had already received notification of Victory Two. This concerned a long-term bee in the Gray Matter bonnet – the me-first motorists who queue-jump in Botley Road by pretending to use the Seacourt park and ride.

I first addressed this matter years ago, counting the cars in and out, in the manner of the BBC’s Robert Fox (with fighter planes) during the Falklands conflict.

I returned to the subject this March in an article that became an internet hit. The Oxford Mail conducted a poll that revealed 22 per cent of drivers admitted to the selfish wheeze, which county council traffic engineers revealed they were powerless to prevent.

I wrote: “The me, me, me morons who daily queue-jump by pretending to use the Seacourt park and ride car park will be delighted to know they have nothing to fear from the highways authority.

“There were hopes that the queue-jumping would be curbed after the matter was raised with officers by Susanna Pressel. She has just received a reply, which she calls ‘disappointing’. And so it is.”

Paul Fermer, assistant director of highways and transport operations,said: “Any enforcement would need clear evidence that motorists drove along the P&R lane and then exited without stopping to either park or drop someone off to use the P&R bus service. This would require a number of CCTV cameras at different locations and an officer to physically view vehicles in real time to prove that they didn’t use the car park or drop off a passenger.”

But last week Mr Fermer was back in touch with Susanna. He told her “We discussed enforcement of the Seacourt P&R access a while ago and at the time I said this was difficult/not possible to enforce.

“Looking at this again and working with our enforcement contractors we have identified how this can now be achieved and will be advertising an associated Traffic Regulation Order. If the order gets approved and progress with the equipment goes as planned then we should have something in operation in the new year.”

So the me-me-me morons will at last be curbed. I feel very proud.