A £13m upgrade in the Oxford Tube coach service from Oxford to London has been put on hold following the coronavirus pandemic.

In March, Stagecooach in Oxfordshire announced plans to replace and expand its Oxford Tube fleet with new coaches this summer but lockdown meant passenger numbers declined.

It would have been the biggest-ever investment for the company, with 34 brand new coaches.

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Chris Coleman, Stagecoach in Oxfordshire managing director, said: “We have had to review our planned investment and that means we are deferring the Oxford Tube fleet investment for the time being.

“We’ll continue to monitor the situation and will keep you updated with any developments.”

The announcement in March followed the upgrade of the service in February, including a new route to London via Baker Street, after Oxford Bus Company axed the rival X90 service.

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Stagecoach has not given any more details about when the upgrade could go ahead.

As lockdown eases the bus company is boosting a number of key services.

This includes more buses on the Banbury town network, increased connections to the John Radcliffe Hospital from Carterton and Witney, and the S2 from Carterton to Oxford reinstated with a revised timetable.

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There are measures in place to provide clean and safe bus services for passengers.

For updated timetables and key information visit stagecoach.com/coronavirus.