It was their job to keep Oxford buses running on the roads, but they still made time to support worthy causes.

Staff at City of Oxford Motor Services, now Oxford Bus Company, raised more than £3,000 in 1985.

They are pictured at their Cowley Road base in January 1986 with a computer they bought for the Mabel Prichard School for handicapped children in Littlemore.

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That wasn’t the end of their generosity - the cheques held by appeals committee members Mary Pickering and George Barnett were on their way to help other Oxford children.

The staff had earmarked £2,050 to help pay for a monitor for the John Radcliffe Hospital’s special care baby unit and £500 to finance holidays for youngsters at the Park Hospital in Headington.

The cash was raised by raffles and charity auctions and by a team competing in a London to Brighton cycle race.

The Oxford Mail heralded their success with the headline - ‘They’re just the ticket!’

The bus company’s engineers got another unexpected pat on the back at that time after coming fifth in a contest to find the best fundraisers in Britain.

They scooped a £250 cash prize and decided to put that into their charity fund too.

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Oxford Bus Company, now based in Watlington Road, Cowley, still plays an important role in public transport in Oxfordshire, with electric vehicles being seen increasingly on our roads.

The last buses left the Cowley Road garage in September 2004, when the company moved from the site it had occupied for 80 years to the new depot.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

You can also read his weekly Traffic and Transport newsletter.