CIVIC leaders, pensioners and disabled bus users have added their backing to calls for Oxfordshire County Council to delay the start of work on plans to pedestrianise more of the city centre.

The groups have come forward to back a call for County Hall to postpone work on Transform Oxford by up to 18 months to allow time for the city’s two main bus operators to introduce a ‘Quality Bus Partnership’ and a joint ticketing system.

County Hall wants to begin the £985,000 first phase of the scheme by removing bus stops and resurfacing Queen Street on June 29.

Tony Joyce, chairman of Oxford Civic Society, said: “It certainly has been rather rushed.

“I think the council would be ill-advised to start before a bus partnership has been put in place.

“Twelve to 18 months might even be quite optimistic, but we should wait as long as we need to wait.

“It is still questionable whether changing the bus stops will function successfully until the number of buses have been reduced.

Last week, Oxford Bus Company backed Labour county councillor John Sanders’s proposal for a delay to the start of work.

The bus companies said co-ordinated timetables could reduce the number of buses in High Street by 25 per cent and want more time to implement it.

County Hall wants to reduce bus numbers in Queen Street by one third by removing seven bus stops, with two replacements being provided in Castle Street, two in New Road and one in High Street.

A month-long public consultation exercise finished on March 23, with more than 20 meetings held with concerned groups and individuals.

But Gwyn Huish, chairman of the Oxfordshire disabled passengers pressure group Transport For All, said: “I can’t believe there’s been time for consultation and listening to the views of people in this sort of timescale.

“Will the consultation responses make any difference to the timetable?”

His deputy Mike Moon, 61, added: “They haven’t had time to assess how these plans will affect people with mobility problems.”

Michael Hugh-Jones, 80, secretary of the Oxfordshire Pensioners’ Action Group, said: “It seems like an awful lot of money to spend which might be superceded by a Quality Bus Partnership.”

Ian Hudspeth, the county council’s cabinet member for transport, said: “The Oxford Bus Company has admitted that changing even just its ticketing system could take 18 months — doing so for both companies may be even more complicated.

“I am far from convinced they can bring about the changes quickly enough to justify putting off this year’s Queen Street scheme.

“The bus companies are suggesting a Quality Bus Partnership will allow only a 25 per cent overall reduction in bus numbers during the quieter times.

"If this is all they are hoping to achieve, it doesn't even automatically mean it’s possible to fully pedestrianise Queen Street.

“I think it lends even more weight to our argument that we need to do something in Queen Street now.

“The county council absolutely rejects the idea there has been a lack of consultation over plans for Transform Oxford.

“The council has invested a significant amount of time and finance to very carefully consult people about both the wider scheme and the Queen Street proposals.”