County councillors are being urged to end wasteful competition between bus firms after a big increase in fares.

Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach are increasing fares to finance pay rises of eight and nine per cent to try to stop staff taking higher-paid jobs with BMW at Cowley.

Peter Headicar, a reader in transport planning at Oxford Brookes University, said putting up fares to fund pay increases highlighted the "absurdities of the bus operations in the city".

He called on the council to seize the intiative by imposing a system of contracts to improve efficiency.

He said: "It would be better to provide a better service to passengers with fewer drivers overall and lower fares if each route were operated in an integrated fashion."

Dick Helling, county council public transport officer, said: "We are far from convinced that competition is the cause of the increased fares.

"Fares in Oxfordshire are not particularly high compared with other parts of the country."