S2 (Oxford - Carterton)

Route S2 is a bus route in England that links Carterton, Brize Norton, Witney, Eynsham and Oxford. The service is run by Stagecoach in Oxfordshire.

History
Similar to its sister route S1, route S2 was numbered route 200 until 2009 when Stagecoach in Oxfordshire launched the 'S' Series. Later on that year, Stagecoach upgraded route S2 to Stagecoach Gold.

The inauguration of Stagecoach Gold was originally unique to route S2 in order for Stagecoach to see whether passengers honored the upgrade. Stagecoach then consulted passengers at the end of 2009 and, following the succession of the upgrade to Gold, further Gold specification vehicles were arranged to upgrade route S1. Route S2 was the first route in Oxfordshire to be upgraded to Stagecoach Gold.

There has been several route changes to route S2 in the past with the current route being adopted in 2014. Prior to July 2014, route S2 used to serve the village of Minster Lovell however, with route S2 being the more direct route from Carterton to Oxford, Stagecoach re-routed the route by adopting the use of the A40 between Carterton and Witney as opposed to the previous route which approached Witney via Burford Road and Tower Hill. Minster Lovell is now surved by Route 233.

Route
The current S2 route runs between Carterton, Witney and Oxford. In Carterton, route S2 operates around the outer main road (Upavon Way) before joining Alvescot Road towards the Crossroads. Some journeys start in the nearby village of Brize Norton before entering Carterton and joining the main route. Services leave Carterton via Monahan Way heading towards the A40.

The route enters Witney via Ducklington Lane, heading towards Witney Market Square via Corn Street. Services then rejoin the A40 via the High Street and B4022. Route S2 does not serve Eynsham village, however it does pass the village whilst on the A40.

The route also passes, but does not go through, the village of Cassington before entering Oxford.

Route S2 enters Oxford via Woodstock Road before reaching its terminus at Gloucester Green Bus Station. Some services start and terminate at Magdalen Street in the city centre.

The approximate off-peak journey time is 60 minutes.

Service
Route S2 operates Monday to Saturday with services up to every 30 minutes both peak and off-peak. There is no late evening service or Sunday service. Some dawn and dusk peak services do not serve Witney, acting as a direct service between Carterton and Oxford.

Route S2 used to have a night service (NS2) which transported in one direction between Carterton and Oxford without serving Witney. NS2 was sadly scrapped in 2016 favouring more NS1 services.