Double decker buses are headed to Oxford

Published 12:00 pm Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Two new double decker buses are traveling this week to their new home in Oxford.

The city’s parking director, Matt Davis, and city shop director Bo Ragon are driving the buses home from Arizona, where they were purchased back in October.

Visit Oxford is promoting the weeklong trek of Double Deckers Do America on its Facebook page for residents to watch and enjoy.

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Kinney Ferris, assistant director of Visit Oxford, said the current city double decker buses were worn out and new ones were needed.

“The city found these and they are on their way across the desert,” she said. “They can only travel 35 to 40 miles per hour so it is quite a long trip. They are sending us photos and keeping us posted on where they are.”

Ferris said the whole community enjoys the buses, whether it is during the annual springtime Double Decker Festival or for weddings or group tours.

“Anytime a group is coming into town for a conference or association meetings, we get them a tour guide,” Ferris said. “It’s a good way to see Oxford.”

The former double decker buses are retired streetcars from England and have fulfilled a more than 50-year lifespan. The buses traveled the streets of England for 30 years before heading to Mississippi.

“These new ones will give us more reliability,” Ferris said about the 1983 and 1986 buses. “It will be a lot more user-friendly and flexible for us to rent them and the whole city to use them.”

Ragon said early this morning they were just east of El Paso, Texas. He said he expects the two of them to arrive back in town with the buses late Friday night or early Saturday morning. He will send Visit Oxford photos during the trip to keep residents posted on their progress.