booming economy, revolution in payments technology and quest for zero emissions are all helping drive Oxford Bus Company to innovate and experiment. ALAN MILLAR meets the man charged with making all the pieces fit together and influence public policy

Oxford Bus Company 690 (SK17 HHV), a Wright StreetDeck in orange livery for routes 8 and 9 on the Headington corridor, in the High Street, with a yellow City 3 StreetDeck in the background en route for Rose Hill via Iffley Road. MATT BULLOCK

Phil Southall, Oxford Bus Company managing director.

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 971 (BU18 YRN) operating a PickMeUp journey past Magdalen College. RICHARD GODFREY
Changes are happening all around at the Oxford Bus Company, within the city itself, across the wider parts of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire that it and its associated companies serve, on its longer distance coach routes and in its recently acquired open-top sightseeing business.