Brand the Bus returns with £100,000 prize package for local charities to claim

Local good causes and charities in Oxfordshire are being invited to enter a popular competition offering a bumper prize package worth £100,000.

Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel have confirmed details of this year’s eagerly anticipated Brand the Bus competition, with nominations opening from Monday 2nd March ahead of a public voting period in April.

The competition enables a local good cause to be splashed across the city via branding on an electric double-decker bus and receive widespread digital advertising.

Last year saw children’s mental health charity One-Eighty chosen as the winner, while Helen & Douglas House, the world’s first children’s hospice, became the competition’s first ever runner-up. Sobell House, which provides specialist palliative and end of life care to adults with a life-limiting illness, received a second runner-up prize.

With the support of partners Get Radio and Oxford City Football Club, the competition will again deliver a £100,000 prize package for the winner.

This includes a year-long full-wrap advertisement on an electric double-decker bus, free advertising on board Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel vehicles, radio advertising on Get Radio, and being named Oxford City’s charity of choice for the 2026/27 season.

Luke Marion, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, said: “We care deeply about the communities we serve, and believe strongly in giving back and supporting worthy causes.

“Brand the Bus helps elevate causes and charities, amplifying and reinforcing their message across the county.

“We’re proud to be running Brand the Bus in Oxfordshire for the eighth consecutive year, which has got stronger year-on-year. It is a partnership-based campaign centred on shared community values, and we’re pleased Get Radio and Oxford City Football Club have committed to another year. 

“We’re looking forward to seeing which good causes enter and would like to remind people that the more votes a charity receives, the better chance it will make the top 10 and reach the judging panel.”

Previous winners of the Brand the Bus competition include Girlguiding Oxfordshire, Home-Start Oxfordshire, Blue Skye Thinking, Restore, SeeSaw, Oxford Hospitals Charity and One-Eighty.

Susie Besant, Chief Executive and co-founder of One-Eighty, said: “Winning Brand the Bus has been a fantastic opportunity for One-Eighty. 

“Seeing our bus travel across Oxford, carrying our message of turning young lives around, has been both powerful and inspiring for our team.

“The campaign is raising awareness of the 16,654 local young people who are slipping through the net for vital support and has given us a platform to share how One-Eighty can support them.

“The support from Oxford Bus Company, Get Radio and Oxford City has been great and we are looking forward to continuing our partnership so that together we can continue to impact more young lives who need our support. We would wholeheartedly encourage other charities to enter this unique and impactful competition.”

In addition to the winning prize package, there will be a runner-up package worth £5,000, which includes on-bus digital advertising.

Prizes will be awarded to entries who have, in the panel’s opinion, fulfilled the brief to the highest standard. The winning organisation will be invited to work with Oxford Bus Company on the design, with the branded bus expected to launch in the autumn of 2026.

For more information, please visit: oxfordbus.co.uk/brand-the-bus-2026