Close to 9,000 votes cast as Brand the Bus top 10 causes are revealed

Almost 9,000 public votes were cast to help determine the top 10 Oxfordshire good causes vying to have their branding emblazoned on a double-decker bus.

Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel can now reveal the top 10 charities and good causes who will be competing to win the ever-popular Brand the Bus contest, now in its eighth year.

After 8,822 votes were received during April, the 71 entrants have been whittled down to just 10, all hoping to win the first prize package worth £100,000. This year also saw a record number of entries from local charities.

Age UK Oxfordshire, Alzheimer’s Society, Cure DHDDS, FarmAbility, The Mulberry Bush, Opportunity International, Oxford City Farm, Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary, Sobell House Hospice, and SUDEP Action all reached the top 10, which will now be reviewed by a panel of experts to determine the winner.

With 4,418 votes shared between them, the top 10 made up just over 50 per cent of the entire vote.

Luke Marion, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, said: “We received a significant number of votes in April, with more than 2,500 votes coming in the final week alone.

“This demonstrates how Brand the Bus continues to be a hugely anticipated and respected competition with enormous reach.

“Congratulations to the brilliant causes that have made the top 10. Their cases were fantastic and have captured the imagination, and each one is a worthy winner in its own right.

“There can only be one main winner though, and the judging panel has a challenging call as they determine who will secure the first prize package worth £100,000.”

With the support of partners Get Radio and Oxford City Football Club, Brand the Bus 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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.