Last chance to vote after more than 6,000 choose their Brand the Bus winner

More than 6,200 votes have already been cast as good causes in Oxfordshire compete to have their branding emblazoned on a double-decker bus.

There is just under a week to go for voters to select their favourite in this year’s Brand the Bus competition, run by Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel.

The popular contest is in its eighth annual edition, with more than 6,200 votes cast across the 71 entrants vying to win the first prize package worth £100,000.

The public has until the deadline on Thursday 30th April to make their vote count, with the top 10 charities and good causes then to be reviewed by a panel of experts next month and a winner selected.

Luke Marion, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, said: “Brand the Bus continues to be a much-loved competition for those taking part and the wider public.

“We’ve received a significant number of votes throughout April and there has been no sign of that slowing down.

“As we go into the final week of voting, it’s important to highlight that each and every vote could make a difference.

“There is a wide range of brilliant causes from Oxfordshire who are battling for one of the top 10 spots, so voting is the best thing you can do to support your favourite and give them the best possible chance of reaching the judging panel.

“Brand the Bus has a hugely positive impact for the winners and we’re so proud of what the competition continues to achieve.”

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 and Oxford Hospitals Charity.

For more information, please visit: oxfordbus.co.uk/vote-now