Voting opens as more than 70 good causes vie to win Brand the Bus 2026

More than 70 local good causes and charities in Oxfordshire are competing to win a prize package worth £100,000 as voting opens for the 2026 Brand the Bus competition.

The popular contest run by Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel is in its eighth annual edition and has moved to the voting stage.

A total of 71 nominations were received online, and now the public has the chance to vote for their organisation of choice before the voting deadline on Thursday 30th April.

Once the voting period comes to a close, the top 10 charities and good causes will be reviewed by a panel of experts, and a winner will be selected.

Luke Marion, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, said: “We’re really pleased to have received nominations from a wide range of fantastic causes across Oxfordshire.

“The sheer number of entrants and interest in Brand the Bus this year demonstrates the scope of the competition and the positive impact it can have on local organisations.

“Brand the Bus continues to build and grow year-on-year, and we’re incredibly proud of what it continues to achieve.

“We’re now onto the voting phase of this year’s competition, with the public having until the end of April to select who they think should be the winner.

“If you have a favourite, now is the time to have your say and give that local good cause or charity the best possible chance of making the top 10 and the judging panel.”

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/brand-the-bus-2026