JERICHO ECHO ARTICLE
December 1983
Jericho Jogger, as he's known by his friends with CB radio, starts his day by getting GeneM5), Vivian(ll) and Zoe (5) off to school before starting work at 7.20. Just under twelve hours, 200 -300 passengers and one hundred miles later he collects the children from his mother's house and returns home for an evening of cooking, cleaning and washing before putting the children to bed. And in case he has any energy left over at the end of the day, he is also a retained fireman!
If you haven't already guessed who Jericho Jogger is, he's Norman Morris, Minibus driver on route 525. Norman, alias Jim or Jogger, took on the job because, being divorced and with custody of his three children, he needs the regularity of the working hours. Norman has been with South Midland for five years. Before then he had a variety of driving jobs including being a milkman and a long distance lorry driver. Apart from the convenience of the working hours Norman enjoys having the opportunity to really get to know the passengers which drivers don't have on other routes.
The passengers seem to like Norman too: have a look at Norman's South Midland badge - positively a museum piece and a gift from a grateful passenger. The colours, by the way, of both the badge and the bus are the original South Midland colours, used before the amalgamation of the two bus companies to form Oxford-South Midland. Apparently quite a few bus-nuts have travelled on the Mini-bus: enthusiasts whose hobby it is to travel on all Britian's bus routes!
Norman will be on holiday on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day so there will be no Mini-bus service on these days. As we won't be seeing Norman on Christmas Day, he wishes all his passengers and friends a very happy Christmas. Many thanks to Peter Morris,manager of the Chipping Norton South Midland depot and, incidentally Norman's uncle for arranging for the Echo to interview Norman, and to Norman for agreeing to be interviewed! Mr Morris says that they too are delighted with the success of the service, and are determined to continue it after the end of the trial period, with or without Oxford City Council's financial support. South Midland have no immediate plans to change the service, the only alteration so far being that the Mini-bus now stops outside the South Midland office in Gloucester Green, not in Bay D.