READING Buses has announced major timetable changes to two of its routes to accommodate rising demand, which will come into force from April 17.
Leopard 3 and Greenwave 50 service users are set to benefit. There will also be minor changes to Jet Black 1 and route 9 during the day and Lion X4 and Little Orange 19b for evening journeys.
The revised schedule will see higher peak-time frequencies of Leopard 3 buses and better spacing to help reduce crowding.
Additional evening journeys between Reading and the Royal Berkshire Hospital will replace evening journeys on Little Oranges 19b, with route 9 getting adjusted to complement the busiest Leopard journeys.
There will also be Greenwave 50 services to Green Park every 10 minutes during peak times from Monday-Friday, as well as a “more reliable” timetable on Saturdays.
Reading Buses clarified that the reviews of bus funding and service levels being publicised by Wokingham Borough Council do not affect the Leopard 3 service.
Since September 2022, only a small number of evening and Sunday journeys between Shinfield and Arborfield have been funded by the council.
The rest of the service is part of a self-sustaining part of the Reading Buses network that the operator says it is committed to developing in line with demand.
The Jet Black 1 timetable has been reworked to provide better reliability and timekeeping, and continues with the same 30 minute daytime frequency between Reading and Newbury.
Journeys towards Reading will have an additional stop at Southdown Road, Newbury, after departing West Berkshire Community Hospital.
The 11.50pm Lion X4 service from Monday-Saturday from Bracknell, which was introduced in January 2023, will no longer run.
The last bus from Bracknell will revert to the 11pm Lion 4.
The new timetables will be available to view online and on the Reading Buses app shortly.
