A CHRISTMAS gift has seen bus usage increase, according to official figures released last week.
Reading Buses offered free rides to people using the Newbury & District Jet Black routes on two Saturdays in December.
The scheme was funded by West Berkshire Council, and saw more than 1,500 people use the service on the first week, and more than 2,000 people on the second.
The bus company said that this was 10% better than in 2019, the last pre-covid Christmas.
Jake Osman, marketing and communications manager for the Great Knollys Street based firm, said that the initiative was a “great incentive” to get people on the buses, especially at a time when people had been avoiding public transport due to covid.
The scheme was devised to replace free car parking in the run-up to Christmas, and Reading Buses is delighted with its success. As long as the journey started within the West Berkshire boundary, the trip was free. So customers in Tilehurst could get into Reading on the house, but had to pay for the return journey.
“This was designed to ease congestion and promote more environmentally and sustainable ways to travel,” Mr Osman said.
“We hope that West Berkshire Council will give serious consideration to repeating the initiative in the run-up to Christmas 2022.”
Cllr Richard Somner, Executive Member for Planning, Transport and Countryside at West Berkshire Council, said: “We are glad to see this initiative partnered with Reading Buses was a great success for residents.
“We hope this has encouraged residents to continue to use public transport, especially as covid restrictions have now been lifted.
“The more people increase their use of public transport to visit our beautiful district, the better the result for our environment and resources. It’s a great way to reduce our own carbon footprint with a small change.”
