By Cllr Jason Brock
One of the things visitors to Reading notice is the array of colourful buses travelling around the town – and the number of them.
We are very proud of our Council-owned bus company, Reading Buses, and I am delighted that we have been able to invest so much in our bus services recently.
We have also been working with other bus operators to make taking public transport even easier and cheaper for people to use.
It is a year since the Reading All-Bus day ticket was introduced, allowing passengers to travel all day on all bus operators in Reading for as little as £3.40. More than 1.4 million tickets had been sold up to mid-December, saving Reading residents more than £1.9m in fares.
Another joint initiative with other bus operators was the launch of ‘Tap On, Tap Off’, which is a really easy way of paying for your bus journey. The days of worrying about whether you have the right change in your pocket are gone. You do not even have to work out which ticket you need. Just tap your bank card, or mobile, as you board the bus and again when you leave, and you will be charged at the cheapest on-the-day adult ticket price for the journey or journeys you make.
The £26m government funding secured by the Council for its Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) has also allowed us to pay for the introduction of new bus services.
In December we started the new 650 service on Sundays and Bank Holidays from Mereoak Park & Ride via Green Park to central Reading. This is great news for football fans wanting to watch the Royals women team matches at home.
The new Buzz 9 route started in January, which provides an hourly service between Whitley and Green Park Station six days per week, making it easier for residents to access the railway network and, for example, employment opportunities in Basingstoke. It has also provided a popular connection from Whitley to the RBH throughout the day.
We also worked with the RBH to provide the new Hospital P&R 300 service which runs from Mereoak via Christchurch Green (for the University) to the RBH and Thames Valley P&R. This has been well-received by patients and visitors alike, who now do not have to worry about finding a parking space at the hospital, and it is also starting to be used by Reading School students.
In April, the existing Buzz 42 between Kenavon Drive, central Reading, and Rivermead Leisure Centre will be replaced with the new, extended Buzz 18. This will now also serve Portman Road, Norcot, and Kentwood before continuing up Kentwood Hill to Tilehurst Triangle.
The service will provide connections to the new River Academy when it opens in September.
A key part of ensuring our bus services run as smoothly as possible is allowing them to travel around unhindered by peak time traffic congestion. Money from the government BSIP grant is allowing us to create six new bus lanes around the town to help reliability and potentially allow more regular services as demand grows.
Work will also soon be starting on the next phase of the South Reading scheme on the A33 Relief Road. The ongoing project has already helped the Mereoak P&R services become one of the most reliable in the area and has seen average passenger numbers increase by 62% – which means a lot fewer cars on Reading’s roads.
On top of all that, Reading Buses has one of the most modern and environmentally friendly fleets in the country. So, if you haven’t used a bus lately, why not give it a try next time you want to travel around Reading?
Cllr Jason Brock is the leader of Reading Borough Council and ward member for Southcote
