READING Borough Council has announced that a new bus service is set to link the south of the town with Green Park Station in the new year.
A new extended service will operate between Green Park and the town centre, via Whitley Wood, from January 2 next year.
The existing hourly Route 9 service will become the Buzz 9, following the current route into Whitley Wood before connecting to the station near the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
It currently sees services via the Royal Berkshire Hospital, through Shinfield Road, Cressingham Road, Northumberland Avenue, and Whitley Wood Lane, but will soon also serve Imperial Way, South Oak Way, Lime Square, and Longwater Avenue, as well as the station.
Weekday trips will begin from Engineers Court at 6.26am, with the last service leaving at 7.05pm, and return journeys will run from 6.52am until 7.37pm.
All normal fares will be valid, as well as existing Tap On Tap Off and fare capping schemes, and the route is included in all current ticket bundles and group schemes, much like the rest of the network.
It follows the launch of an hourly Route 650 bus on Sundays, which connect Green Park Village and the Mereoak Park & Ride.
Both schemes are part of a continued Bus Service Improvement Plan which will see £26m of investment in public transport throughout Reading.
Cllr John Ennis, lead councillor for climate strategy and transport, said: “The new buzz 9 service will connect south Reading residents with the new Green Park Station six days a week.
“The Council worked with Network Rail and Great Western Railway to open Reading’s new railway station in May 2023 and I am pleased we are able to offer improved connections to and from it with this new bus route.
“The buzz 9 service is part of the Council’s ongoing commitment to offer more convenient and sustainable ways for residents and visitors to travel around Reading.”
Robert Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Reading Buses, said: “The extension from Whitley Wood to Green Park will create direct links to a significant area of employment, and links from Green Park to the University area and Royal Berkshire Hospital that we hope will be attractive.”
Full details of the new Buzz 9 service, including timetables, are available via: reading-buses.co.uk
