A PARK & RIDE facility is being moved to allow construction works to take place.
Buses that would stop at Winnersh Triangle will make a switch to the Thames Valley Park facility to ensure there is enough capacity in the run to Christmas.
The change takes place from Saturday, November 27, and Reading Buses will use a new temporary service, numbered 400, for the works.
The company says it hopes to continue the service until construction work on a new two-deck car park is completed.
“After conversations with Wokingham Borough Council, we are delighted to announce some good news for park & ride customers,” said Reading Buses chief executive officer Robert Williams.
“The temporary Thames Valley park & ride will begin on Monday, November 27, which will allow us to maintain a park & ride in East Reading and help commuters and Christmas shoppers get around without adding extra cars to the roads.”
He added: “The car park is at the end of the A329 just before Thames Valley Park.
“The existing southern Reading Mereoak park & ride may also be convenient, depending on where you are travelling from.
“New Thames Valley park and ride service 400 buses will run every 15 minutes with first and last buses at the same times as at Winnersh Triangle to try and keep things as simple as possible.”
Fares remain the same and customers can continue to use existing tickets and passes.
He added that Reading Buses had ‘reluctantly decided to suspend the park and ride 500 service after Monday, as the temporarily reduced car park was regularly over capacity meaning bus users were finding it difficult to find a space, which led to reduced usage.
He also pointed out that this meant there would be no space to accommodate the usual Christmas rush – the busiest time of year for the service.
“Regulars who use the Winnersh Triangle park and ride service to commute from town to the Winnersh Triangle business park will temporarily need to use Reading Buses lion 4/X4 to the Cavendish Gardens stop and walk underneath the railway to reach their work,” he said.
Robert assured: “Season tickets that have already been bought for Winnersh Triangle park & ride will be valid on the lion 4/X4 and the ‘new’ Thames Valley park & ride services.
“We apologise for the inconvenience that this may cause, but are pleased that we have been able to agree to keep people connected during these essential expansion works.
“Once complete, there will be significantly more capacity for park and ride users, both at the car park and on the recently upgraded buses.
“We thank Wokingham Borough Council for their support to help maintain this important park & ride link.”
The Thames Valley Park & Ride facility has remained closed since it was constructed, and this is the first time it has been pressed into use. There is no guarantee it will be used on completion of the Winnersh Triangle works.
Mr Williams said: “The future of the Thames Valley park & ride will be assessed once Winnersh Triangle re-opens. We will have conversations with Wokingham Borough Council to see how effective the service was and whether there is any scope to maintain it.”
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways and transport for Wokingham Borough Council, said: “Due to ongoing works at our Winnersh Triangle park & ride site, limiting the amount of visitors’ parking, we are glad to be able to offer this alternative from the new Thames Valley park & ride.
“Sustainable travel is very important and we are pleased Reading Buses have been able to offer this temporary service which will allow our residents to be able to continue to travel easily in an environmentally responsible way.”
