Reading Buses and Thames Valley

[Mgameing123]

TfL had got on-bus cash payments down to 0.7% of journeys before they removed the option.

At 2014 prices this saved them £24 million a year.

TFL does still provide the option to buy a Travelcard though with cash.

 

[Goldfish62]

TFL does still provide the option to buy a Travelcard though with cash.

But not on buses.

 

[Thames99]

Has driver training on the new electric buses started yet? The first three, at least, have been at the depot for some weeks now.

 

[Mwanesh]

Is there any possibility of Tadley and the village of Aldermaston regaining a regular direct connection to Reading and Newbury again?

For a town of 11k people Tadley is poorly connected, with only 1 regular bus route to Basingstoke, a few morning and evening 2a departures to Reading and an irregular DRT style bus to Thatcham with no railway station. Newbury & District once did provide a regular bus service to Tadley, Aldermaston and Reading from Newbury (before the Reading Buses takeover), with West Berks Council funding I believe, until a few years ago when the CCB DRT partially replaced it.

I think a route between Newbury, Baughurst, Tadley, Aldermaston and Reading along the A334 (or Brimpton) and the A4 with hourly frequency is possible with funding from the council, and would give people commuting to the AWE from Newbury more options, as well as giving the people of Aldermaston frequent buses to more shopping outlets in Reading and Calcot, and benefitting Tadley by providing another regular transport link to two major towns, however the council's rejection towards tendered bus routes makes this unlikely.

This could either be operated by Stagecoach, N&D or Reading, but Reading seems most likely, branded as Jetblack or another variant of it (the number 1a, like Lion's 4a in my opinion is fitting) using the typical secondhand stagecoach e300s or new full size single decks...

There is no market .People find it easier to get to Basingstoke and catch the train which takes only 30 minutes.Stagecoach once proposed to try the Tadley ,Bramley and Shefield on Loddon route then express to Reading via the A33 .The figures and passengers numbers did not add up

 

[cactustwirly]

There is no market .People find it easier to get to Basingstoke and catch the train which takes only 30 minutes.Stagecoach once proposed to try the Tadley ,Bramley and Shefield on Loddon route then express to Reading via the A33 .The figures and passengers numbers did add up

There is a lot of car demand in the mornings and evenings

 

[JonathanH]

There is a lot of car demand in the mornings and evenings

It has always seemed a bit odd that bus services from Reading to Mortimer and from Basingstoke to Tadley / Baughurst seem to support a frequent service but a four mile gap is insurmountable in between, but the extension from Mortimer to Tadley doesn't seem to pay.

 

[Dwarfer1979]

It has always seemed a bit odd that bus services from Reading to Mortimer and from Basingstoke to Tadley / Baughurst seem to support a frequent service but a four mile gap is insurmountable in between, but the extension from Mortimer to Tadley doesn't seem to pay.

It is always the case that places look to specific 'big towns' which means that what looks like a logical link just has no demand (I grew up almost equidistant from Reading, Basingstoke & Guildford but my family always went to Guildford for all big retail/leisure visits - we never visited Reading except as a bus enthusiast & only visited Basingstoke once when the new multiplex cinema opened - and that was pretty common amongst friends and neighbours). Possibly if both ends were operated by the same operator working through could have been supported & built even where demand was minimal initially, but even that tends to require overlapping flows rather than this sort of sections seperated by some distance, but Basingstoke & Reading have always been different operators so that flow has never been able to establish itself. I think it was tried at times but never the flows never merged such to support continued such operation.

 

[Fletcj10]

Has driver training on the new electric buses started yet? The first three, at least, have been at the depot for some weeks now.

Don't quote me, but i'm lead to believe there still waiting approval to be connected to the grid & that alot of the buses seam to still be with ADL, i think they wanted a launch in September but i doubt that.... i mean 710 has gone to Bus & Coach World for a refurb & repaint so maybe its changed and there doing in depot training as we speak.

 

[Mgameing123]

It has always seemed a bit odd that bus services from Reading to Mortimer and from Basingstoke to Tadley / Baughurst seem to support a frequent service but a four mile gap is insurmountable in between, but the extension from Mortimer to Tadley doesn't seem to pay.

It’s just the problem in general when you start running buses for profit, not service. In comparison my local route now (I live in Denmark now) has that gap somewhere on the northern section of the route where you have barely any passengers except maybe at peak times. But it still runs or else a lot of towns would be disconnected.

We need to use the same strategy in the UK bus market which would only happen if we go away from privatisation.

 

[Cesarcollie]

It’s just the problem in general when you start running buses for profit, not service. In comparison my local route now (I live in Denmark now) has that gap somewhere on the northern section of the route where you have barely any passengers except maybe at peak times. But it still runs or else a lot of towns would be disconnected.

We need to use the same strategy in the UK bus market which would only happen if we go away from privatisation.

No it will only happen if government (society) decides that public transport is worth spending a lot more taxes on. Relative to all the other demands -NHS, social care, education - that seems unlikely. Privatisation or otherwise is almost an irrelevance in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Jimini]

Major upgrades to Reading Buses routes and frequency

Reading Buses announces major route changes from 1 September 2025, including more frequent services, new connections, and improved reliability…

www.readingchronicle.co.uk

Reading Buses will introduce the upgrades from Monday, September 1, as part of a network-wide overhaul designed to boost reliability and meet passenger demand.

The changes include increased service levels, greater resource investment and timetable adjustments across multiple routes.

Robert Williams, chief executive officer of Reading Buses, said: "We are really excited by these changes for September.
"We have invested a lot of resource in improving routes across our network.

"Caversham will see a better service with new connections and improved routes, which we hope will entice more residents onto their local bus services.
Routes through Emmer Green will also be adjusted following customer requests, with berry 23 and 24 returning to Courtenay Drive and Kidmore End Road, and pink 25 and 25a running directly along Peppard Road.

The ‘little berries’ 27 will be renumbered 29a, with evening journeys now following the 29 route in both directions for improved reliability.
"We are also continuing our special £1.50 short-hop fare between Caversham Centre and Central Reading, meaning people can benefit from these enhancements without breaking the bank.
"It’s not just Caversham that is benefiting though.

"The new route for ruby 10 means residents can access the hospital directly and we have used a combination of driver and customer feedback, computer modelling and desktop research to ensure that all our enhancements will really offer customers a more reliable and robust service, wherever they live."

Among the most significant changes are those in Caversham, where the berry 23 and 24 services will switch to using Caversham Bridge in both directions rather than Reading Bridge.

This will provide a combined frequency of up to every 15 minutes between Caversham Centre and Central Reading. Beyond Caversham, the ruby 10 will be extended to serve Kennet Island and will link Basingstoke Road, Reading University and both Royal Berkshire and Circle Reading hospitals.
Buzz 18 will see increased frequency to Portman Road and Tilehurst, with buses running every 30 minutes.

Other improvements include more Sunday buses on bronze 11, an extra late-night service on orange 13 as part of the Wokingham Bus Service Improvement Plan, and increased peak-time frequency on purple 17.

Further timetable adjustments will be made to emerald 5, sky blue 15 and 16, white knight 20, claret 21, and the Winnersh Triangle park and ride 500.

Reading Buses said the changes are part of ongoing efforts to improve journey times and connectivity across the network.

Still no 19 a/b/c on Sundays round these parts (not going to happen any time soon to be fair!), but quite a few changes elsewhere in the town. Few folks I know not overly impressed at the Reading bridge > Caversham bridge changes.

 

[Mollman]

Major upgrades to Reading Buses routes and frequency

Reading Buses announces major route changes from 1 September 2025, including more frequent services, new connections, and improved reliability…

www.readingchronicle.co.uk

Still no 19 a/b/c on Sundays round these parts (not going to happen any time soon to be fair!), but quite a few changes elsewhere in the town. Few folks I know not overly impressed at the Reading bridge > Caversham bridge changes.

I am surprised that the 10 wasn't extended to Green Park but would probably need an extra vehicle to do that.

 

[AlastairFraser]

Major upgrades to Reading Buses routes and frequency

Reading Buses announces major route changes from 1 September 2025, including more frequent services, new connections, and improved reliability…

www.readingchronicle.co.uk

Still no 19 a/b/c on Sundays round these parts (not going to happen any time soon to be fair!), but quite a few changes elsewhere in the town. Few folks I know not overly impressed at the Reading bridge > Caversham bridge changes.

It does make more sense in the long term - access to the shops/services in Caversham is important, and most of those with a need for a quick route into central Reading still have the 25/29.
Some greater awareness of the hopper fare might be useful to let people know that they can change over at Washington Road/Elizabeth House off the 23/24 onto a 25/29 without a cost penalty

 

[Thames99]

I assume that any possibility of 19s running on Sundays is at the mercy of Wokingham who subsidise the routes.

Driver training on the new electric buses is under way. I noticed that no 1 was out Friday before last and presumably other days as well. It was also on display in Broad Street a couple of Saturdays ago, so hopefully they will be coming into service soon.

 

[Jimini]

I assume that any possibility of 19s running on Sundays is at the mercy of Wokingham who subsidise the routes.

That's my understanding too (I think @AlastairFraser may have confirmed this in a previous post somewhere?).

 

[AlastairFraser]

I assume that any possibility of 19s running on Sundays is at the mercy of Wokingham who subsidise the routes.

That's my understanding too (I think @AlastairFraser may have confirmed this in a previous post somewhere?).

Yes.
Of course, there are discussions for Berkshire devolution that may result in a Greater Reading council (essential everything from the M4 to Emmer Green and Woodley Airfield/Winnersh to Purley/Calcot Savacentre), in which case that council would be responsible for subsidy.
But so much of the 19 route serves low-density areas where the main targets (e.g. Reading Uni, Royal Berks Hospital, Woodley/Lower Earley shops) have better bus services directly serving them or close by (the Earley Gate end of the uni is quite close to Cemetery Junction), so subsidy is needed to supplement passenger income off peak

 

[Jimini]

Yes.
Of course, there are discussions for Berkshire devolution that may result in a Greater Reading council (essential everything from the M4 to Emmer Green and Woodley Airfield/Winnersh to Purley/Calcot Savacentre), in which case that council would be responsible for subsidy.
But so much of the 19 route serves low-density areas where the main targets (e.g. Reading Uni, Royal Berks Hospital, Woodley/Lower Earley shops) have better bus services directly serving them or close by (the Earley Gate end of the uni is quite close to Cemetery Junction), so subsidy is needed to supplement passenger income off peak

Thanks for confirming chap.

 

[AlastairFraser]

Thanks for confirming chap.

No worries

 

[Andyh82]

Have Reading Buses phased out printed timetables, or are they just running very late after the 31st August changes? I notice there were only a very limited selection available in the shop today

Also I visited Maidenhead briefly today and see they’ve got a brand new fleet of E200MMCs in use. Despite being in the purple ‘Maidenhead’ colour the branding actually says something like ‘connections across Maidenhead and Windsor’ probably as a lot of services interwork.

BusTimes reckons Solo 126 has been withdrawn. It hasn’t, it was on the 227 today.

I’m surprised there are still a couple of buses in ‘Courtney’ livery kicking about

 

[Goldfish62]

Have Reading Buses phased out printed timetables, or are they just running very late after the 31st August changes? I notice there were only a very limited selection available in the shop today

Also I visited Maidenhead briefly today and see they’ve got a brand new fleet of E200MMCs in use. Despite being in the purple ‘Maidenhead’ colour the branding actually says something like ‘connections across Maidenhead and Windsor’ probably as a lot of services interwork.

BusTimes reckons Solo 126 has been withdrawn. It hasn’t, it was on the 227 today.

I’m surprised there are still a couple of buses in ‘Courtney’ livery kicking about

Purple is the colour of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, not just Maidenhead.

 

[johnsy112]

Purple is the colour of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, not just Maidenhead.

Correct, hence the “borough bus” branding.

 

[Andyh82]

To clarify, I was meaning that BusTimes thinks the purple is just for Maidenhead. Windsor along with Slough was green in the Thames Valley Buses world. The new buses are branded for Windsor and Maidenhead.

 

[Goldfish62]

The new buses are branded for Windsor and Maidenhead.

Yes, they're for their new contracts. Carousel are also using purple, albeit in a different layout.

 

[Andyh82]

Robert Williams monthly update on Buszone has details of the registrations and fleet numbers of the new electric buses.

The new AD Enviro400EVs will be allocated fleet numbers 1-24 and registrations MRD 1, RG02-24 ZEB. Delivery of the first three is expected during June to commence driver training, with entry into service currently pencilled in for August. Expect to see 201 the current holder of registration MRD 1 allocated a ‘60’ registration by the DVLA shortly.

It’s now mid September, is there a revised timescale for the first 24 buses to enter service?

 

[cactustwirly]

It’s now mid September, is there a revised timescale for the first 24 buses to enter service?

Last update they were awaiting SSE to install depot chargers. Still no update
1 and 2 used for training, being charged in the workshop apparently

 

[Andyh82]

Last update they were awaiting SSE to install depot chargers. Still no update
1 and 2 used for training, being charged in the workshop apparently

On that basis it’ll probably be sometime around next Easter!

 

[Fletcj10]

I was under the impression RB have installed the chargers and they have been signed off however SSE are yet to connect them to the grid, hence why they are all stored in Scotland

 

[Jimini]

Nice to have the White Knight 20 service back after the summer recess

 

[cactustwirly]

Also waiting for remaining E300s from Stagecoach to enter service.
2 generics are in service, with 3 red ones for Winnersh P&R plus 2 more generics and 1 Buzz to come

 

[Fletcj10]

Also waiting for remaining E300s from Stagecoach to enter service.
2 generics are in service, with 3 red ones for Winnersh P&R plus 2 more generics and 1 Buzz to come

One thing to note 28025 from Stagecoach seams to be missing from the CEO's lists of buses they have brought, yet its at Bus & Coach World either the CEO has made a mistake with the reg/fleet numbers which he's done before on his updates or its not relevant to the fleet, if that's the case then maybe it might be another driver trainer to replace the e200 trainer.