Reading Transport
Encyclopedia
Reading Transport Ltd is a bus
operator serving the towns of Reading
, Newbury
and the surrounding area in the English
county of Berkshire
. The company is wholly owned by Reading Borough Council and operates under the brands Reading Buses, Newbury Buses and Goldline Travel. As such, it is one of the few remaining municipal bus companies
in the UK
.
The history of the company and its predecessors dates back to 1878. Previous incarnations have been variously known as the Reading Tramways Company and Reading Corporation Tramways, and have been legally constituted both as companies and as departments of Reading Borough Council and its predecessors.
The Reading Transport network is served by a fleet of some 180 low floor buses
, made up of a mixture of double deck and single deck
vehicles of various sizes.
Reading Transport operates public service buses under the Reading Buses brand throughout the town of Reading, and to a lesser extent in the rural area around Reading. Most of the urban routes have been branded as Premier Routes, with each route or group of routes allocated a distinctive colour. These colours are used on the buses used on that route, and also on maps and other publicity. Premier routes provide a weekday daytime frequency of between 2 and 8 buses per hour, depending on the route.
One longer distance rural route is branded as a Vitality Route, using specially liveried red and silver buses and operating at a weekday daytime frequency of 2 buses per hour. Other routes, including non-vitality rural routes and non-premier urban routes, operate at lower frequency, varying from several buses a day to two buses an hour. They are allocated a grey colour in maps and publicity, and are currently operated by a mixture of vehicles in a new silver based fleet colour scheme similar to that used on the premier routes, together with vehicles in various previous colour schemes.
Reading Buses also operates the NightTrack network under contract to Reading Borough Council. These services run on their own routes from from 23:45 until late into the night. Premier route 17 also operates at these times, but all other routes finish by then.
Reading Transport operated public service buses in the town of Newbury until August 2011 and the surrounding rural area under the Newbury Buses brand. Two routes are branded using the same Vitality Route brand that is used by Reading Buses, and provide weekday daytime frequencies of 2 buses per hour. Another longer distance route, to Basingstoke
, was jointly operated with Stagecoach in Hampshire
and branded as The Link.
The Newbury Buses brand withdrawal from all commercial and tendered work in the Newbury area meant the majority of work passing to Newbury & District (the trading name for Weavaway Travel's bus services). The Newbury Buses half of The Link is now operated by Stagecoach in Hampshire on a revised timetable to reflect the Stagecoach depot being in Basingstoke.
Newbury Buses do retain responsiblity for a network of contracted services for Vodafone
, who have their worldwide headquarters in the town. These utilise a number of red-liveried Scania OmniCity
s, and two MAN A22/Wright Meridian
s, and are reserved for Vodafone employees.
Route 1 was subcontracted to Weavaway Travel in 2011, using several Alexander Dennis Enviro400s, which are owned by Weavaway but are in a route branded version of Reading Buses livery and are on the Reading fleet system. Additional Enviro400s owned by Weavaway in an allover black livery are also able to be used on route 1.
Reading Transport uses the Goldline Travel brand for its non-public service bus operations, including services operated under contract for various local employers. Goldline Travel is also responsible for the operation of Fastrack and Daytrack park and ride
services and Nighttrack night bus services, all of which are operated under contract to Reading Borough Council. The private hire section has now been ended.
Goldline Travel has a two-tone green colour scheme. However most Goldline Travel services are operated by vehicles in colour schemes specified by the contracting organisation, and are therefore not easily identified as such. These include Fastrack park and ride
services, and services operated on behalf of Thames Valley Park
in Reading.
Unlike bus services run by Reading Buses, Goldine give change on their routes. This is mainly for the benefit of visitors who are more likely to use routes such as park and ride
than city routes.
In May 2008, Goldline won the contract to operate route 142 from Checkendon, Woodcote and Purley to Reading, the route was previously operated by Thames Travel
. An Optare Solo
is used on the route.
In February 2009, the private hire services run by Goldline ceased, and the coaches were all sold.
) was formed. They were initially authorised to construct and operate a horse tram
route on an east-west alignment from Oxford Road
through Broad Street
in the town centre to Cemetery Junction. Significantly, this route formed the core of what became known as the main line of the tram and trolleybus network.
Construction started in January 1879, with the entire line being open by May. A fleet of six single decked cars were initially used, with 31 horses, providing a 20-minute frequency. The cars operated from a depot on the south side of the Oxford Road, immediately to the east of Reading West railway station
. By the 1890s the whole fleet had been replaced by double decked cars operating at a 10 minute frequency. The company made several proposals to extend the system, add routes and electrify the system. But none of these came to anything, and in 1899 the borough corporation decided to purchase the system.
The purchase deal was completed on 31 October 1901, and the Reading Corporation Tramways came into being. The corporation set out about first extending, and then electrifying the system. The extensions were completed by December 1902, and the last horse cars ran in July of the following year.
, Caversham Road, Erleigh Road and Bath Road. The trams operated from a new depot in Mill Lane, a site that was to remain Reading Transport's main depot until it was demolished to make way for The Oracle
shopping mall in 1998.
The electric tram services were originally operated by 30 four-wheeled double decked cars supplied by Dick, Kerr & Co
. In 1904, six bogie
cars and a water car (used for keeping down the dust on the streets) were added to the fleet, also from Dick, Kerr & Co. No further trams were acquired, and a planned extension from the Caversham Road terminus across Caversham Bridge
to Caversham
itself was abandoned because of the outbreak of World War I
. The war also led to a significant maintenance backlog.
In 1919, Reading Corporation started operating its first motor buses. These ran from Caversham Heights
to Tilehurst
, running over the tram lines and beyond the tram termini. Because of the state of the track, the Bath Road tram route was abandoned in 1930, followed by the Erleigh Road route in 1932. Eventually it was decided that the tramways should be abandoned and replaced by trolleybus
es, operating over extended routes. The last tram ran on the Caversham Road to Whitley route in July 1936, and last car on the main line ran in May 1939.
The first trolleybus wiring erected was a training loop on Erleigh Road, which opened in early 1936. This loop was never used in public service, and was subsequently dismantled. Public service commenced on 18 July 1936, on a route replacing the tram route from Caversham Road to Whitley Street. In May 1939, the remaining tram routes from Oxford Road to Wokingham Road and London Road were converted to trolleybus operation, with a short extension from Wokingham Road to the Three Tuns, and a much longer extension from the Oxford Road through the centre of Tilehurst
to the Bear Inn. The extended main line from the Three Tuns to the Bear, still exists today as bus route 17, the town's busiest and most frequent route, and the first to be designated a premier route.
During World War II
a trolleybus branch was constructed from the Oxford Road to Kentwood Hill, enabling trolleybuses to replace motor buses with a consequential saving in precious oil based fuel. In 1949 the Whitley Street line was extended to Whitley Wood
and Northumberland Avenue and a short branch was built to Reading General station. Subsequent short extensions took the system to its full extent, with the Kentwood route running to Armour Hill and the Northumberland Avenue line running to the junction with Whitley Wood Road.
By 1965, most UK
trolleybus systems had closed, and the manufacturers of the overhead equipment gave notice that they would cease production. At the same time the trolleybuses came in for some bad publicity in the local press because they cost more to operate compared to motor buses and they were inflexible, even though the trolleybuses were profitable (Reading's motor buses made a loss), faster and less polluting. Reading Corporation decided to abandon the trolleybus system, and the routes were phased out between January 1967 and November 1968.
deregulated long distance bus services. Reading Transport took advantage of this new freedom to start a service from Reading through London to Southend. The service was numbered X1 and was run jointly with Southend Transport
. In 1982 the X1 was shortened to run from Reading to Aldgate
in East London, under the Gold Line brand, and joint operation ceased.
As a result of the legislation that accompanied the deregulation of local bus services
in 1986, the operations of Reading Transport were transferred to Reading Transport Ltd, an "arms length" company whose shares were held by Reading Borough Council. Bus deregulation also meant that the local authority no longer had any power to regulate the routes and fares of Reading Transport, nor could they prevent other operators from starting competitive services within the borough.
In 1992 Reading Transport acquired the Reading and Newbury
operations of BeeLine, one of the privatised successors to the state-owned Alder Valley
. These acquisitions led to Reading Transport operating buses in Newbury, and in the rural areas around Reading and Newbury, for the first time. Additionally, BeeLine had operated a Reading to London service under the LondonLink name, and that was merged into the Gold Line service and the resulting service renamed London Line. The Gold Line name was retained for use by Reading Transport's non-scheduled service business. The London Line service ceased in 2000.
Reading Transport faced competition on Reading urban routes from 1994, when Reading Mainline, an independent company, started operations with Routemaster
buses acquired from London. But labour shortages created problems for the competitor, and Reading Transport acquired Reading Mainline in 1998. Reading Transport continued to operate the Routemasters under the Reading Mainline brand until they were finally withdrawn in July 2000.
Since then the premier route concept has been rolled out on most of Reading's urban routes. In April 2009, a similar concept was introduced to some of Reading Transports longer distance rural routes. These were rebranded as Vitality Routes, using specially branded green and silver or red and silver buses.
Reading Transport has a history of experimenting with biofuel
s, including biodiesel
and alcohol fuel
. By 2008, all but one of Reading's bus fleet was fuelled by a mix of 5% biodiesel and 95% conventional diesel.
In late 2007, Reading Buses placed an order with Scania
for 14 new ethanol
fuelled double decker buses to replace the existing fleet of biodiesel powered vehicles operating premier route 17. At the time the order was placed, this was the largest order for ethanol fuelled buses in the UK. These buses started work on 26 May 2008.
In October 2009, it was discovered that instead of the bio-ethanol fuel having been sourced from sugar beet
grown in the English county of Norfolk
(as had been advertised), it was actually made from wood pulp
imported from Sweden
. On learning this Reading Borough councillors launched an investigation into how they and the Reading Transport Board – which runs Reading Buses – could have been deceived. All the ethanol-powered buses have since been converted to run on the same bio-diesel mix as the rest of the fleet.
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
operator serving the towns of Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
and the surrounding area in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. The company is wholly owned by Reading Borough Council and operates under the brands Reading Buses, Newbury Buses and Goldline Travel. As such, it is one of the few remaining municipal bus companies
Municipal bus companies
A municipal bus company is an operator of bus services owned by the local government authority. This article lists all current municipal bus companies in the United Kingdom....
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The history of the company and its predecessors dates back to 1878. Previous incarnations have been variously known as the Reading Tramways Company and Reading Corporation Tramways, and have been legally constituted both as companies and as departments of Reading Borough Council and its predecessors.
The Reading Transport network is served by a fleet of some 180 low floor buses
Low-floor bus
A low-floor bus is a bus that has no steps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. Being low floor improves the accessibility of the bus for the public, particularly the elderly or infirm, or those with push chairs, and increasingly, those in wheelchairs.In the modern...
, made up of a mixture of double deck and single deck
Single-decker bus
A single-decker bus or single-decker is a bus that has a single deck for passengers. Normally the use of the term single-decker refers to a standard two-axled rigid bus, in direct contrast to the use of the term double-decker bus, which is essentially a single decked bus with an extra deck and...
vehicles of various sizes.
Reading Buses
One longer distance rural route is branded as a Vitality Route, using specially liveried red and silver buses and operating at a weekday daytime frequency of 2 buses per hour. Other routes, including non-vitality rural routes and non-premier urban routes, operate at lower frequency, varying from several buses a day to two buses an hour. They are allocated a grey colour in maps and publicity, and are currently operated by a mixture of vehicles in a new silver based fleet colour scheme similar to that used on the premier routes, together with vehicles in various previous colour schemes.
Reading Buses also operates the NightTrack network under contract to Reading Borough Council. These services run on their own routes from from 23:45 until late into the night. Premier route 17 also operates at these times, but all other routes finish by then.
| Premier routes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Route | Notes | Image | |
| 5 | Reading - Whitley Whitley, Berkshire Whitley is a suburb of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.-Geography:Whitley, commonly known as one of the larger suburbs of Reading, is bounded to the north and east by a ridge of high ground carrying the road to Shinfield, to the west by the valleys of the River Kennet and the Foudry... - Northumberland Avenue |
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| 6 | Reading - Baskingstoke Road - Whitley Wood Whitley Wood Whitley Wood is a suburb to the south of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.-Geography:Whitley Wood is bounded to the north by an ill-defined boundary with the suburb of Whitley, to the east by a ridge of high ground carrying the road to Shinfield, to the west by the valleys of the River... |
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| 9 | Reading - Royal Berkshire Hospital Royal Berkshire Hospital The Royal Berkshire Hospital is a National Health Service hospital in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It provides acute hospital services to the residents of the western and central portions of Berkshire, and is managed by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.The... - Shinfield Road - Whitley Wood Whitley Wood Whitley Wood is a suburb to the south of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.-Geography:Whitley Wood is bounded to the north by an ill-defined boundary with the suburb of Whitley, to the east by a ridge of high ground carrying the road to Shinfield, to the west by the valleys of the River... - Shinfield Shinfield Shinfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, just south of Reading. It contains and is administered by the unitary authority of Wokingham District.-Geography:... |
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| 11 | Reading - Coley Park Coley Park Coley Park is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is largely built on the estate of a country house of the same name.-Location:... |
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| 13 | Reading - Bulmershe - Woodley - Woodley Green - Woodley Airfield | |||
| 14 | Reading - Shepherds Hill - Woodley - Colemansmoor Lane | |||
| 15 | Reading - Dee Park - Tilehurst Tilehurst Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is also, with different boundaries as described below, a civil parish in West Berkshire district.-History:... - Tilehurst Triangle |
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| 16 | Reading - Kentwood - Overdown Road - Purley Purley-on-Thames Purley on Thames or simply Purley, is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It forms part of the Reading urban area, but remains outside the borough, in West Berkshire. The village is situated about north-west of Reading, and east of Pangbourne... |
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| 17 | Tilehurst Tilehurst Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is also, with different boundaries as described below, a civil parish in West Berkshire district.-History:... - Oxford Road - Reading - Wokingham Road - Three Tuns |
First premier route, Electric hybrid buses Hybrid electric vehicle A hybrid electric vehicle is a type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional... on this route |
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| 20 | Reading - University Whiteknights Campus Whiteknights Park Whiteknights Park, or the Whiteknights Campus of the University of Reading, is the principal campus of that university. The park covers the area of the manor of Earley Whiteknights, also known as Earley St Nicholas and Earley Regis.Whiteknights Park is some two miles south of the centre of the town... - Beech Lane - Lower Earley Earley Earley is a town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area, for purposes of local government it falls within the Borough of Wokingham, outside of the jurisdiction of Reading Borough Council. The name... |
Electric hybrid buses Hybrid electric vehicle A hybrid electric vehicle is a type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional... on this route |
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| 20A | Reading - University Whiteknights Campus Whiteknights Park Whiteknights Park, or the Whiteknights Campus of the University of Reading, is the principal campus of that university. The park covers the area of the manor of Earley Whiteknights, also known as Earley St Nicholas and Earley Regis.Whiteknights Park is some two miles south of the centre of the town... - Silverdale Road - Lower Earley Earley Earley is a town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area, for purposes of local government it falls within the Borough of Wokingham, outside of the jurisdiction of Reading Borough Council. The name... |
Electric hybrid buses Hybrid electric vehicle A hybrid electric vehicle is a type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional... on this route |
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| 21 | Reading - University Whiteknights Campus Whiteknights Park Whiteknights Park, or the Whiteknights Campus of the University of Reading, is the principal campus of that university. The park covers the area of the manor of Earley Whiteknights, also known as Earley St Nicholas and Earley Regis.Whiteknights Park is some two miles south of the centre of the town... - Elm Lane - Lower Earley Earley Earley is a town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area, for purposes of local government it falls within the Borough of Wokingham, outside of the jurisdiction of Reading Borough Council. The name... |
Electric hybrid buses Hybrid electric vehicle A hybrid electric vehicle is a type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional... on this route |
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| 22 | Reading - Caversham Library - Caversham Heights Caversham Heights Caversham Heights is a suburb of the former town of Caversham, which today is itself a suburb of the larger town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. Caversham Heights has no formal boundaries, but the name usually refers to that part of Caversham situated on higher ground to the west of... |
Through working with service 23 |  |
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| 23 | Reading - Henley Road - Caversham Park Caversham Park Caversham Park is a Victorian stately home with parkland in the suburb of Caversham, on the outskirts of Reading, England. Historically it was in Oxfordshire, but since 1911 it has been in Berkshire.-Early History:... - Emmer Green Emmer Green Emmer Green is a suburb of Reading, Berkshire, in the United Kingdom, situated immediately north of Caversham on the border with Oxfordshire.-History:... |
Through working with services 22 & 24 | ||
| 24 | Reading - Caversham Library - Emmer Green Emmer Green Emmer Green is a suburb of Reading, Berkshire, in the United Kingdom, situated immediately north of Caversham on the border with Oxfordshire.-History:... |
Through working with service 23 | ||
| 26 | Reading - Southcote Southcote, Berkshire Southcote is a suburb and local government ward of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.The suburb of Southcote is bounded to the north by the Bath Road and Prospect Park, to the west by the more recently developed suburb of Fords Farm, to the south by the Holy Brook and the water meadows of... - Fords Farm Fords Farm Fords Farm is a suburb within Reading in the English county of Berkshire.Fords Farm lies south of the Bath Road west of the centre of Reading.... - Beansheaf - Calcot |
Electric hybrid buses Hybrid electric vehicle A hybrid electric vehicle is a type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional... on this route |
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| 33 | Reading - Meadway - Tilehurst Tilehurst Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is also, with different boundaries as described below, a civil parish in West Berkshire district.-History:... - Turnhams Farm |
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| Other urban routes | ||||
| Number | Route | Notes | Image | |
| 18 | Caversham Heights - Reading - Norcot - Kentwood - Tilehurst Tilehurst Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is also, with different boundaries as described below, a civil parish in West Berkshire district.-History:... - Calcot |
Saturdays only | ||
| 19 | Reading - Royal Berkshire Hospital Royal Berkshire Hospital The Royal Berkshire Hospital is a National Health Service hospital in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It provides acute hospital services to the residents of the western and central portions of Berkshire, and is managed by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.The... - University Whiteknights Campus Whiteknights Park Whiteknights Park, or the Whiteknights Campus of the University of Reading, is the principal campus of that university. The park covers the area of the manor of Earley Whiteknights, also known as Earley St Nicholas and Earley Regis.Whiteknights Park is some two miles south of the centre of the town... - University Bulmershe Campus Bulmershe Court Bulmershe Court is, today, a campus of the University of Reading, situated in what is now the Reading suburb of Woodley, in the English county of Berkshire... - Woodley - Lower Earley (ASDA) |
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| 27/29 | Reading - Caversham Caversham, Berkshire Caversham is a suburb and former village in the unitary authority of Reading, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, within the royal county of Berkshire, on the opposite bank from the rest of Reading... - Lower Caversham Lower Caversham Lower Caversham is an area of the former town of Caversham, which today is itself a suburb of the larger town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire... - Amersham Road |
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| 28 | Caversham Heights - Reading - Tilehurst Tilehurst Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is also, with different boundaries as described below, a civil parish in West Berkshire district.-History:... - Kentwood - Westwood Glen - Purley Purley-on-Thames Purley on Thames or simply Purley, is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It forms part of the Reading urban area, but remains outside the borough, in West Berkshire. The village is situated about north-west of Reading, and east of Pangbourne... |
Monday - Friday only | ||
| 40 | Reading - St Mary's Butts - Kennet Island |  |
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| Rural routes | ||||
| Number | Route | Notes | Image | |
| 2 | Peppard Common Rotherfield Peppard Rotherfield Peppard is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. It is just over west of Henley-on-Thames, about north of Reading, Berkshire and just over west of the village of Rotherfield Greys.-History:Rotherfield derives from the Old English redrefeld meaning... - Reading - Burghfield Common - Mortimer Stratfield Mortimer Stratfield Mortimer is a village and civil parish, just south of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire.Strictly speaking, the village of Stratfield Mortimer sits at the foot of Mortimer Hill which rises westward from the Foudry Brook. The much larger, and better known, village of Mortimer... |
A Vitality route | ||
| 82 | Reading - Three Mile Cross Three Mile Cross Three Mile Cross is a village in the civil parish of Shinfield, to the South of Reading, and immediately North of the adjoining village of Spencers Wood, in the English county of Berkshire.... - Spencers Wood Spencers Wood Spencers Wood is a village in the civil parish of Shinfield, Berkshire, England, south of Reading. The village of Three Mile Cross adjoins it to the north. To the west lies the village of Grazeley.-History:... - Swallowfield Swallowfield Swallowfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It is situated south of the town of Reading, and north of the county boundary with Hampshire.... - Riseley Riseley, Berkshire Riseley is a village in the English county of Berkshire, adjacent to the border with the county of Hampshire. The village was formerly on the main A33 road between Reading and Basingstoke , but is now bypassed by a newer route from just south of Riseley to the M4 motorway on the southern fringes... |
Evening Service- Mon-Wed (1), Thurs-Sat (3). Daytime service operated by Fleet Buzz. | ||
| 82K | Reading - Kennet Island - Three Mile Cross Three Mile Cross Three Mile Cross is a village in the civil parish of Shinfield, to the South of Reading, and immediately North of the adjoining village of Spencers Wood, in the English county of Berkshire.... - Spencers Wood Spencers Wood Spencers Wood is a village in the civil parish of Shinfield, Berkshire, England, south of Reading. The village of Three Mile Cross adjoins it to the north. To the west lies the village of Grazeley.-History:... - Swallowfield Swallowfield Swallowfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It is situated south of the town of Reading, and north of the county boundary with Hampshire.... |
Sundays only. Four journeys. | ||
| Nighttrack routes | ||||
| Number | Route | Notes | Image | |
| N5 | Reading - Whitley Whitley, Berkshire Whitley is a suburb of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.-Geography:Whitley, commonly known as one of the larger suburbs of Reading, is bounded to the north and east by a ridge of high ground carrying the road to Shinfield, to the west by the valleys of the River Kennet and the Foudry... - Northumberland Avenue |
Continues as an N6 | ||
| N6 | Whitley Wood Whitley, Berkshire Whitley is a suburb of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.-Geography:Whitley, commonly known as one of the larger suburbs of Reading, is bounded to the north and east by a ridge of high ground carrying the road to Shinfield, to the west by the valleys of the River Kennet and the Foudry... - Baskingstoke Road - Reading |
Starts as an N5 | ||
| N9 | Reading - Royal Berkshire Hospital Royal Berkshire Hospital The Royal Berkshire Hospital is a National Health Service hospital in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It provides acute hospital services to the residents of the western and central portions of Berkshire, and is managed by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.The... - Shinfield Shinfield Shinfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, just south of Reading. It contains and is administered by the unitary authority of Wokingham District.-Geography:... |
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| N14 | Woodley - Bulmershe - Reading | Starts as an N21 | ||
| N21 | Reading - University - Elm Lane - Lower Earley Earley Earley is a town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area, for purposes of local government it falls within the Borough of Wokingham, outside of the jurisdiction of Reading Borough Council. The name... |
Continues as an N14 | ||
| N23 | Reading - Henley Road - Emmer Green Emmer Green Emmer Green is a suburb of Reading, Berkshire, in the United Kingdom, situated immediately north of Caversham on the border with Oxfordshire.-History:... - Caversham Park Caversham Park Caversham Park is a Victorian stately home with parkland in the suburb of Caversham, on the outskirts of Reading, England. Historically it was in Oxfordshire, but since 1911 it has been in Berkshire.-Early History:... |
Continues as an N24 | ||
| N24 | Caversham Caversham, Berkshire Caversham is a suburb and former village in the unitary authority of Reading, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, within the royal county of Berkshire, on the opposite bank from the rest of Reading... - Henley Road - Reading |
Starts as an N23 | ||
| N26 | Reading - Southcote Southcote, Berkshire Southcote is a suburb and local government ward of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.The suburb of Southcote is bounded to the north by the Bath Road and Prospect Park, to the west by the more recently developed suburb of Fords Farm, to the south by the Holy Brook and the water meadows of... - Fords Farm Fords Farm Fords Farm is a suburb within Reading in the English county of Berkshire.Fords Farm lies south of the Bath Road west of the centre of Reading.... - Southcote - Theale Theale, Berkshire Theale is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The village has many of the attributes of a small town, with a high street lined with shops, pubs and restaurants.- Location :... |
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| N33 | Reading - Dee Park | |||
| Special routes for sporting events | ||||
| Number | Route | Notes | Image | |
| 70 | Sonning Common Sonning Common Sonning Common is a village and civil parish the Chiltern Hills west of Henley-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire. It is on the B481 road between Reading, Berkshire to the south and Nettlebed to the north.-History:... - Madejski Stadium Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium is a stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. The stadium is the home of Reading Football Club and to the rugby union club London Irish as tenants. It also provides the finish for the Reading Half Marathon... |
Reading F.C. Reading F.C. Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship... match days only |
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| 71/71A | Emmer Green Emmer Green Emmer Green is a suburb of Reading, Berkshire, in the United Kingdom, situated immediately north of Caversham on the border with Oxfordshire.-History:... - Madejski Stadium |
Reading F.C. match days only | ||
| 72/72B | Woodley - Madejski Stadium | Reading F.C. match days only | ||
| 72A | Twyford Twyford, Berkshire For other places of the same name, see Twyford.Twyford is a village and civil parish in the English Royal county of Berkshire. It is situated, at , in the heart of the Thames Valley on the A4 between Reading and Maidenhead, close to Henley-on-Thames and Wokingham.-History:The town's name is... - Madejski Stadium |
Reading F.C. match days only | ||
| 73 | Lower Earley Earley Earley is a town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area, for purposes of local government it falls within the Borough of Wokingham, outside of the jurisdiction of Reading Borough Council. The name... - Madejski Stadium |
Reading F.C. match days only | ||
| 74 | Caversham Park Caversham Park Caversham Park is a Victorian stately home with parkland in the suburb of Caversham, on the outskirts of Reading, England. Historically it was in Oxfordshire, but since 1911 it has been in Berkshire.-Early History:... - Madejski Stadium |
Reading F.C. match days only | ||
| 74A | Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead... - Madejski Stadium |
Reading F.C. match days only | ||
| 75 | Purley Purley-on-Thames Purley on Thames or simply Purley, is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It forms part of the Reading urban area, but remains outside the borough, in West Berkshire. The village is situated about north-west of Reading, and east of Pangbourne... - Madejski Stadium |
Reading F.C. match days only | ||
| 75A | Pangbourne Pangbourne Pangbourne is a large village and civil parish on the River Thames in the English county of Berkshire. Pangbourne is the home of the independent school, Pangbourne College.-Location:... - Madejski Stadium |
Reading F.C. match days only | ||
| 76/76A | Tilehurst Tilehurst Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is also, with different boundaries as described below, a civil parish in West Berkshire district.-History:... - Madejski Stadium |
Reading F.C. match days only | ||
| 77 | Shinfield Shinfield Shinfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, just south of Reading. It contains and is administered by the unitary authority of Wokingham District.-Geography:... and Park and ride Park and ride Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip... shuttle - Madejski Stadium |
Reading F.C. match days only | ||
| 78 | Newbury Newbury, Berkshire Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF... - Madejski Stadium |
Reading F.C. match days only | ||
| 79 | Reading railway station Reading railway station Reading railway station is a major rail transport hub in the English town of Reading. It is situated on the northern edge of the town centre, close to the main retail and commercial areas, and also the River Thames... - Madejski Stadium |
Reading F.C. match days only | ||
Newbury Buses
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
, was jointly operated with Stagecoach in Hampshire
Stagecoach in Hampshire
Hampshire Bus Company Ltd. trading as Stagecoach in Hampshire is an operating sub-division of Stagecoach South, part of the Stagecoach Group.Its main bases of operation are Andover, Basingstoke and Winchester.-Local:...
and branded as The Link.
The Newbury Buses brand withdrawal from all commercial and tendered work in the Newbury area meant the majority of work passing to Newbury & District (the trading name for Weavaway Travel's bus services). The Newbury Buses half of The Link is now operated by Stagecoach in Hampshire on a revised timetable to reflect the Stagecoach depot being in Basingstoke.
Newbury Buses do retain responsiblity for a network of contracted services for Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
, who have their worldwide headquarters in the town. These utilise a number of red-liveried Scania OmniCity
Scania OmniCity
The Scania OmniCity is an integrally-constructed transverse-engined low floor citybus available on the European market. The OmniCity is a complete product built in Poland by Scania AB, a company based in Sweden....
s, and two MAN A22/Wright Meridian
Wright Meridian
The Wright Meridian is a bus body built by Wrightbus, built on the MAN A22 chassis. The body is essentially the same as the Eclipse range.The first production vehicle was launched as a demonstrator at the Coach & Bus live 2007, and after trials was purchased by Whitelaws where it entered service as...
s, and are reserved for Vodafone employees.
Route 1 was subcontracted to Weavaway Travel in 2011, using several Alexander Dennis Enviro400s, which are owned by Weavaway but are in a route branded version of Reading Buses livery and are on the Reading fleet system. Additional Enviro400s owned by Weavaway in an allover black livery are also able to be used on route 1.
| Public routes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Route | Notes | Image | |
| 1 | Newbury - Turnpike - West Berkshire Hospital - Thatcham Thatcham Thatcham is a town in Berkshire, England 3 miles east of Newbury and 15 miles west of Reading. It covers about and has a population of 23,000 people . This number has grown rapidly over the last few decades from 5,000 in 1951 and 7,500 in 1961.It lies on the River Kennet, the Kennet and Avon... - A4 - Reading Reading, Berkshire Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London.... |
A Vitality route. Branded as 'Jet Black' | ||
| 6 | Newbury - East Ilsley via Hermitage and Chievely | Circular with 6A | ||
| Vodafone Contract | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Route | Notes | Image | |
| V1 | Express Rail Link: HQ - Newbury town centre - rail station Newbury railway station Newbury railway station is a railway station in the centre of Newbury, Berkshire, England. It was opened on 21 December 1847 by the Great Western Railway... |
 |
||
| V2 | Business Flyer: HQ - Newbury business park - Horizon West | |||
| V3 | Lunchtime Shuttle: HQ - Town centre | |||
| V4 | Lunchtime Shuttle: Business park - Horizon West - Town centre | |||
| V5 | Rail Link: Business park - Horizon West - Town centre - Rail station - Business park - Horizon West | |||
| V6 | Rail Link: HQ - Rail station | |||
| V7 | North Newbury Commuter Service: Speen Speen, Berkshire Speen is a village and civil parish in the unitary district of West Berkshire and county of Berkshire, England. The parish is about north west of Newbury.... - Shaw Shaw, Berkshire Shaw is a village in Berkshire, England.It is located to the north of Newbury, near the village of Donnington. It is in the parish of Shaw-cum-Donnington.... - Business park |
|||
| V8 | South Newbury Commuter Service: Penwood - Woolton - Wash Common Wash Common Wash Common is a small suburb to the south of Newbury, Berkshire. It is built on the former Newbury Wash, which was flat open heathland overlooking Newbury, and until the 19'th century there was just a small group of houses separated from Newbury by open country. Both places have grown into each... - HQ - Business park - Horizon West |
|||
| V9 | Greenham Commuter Service: Greenham Greenham Greenham is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as Greneham.It is situated just to the south-east of Newbury and is in the West Berkshire district of England.... - Horizon West - Business park - HQ |
|||
| V10 | Thatcham Commuter Service: Thatcham (Anti-clockwise) - Business park - HQ | |||
| V11 | Thatcham Commuter Service: Thatcham (Clockwise) - Business park - HQ | |||
| V12 | HQ Peak Shuttle: Bus Station - Northbrook Street - HQ |
Goldline Travel
Park and ride
Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
services and Nighttrack night bus services, all of which are operated under contract to Reading Borough Council. The private hire section has now been ended.
Goldline Travel has a two-tone green colour scheme. However most Goldline Travel services are operated by vehicles in colour schemes specified by the contracting organisation, and are therefore not easily identified as such. These include Fastrack park and ride
Park and ride
Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
services, and services operated on behalf of Thames Valley Park
Thames Valley Park
Thames Valley Park is a high-tech business park adjacent to the River Thames on the eastern outskirts of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.-Location and companies:The park partially lies within the civil parish of Sonning...
in Reading.
Unlike bus services run by Reading Buses, Goldine give change on their routes. This is mainly for the benefit of visitors who are more likely to use routes such as park and ride
Park and ride
Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
than city routes.
In May 2008, Goldline won the contract to operate route 142 from Checkendon, Woodcote and Purley to Reading, the route was previously operated by Thames Travel
Thames Travel
Thames Travel is a bus operator based in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, in England. It is the third largest bus company in the county It operates a fleet of around 34 vehicles, and employs 75 staff. Running services across the Thames region, the company carries approximately 1.25 million passengers a year...
. An Optare Solo
Optare Solo
The Optare Solo is a low-floor midibus manufactured by Optare in Leeds, UK since 1997. The name "Solo" is a play on the low-floor status of the bus, the manufacturer believing its vehicle having an entrance that is "so low" from the floor, namely 200 mm with kneeling suspension.The innovative...
is used on the route.
In February 2009, the private hire services run by Goldline ceased, and the coaches were all sold.
| Public routes run under contract | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Route | Notes | Image | |
| 51/52/53 | Reading Reading, Berkshire Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London.... - Green Park Business Park |
GreenPark fasttrack |  |
|
| 142 | Checkendon Checkendon Checkendon is a village and civil parish about west of Henley-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire, England.-Parish church:The Church of England parish church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul is a 12th century Norman building... - Woodcote Woodcote Woodcote is a village in the civil parish in South Oxfordshire, about southeast of Wallingford and about northwest of Reading, Berkshire. It is in the Chiltern Hills, and the highest part of the village is above sea level.... - Pangbourne Pangbourne Pangbourne is a large village and civil parish on the River Thames in the English county of Berkshire. Pangbourne is the home of the independent school, Pangbourne College.-Location:... - Reading |
For Oxfordshire County Council Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire .... |
 |
|
| 500 | Loddon Bridge park and ride Park and ride Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip... site - Reading |
Fasttrack park and ride Park and ride Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip... service |
 |
|
| Private routes run under contract | ||||
| Number | Route | Notes | Image | |
| TVP | Thames Valley Park Thames Valley Park Thames Valley Park is a high-tech business park adjacent to the River Thames on the eastern outskirts of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.-Location and companies:The park partially lies within the civil parish of Sonning... : Reading Reading, Berkshire Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London.... - Thames Valley Park Thames Valley Park Thames Valley Park is a high-tech business park adjacent to the River Thames on the eastern outskirts of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.-Location and companies:The park partially lies within the civil parish of Sonning... |
Free service for anybody having legitimate business at Thames Valley Park |  |
|
| TW | Thames Water Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is the private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in large parts of Greater London, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Kent, and some other areas of in the United Kingdom... : Reading Reading, Berkshire Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London.... - Rose Kiln Court or Gainsborough House |
Service for Thames Water employees | ||
| HP | Hewlett-Packard Hewlett-Packard Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including... : Bracknell railway station Bracknell railway station Bracknell railway station is a railway station serving the town of Bracknell in Berkshire, England. The station, and all trains calling there, are operated by South West Trains. It is on the London Waterloo-Reading line.... - HP Cain Road |
Service for Hewlett Packard employees | ||
Horse tram era
The origins of Reading Transport can be traced back to 1878, when the privately owned Reading Tramways Company (part of the Imperial Tramways CompanyImperial Tramways Company
The Imperial Tramways Company Ltd was created to bring under common management a number of street tramways. Originally based in London, its headquarters moved to Bristol in 1892 and from then on it shared its senior management with Bristol Tramways under the chairmanship of George...
) was formed. They were initially authorised to construct and operate a horse tram
Horsecar
A horsecar or horse-drawn tram is an animal-powered streetcar or tram.These early forms of public transport developed out of industrial haulage routes that had long been in existence, and from the omnibus routes that first ran on public streets in the 1820s, using the newly improved iron or steel...
route on an east-west alignment from Oxford Road
Oxford Road, Reading
Oxford Road is a major arterial road in Reading, Berkshire, England, near the town centre. The road leads west to Pangbourne, continuing eventually to the city of Oxford. The road was previously known as Pangbourne Lane....
through Broad Street
Broad Street, Reading
Broad Street is a main pedestrianised thoroughfare and the primary high street in the English town of Reading. The street is situated in the town centre, running for approximately , from west to east. The western end of the road lies at the crossroads with Oxford Road, West Street and St Mary's...
in the town centre to Cemetery Junction. Significantly, this route formed the core of what became known as the main line of the tram and trolleybus network.
Construction started in January 1879, with the entire line being open by May. A fleet of six single decked cars were initially used, with 31 horses, providing a 20-minute frequency. The cars operated from a depot on the south side of the Oxford Road, immediately to the east of Reading West railway station
Reading West railway station
Reading West is a railway station in Reading in England. It is in West Reading, west of the town centre, about from the main retail and commercial areas. The station is served by local services operated by First Great Western.-History:...
. By the 1890s the whole fleet had been replaced by double decked cars operating at a 10 minute frequency. The company made several proposals to extend the system, add routes and electrify the system. But none of these came to anything, and in 1899 the borough corporation decided to purchase the system.
The purchase deal was completed on 31 October 1901, and the Reading Corporation Tramways came into being. The corporation set out about first extending, and then electrifying the system. The extensions were completed by December 1902, and the last horse cars ran in July of the following year.
Electric tram era
The new electric trams started operating in July 1903. Extensions were constructed to the Wokingham Road and London Road (both from Cemetery Junction), and new routes added to WhitleyWhitley, Berkshire
Whitley is a suburb of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.-Geography:Whitley, commonly known as one of the larger suburbs of Reading, is bounded to the north and east by a ridge of high ground carrying the road to Shinfield, to the west by the valleys of the River Kennet and the Foudry...
, Caversham Road, Erleigh Road and Bath Road. The trams operated from a new depot in Mill Lane, a site that was to remain Reading Transport's main depot until it was demolished to make way for The Oracle
The Oracle, Reading
The Oracle is a large indoor shopping and leisure mall, located on the banks of the River Kennet on the site of a 17th century workhouse of the same name in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire...
shopping mall in 1998.
The electric tram services were originally operated by 30 four-wheeled double decked cars supplied by Dick, Kerr & Co
Dick, Kerr & Co.
Dick, Kerr and Company was a locomotive and tramcar manufacturer based in Kilmarnock, Scotland and Preston, England.-Early history:Having previously been known as W.B.Dick and Company the company had built all kinds of tramway equipment and rolling stock. From 1883 the company joined with John Kerr...
. In 1904, six bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
cars and a water car (used for keeping down the dust on the streets) were added to the fleet, also from Dick, Kerr & Co. No further trams were acquired, and a planned extension from the Caversham Road terminus across Caversham Bridge
Caversham Bridge
Caversham Bridge is a bridge across the River Thames between Caversham and the town centre of Reading. The bridge is situated on the reach above Caversham Lock, carrying the A4155 road across the river and also providing pedestrian access to the adjacent mid-river Pipers Island.The first bridge on...
to Caversham
Caversham, Berkshire
Caversham is a suburb and former village in the unitary authority of Reading, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, within the royal county of Berkshire, on the opposite bank from the rest of Reading...
itself was abandoned because of the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The war also led to a significant maintenance backlog.
In 1919, Reading Corporation started operating its first motor buses. These ran from Caversham Heights
Caversham Heights
Caversham Heights is a suburb of the former town of Caversham, which today is itself a suburb of the larger town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. Caversham Heights has no formal boundaries, but the name usually refers to that part of Caversham situated on higher ground to the west of...
to Tilehurst
Tilehurst
Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is also, with different boundaries as described below, a civil parish in West Berkshire district.-History:...
, running over the tram lines and beyond the tram termini. Because of the state of the track, the Bath Road tram route was abandoned in 1930, followed by the Erleigh Road route in 1932. Eventually it was decided that the tramways should be abandoned and replaced by trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
es, operating over extended routes. The last tram ran on the Caversham Road to Whitley route in July 1936, and last car on the main line ran in May 1939.
Trolleybus era
Tilehurst
Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is also, with different boundaries as described below, a civil parish in West Berkshire district.-History:...
to the Bear Inn. The extended main line from the Three Tuns to the Bear, still exists today as bus route 17, the town's busiest and most frequent route, and the first to be designated a premier route.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
a trolleybus branch was constructed from the Oxford Road to Kentwood Hill, enabling trolleybuses to replace motor buses with a consequential saving in precious oil based fuel. In 1949 the Whitley Street line was extended to Whitley Wood
Whitley Wood
Whitley Wood is a suburb to the south of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.-Geography:Whitley Wood is bounded to the north by an ill-defined boundary with the suburb of Whitley, to the east by a ridge of high ground carrying the road to Shinfield, to the west by the valleys of the River...
and Northumberland Avenue and a short branch was built to Reading General station. Subsequent short extensions took the system to its full extent, with the Kentwood route running to Armour Hill and the Northumberland Avenue line running to the junction with Whitley Wood Road.
By 1965, most UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
trolleybus systems had closed, and the manufacturers of the overhead equipment gave notice that they would cease production. At the same time the trolleybuses came in for some bad publicity in the local press because they cost more to operate compared to motor buses and they were inflexible, even though the trolleybuses were profitable (Reading's motor buses made a loss), faster and less polluting. Reading Corporation decided to abandon the trolleybus system, and the routes were phased out between January 1967 and November 1968.
Expansion and competition
The Transport Act 1980Transport Act 1980
The Transport Act 1980 was a Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It introduced deregulation of coach services in the United Kingdom and allow authorities to deregulate bus services on a trial basis. It was introduced by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher. The later Transport Act...
deregulated long distance bus services. Reading Transport took advantage of this new freedom to start a service from Reading through London to Southend. The service was numbered X1 and was run jointly with Southend Transport
Arriva Southend
Arriva Southend is a division of Arriva Southern Counties, a subsidiary of transport group Arriva which operates bus services in and around the Southend-on-Sea, Rochford, Rayleigh, Basildon, and Thurrock areas of Essex...
. In 1982 the X1 was shortened to run from Reading to Aldgate
Aldgate
Aldgate was the eastern most gateway through London Wall leading from the City of London to Whitechapel and the east end of London. Aldgate gives its name to a ward of the City...
in East London, under the Gold Line brand, and joint operation ceased.
As a result of the legislation that accompanied the deregulation of local bus services
Bus deregulation
Bus deregulation in Great Britain came into force on 26 October 1986, as part of the Transport Act 1985.The 'Buses' White Paper was the basis of the Transport Act 1985, which provided for the deregulation of local bus services in the whole of the United Kingdom except for Northern Ireland and...
in 1986, the operations of Reading Transport were transferred to Reading Transport Ltd, an "arms length" company whose shares were held by Reading Borough Council. Bus deregulation also meant that the local authority no longer had any power to regulate the routes and fares of Reading Transport, nor could they prevent other operators from starting competitive services within the borough.
In 1992 Reading Transport acquired the Reading and Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
operations of BeeLine, one of the privatised successors to the state-owned Alder Valley
Alder Valley
The Thames Valley and Aldershot Omnibus Company, trading as Alder Valley, was a former bus operator in England.-The NBC era:The Thames Valley and Aldershot Omnibus Company was formed by the merger of two National Bus Company subsidiaries, Aldershot and District Traction and Thames Valley Traction...
. These acquisitions led to Reading Transport operating buses in Newbury, and in the rural areas around Reading and Newbury, for the first time. Additionally, BeeLine had operated a Reading to London service under the LondonLink name, and that was merged into the Gold Line service and the resulting service renamed London Line. The Gold Line name was retained for use by Reading Transport's non-scheduled service business. The London Line service ceased in 2000.
Reading Transport faced competition on Reading urban routes from 1994, when Reading Mainline, an independent company, started operations with Routemaster
Routemaster
The AEC Routemaster is a model of double-decker bus that was built by Associated Equipment Company in 1954 and produced until 1968. Primarily front-engined, rear open-platform buses, a small number of variants were produced with doors and/or front entrances...
buses acquired from London. But labour shortages created problems for the competitor, and Reading Transport acquired Reading Mainline in 1998. Reading Transport continued to operate the Routemasters under the Reading Mainline brand until they were finally withdrawn in July 2000.
Premier and vitality routes
Since 2004, Reading Transport and Reading Borough Council have made a significant investment in upgrading the quality of Reading's main urban bus routes. In autumn of that year, Reading Buses introduced its first branded Premier Route in the form of the number 17, running between the Three Tuns on Wokingham Road and the Bear Inn at Tilehurst via the town centre and Oxford Road, and the linear descendent of the old main line. This was intended as the first in a series of such routes, each providing a weekday daytime frequency of between 3 and 8 buses per hour. Each premier route, or group of routes, would be allocated a distinctive colour, to be used used on the buses on that route, and also on maps and other publicity.Since then the premier route concept has been rolled out on most of Reading's urban routes. In April 2009, a similar concept was introduced to some of Reading Transports longer distance rural routes. These were rebranded as Vitality Routes, using specially branded green and silver or red and silver buses.
Biofuel controversy
Biofuel
Biofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases...
s, including biodiesel
Biodiesel
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....
and alcohol fuel
Alcohol fuel
Although fossil fuels have become the dominant energy resource for the modern world, alcohol has been used as a fuel throughout history. The first four aliphatic alcohols are of interest as fuels because they can be synthesized chemically or biologically, and they have characteristics which allow...
. By 2008, all but one of Reading's bus fleet was fuelled by a mix of 5% biodiesel and 95% conventional diesel.
In late 2007, Reading Buses placed an order with Scania
Scania AB
Scania Aktiebolag , commonly referred to as Scania AB or just Scania, is a major Swedish automotive industry manufacturer of commercial vehicles - specifically heavy trucks and buses...
for 14 new ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
fuelled double decker buses to replace the existing fleet of biodiesel powered vehicles operating premier route 17. At the time the order was placed, this was the largest order for ethanol fuelled buses in the UK. These buses started work on 26 May 2008.
In October 2009, it was discovered that instead of the bio-ethanol fuel having been sourced from sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
grown in the English county of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
(as had been advertised), it was actually made from wood pulp
Wood pulp
Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibres from wood, fibre crops or waste paper. Wood pulp is the most common raw material in papermaking.-History:...
imported from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. On learning this Reading Borough councillors launched an investigation into how they and the Reading Transport Board – which runs Reading Buses – could have been deceived. All the ethanol-powered buses have since been converted to run on the same bio-diesel mix as the rest of the fleet.