Fares changes on 5 January
We’ll be making changes to some of the fares around the network on Monday 5 January.
These changes are due to continued increasing operational costs for us. We have worked to keep fare increases as low as possible as we appreciate increases to prices are never welcome. Swapping from single and day tickets to multi-journey, weekly, or season tickets will help save you money, as will swapping to buying tickets on the Reading Buses app instead of on the bus.
Buying tickets in advance on the app will be the best value in the majority of cases.
We will also be continuing to cap single fares at £3 as part of the UK Government’s on-going Help for Households scheme.
We’re also changing the name of the simplyReading & Wokingham zone to the Reading Plus zone. There are no changes to the area it covers, we just want the name to better describe the range of areas just outside Reading that this zone covers in addition to Wokingham.
Full details of the fare changes can be found below:
single fares
Adult single fares within Reading will increase to £2.90 on app and to £3 on bus from the driver or with tap on tap off. The short hop fare will be £2.00, apart from Caversham which will retain a special £1.50 single fare.
Boost single fares will increase to £2.40 on app and to £2.50 on bus.
Outside of Reading, single fares will continue to be capped at £3 over the government scheme.
Reading day tickets
The adult simplyReading day ticket will cost £5.00 when bought on app, and £5.40 when bought from the driver or with tap on tap off.
The boost simplyReading day ticket for young people will cost £4.30 on app and £4.50 from the driver.
The simplyReading group day ticket (allowing any combination of up to 4 people to travel together all day) will increase to £6.50 off peak and £10.80 during peak times (Monday to Fridays before 9.30am), still representing amazing value.
Reading All-Bus
This ticket includes travel on other bus companies’ services in addition to our own, and will increase to £5.40 on apps, or £5.90 when requested from the driver or using tap on tap off. The young person’s (under 18) ticket will rise to £4.70. The group All-Bus day ticket will be reduced to £7.50 off-peak and increase to £11.50 at peak times.
Other fares
The Reading Borough Council special £2.50 park & ride return fare offer will continue, but at a new fare of £3.50.
The discount for Reading and Reading&Wokingham day tickets purchased using tap on tap off after 7pm will be discontinued.
Some period tickets (7/30/90 day, annual, term), easysaver10 and daysaver5 will see increases too, however for most people these will still be the cheapest option if you are making more than a few journeys a week.
The tables below show the new period ticket prices for each zone from 5 January. Click here to see information about tickets in the zone you travel in:
- simplyReading
- simplyReading Plus (Wokingham, Burghfield, Sonning Common, Henley)
- simplyNetwork
- simplyNewbury & Thatcham
- simplyBracknell & Wokingham
Did you know?
Single and day tickets can be bought on bus from the driver using cash, contactless, or with tap on tap off. However, it is always cheaper to buy in advance on app rather than requesting a ticket from the driver, or using tap on tap off.
Return fares on routes that travel outside Reading may be cheaper than the day ticket price for the zone you are travelling in, and are only available from the driver. Details of return fares for these routes will be available online soon.
Group tickets are for up to four people (any combination of adults and children) travelling together. The ticket has a 'peak' price (Monday to Friday before 9.30am) and 'off-peak' price (Monday to Friday after 9.30am, all day weekends & public holidays). It can often work out cheaper, even if you are just making one or two journeys as a group.
If you travel occasionally and usually only use one or two buses, easysaver10 gives you 10 single journeys for the same price as a weekly ticket – the equivalent of just £2 each trip! Each time you travel, it deducts one journey. easysaver10 is only available for the simplyReading zone and is valid for one year on the app. There is also a Boost discount for young people too - Boostsaver10.
Alternatively, daysaver5 is available for every zone and gives you 5 separate one-day tickets for the same price as a 7-day (consecutive) ticket – the equivalent of just £4 a day. Great if you only travel two or three days during the week, and works out at £2 or less per journey. There's no expiry so these tickets are perfect for occasional travellers - the ones you don't use stay available unlike a normal 7-day ticket which counts down once you activate it, regardless of whether you travel or not!
simplyReading
These tickets are valid on Reading Buses and Thames Valley Buses within the simplyReading zone. This includes Lower Earley, Tilehurst, Sonning, Theale, and Woodley.
on the day fares
| single | Short hop | 60 minute transfer | day ticket | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| adult cash/contactless/tap on, tap off | £3.00 | £2.00 | £3.90 | £5.40 |
| adult app | £2.90 | - | £3.70 | £5.00 |
| boost | £2.50 (£2.40 app) | £2.00 | £3.00 | £4.00 |
| group off-peak | - | - | - | £6.50 |
| group peak | - | - | - | £10.80 |
The special short hop fare to Caversham Centre and Lower Caversham is £1.50.
advance fares
| daysaver5 | 10 trips | 7 days | 30 days | 90 days | 365 days | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| adult (online/app) | £20.00 | £20.00 | £20.00 | £72.00 | £210.00 | £800.00 | buy now |
| adult (bus shop) | - | £22.00 | £22.00 | £75.00 | £220.00 | £820.00 | see more |
| 10 trips | 7 day | 30 day | term | 365 day | |||
| boost (online/app) | - | £19.00 | £15.50 | £54.00 | £185.00 | £555.00 | buy now |
| boost (bus shop) | - | £21.00 | £17.50 | £57.00 | £205.00 | £575.00 | see more |
Reading All-Bus day ticket
All-day travel in the simplyReading zone on services operated by Reading Buses, Thames Valley Buses, Carousel Buses, and Thames Travel.
| on-bus | app | |
| adult day | £5.90 | £5.40 |
| young person day | £4.70 | £4.70 |
| group peak | £11.50 | £11.50 |
| group off-peak | £7.50 | £7.50 |
simplyReading Plus
Reading Plus is the new name for simplyReading&Wokingham, covering Reading plus Arborfield, Burghfield, Henley, Peppard Common, Shinfield, Spencer’s Wood, Twyford, Winnersh and Wokingham.
These tickets are valid on Reading Buses and Thames Valley Buses within the Reading Plus zone.
on the day fares
| day | |
|---|---|
| adult cash/contactless/tap on, tap off | £7.40 |
| adult app | £6.90 |
| boost | £5.50 |
| boost on bus | £5.80 |
advance fares
| daysaver5 | 7 day | 30 day | 90 day | 365 day | |
| adult (app/online) | £26 | £26 | £91 | £273 | £1040 |
| adult (bus shop) | - | £28 | £94 | £283 | £1060 |
| 7 day | 30 day | term | 365 day | ||
| boost (app/online) | - | £20 | £70 | £239 | £717 |
| boost (bus shop) | - | £22 | £73 | £249 | £737 |
simplyNetwork
These tickets are valid on all Reading Buses and Thames Valley Buses anywhere except London and route 93.
on the day fares
| all day | |
|---|---|
| adult cash/contactless/tap on, tap off | £9.00 |
| adult app | £8.50 |
| boost | £6.50 |
advance fares
| daysaver5 | 7 days | 30 days | 90 days | 365 days | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| adult (app/online) | £30.50 | £30.50 | £107 | £320 | £1220 | buy now |
| adult (bus shop) | - | £32.50 | £110 | £330 | £1240 | see more |
| 7 days | 30 days | term | 365 days | |||
| boost (app/online) | - | £23.50 | £82 | £281 | £815 | buy now |
| boost (bus shop) | - | £25.50 | £85 | £291 | £835 | see more |
simplySchools Plus
The simplySchoolsPlus ticket is offered exclusively for students of Langtree School using route 93. This ticket is valid throughout the route and also can be used anywhere on the network. Only available as boost for those aged 18 and under.
| daysaver5 | term | school year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| online/app | £27 | £325 | £935 | buy now |
| bus shop | £325 | £955 | see more |
simplyNewbury & Thatcham
These tickets are valid on Reading Buses and Newbury & District buses within the simplyNewbury & Thatcham zone.
on the day fares
| all day | |
|---|---|
| adult* | £5.90 (£5.50 on app) |
| boost* | £4.50 (£4.30 on app) |
advance fares
| daysaver5 | 7 days | 30 days | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| adult (app/online*) | £22 | £22 | £72 | buy now |
| boost (app/online*) | - | £15.50 | £55 | buy now |
*please use the Newbury & District website and app
simplyBracknell & Wokingham
These tickets are valid on Reading Buses and Thames Valley Buses within the simply Bracknell & Wokingham zone.
on the day fares
adult
| app | on bus | |
|---|---|---|
| adult | £5.50 | £5.80 |
| boost | £4.00 | £4.20 |
advance fares
| daysaver5 | 7 days | 30 days | 90 days | 365 days | ||
| adult (app/online) | £22 | £22 | £72 | £213 | £799 | buy now |
| adult (bus shop) | n/a | £24 | £75 | £223 | £819 | see more |
| 7 days | 30 days | term | 365 days | |||
| boost (app/online) | £15 | £60 | £185 | £590 | buy now | |
| boost (bus shop) | £17 | £63 | £195 | £610 | buy now |
simplySouthBracknell
These tickets are valid on Reading Buses and Thames Valley Buses within the simplySouthBracknell zone.
on the day fares
| app | on bus | |
|---|---|---|
| adult | £5.20 | £5.50 |
| boost | £3.80 | £4.00 |
advance fares
| 7 days | 30 days | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| adult (app/online) | £18.50 | £67.00 | buy now |
| boost (app/online) | £13.50 | £47.00 | buy now |
MyBus fares changes on Sunday 11 January
On Sunday 11 January there will also be changes to the Weekly Oxfordshire MyBus tickets valid on aqua 28 and pink 25 within Oxfordshire. Adult weekly tickets will increase to £30 and Young Person tickets to £17. Day tickets will remain at their current prices.
| app | |
|---|---|
| MyBus Week Adult | £30.00 |
| MyBus Week Young Person | £17.00 |