Free buses in West Berkshire!

Sunday 22 September is World Car Free Day. The aim of this day us to encourage people to leave their cars at home and try out an alternative mode of transport such as walking, cycling or of course, our personal preference - the bus!

In celebration of and to help encourage people to take part, we’ve teamed up with West Berkshire Council to offer you completely free travel in West Berkshire for the day!

By helping more people access buses and encouraging people out of their cars, we can reduce the amount of congestion on our roads as well as improve the air quality - two things that benefit everyone!

And remember, a double-deck bus at full capacity can take over 2km of cars off the road!

how does it work?

It’s simple to take part and claim your free travel – just board a bus anywhere within West Berkshire!

You’ll be issued a return ticket when boarding which can then be scanned for your journey back, even if it starts outside of West Berkshire.

The free travel is only valid when boarding in West Berkshire, but you can go anywhere and return to West Berkshire on the same route (or common sections of different routes) - so for example if you board jet black in Theale you can travel to Reading and back for free, you will just need to scan your ticket on the return journey. Return tickets will not be accepted on routes that do not run into West Berkshire.

Please note, you will not get a free ticket if starting your journey outside of West Berkshire. For example, if you did the opposite journey to the one above, you would have to pay a single fare from Reading to Theale, but your trip back to Reading would be free as it starts in West Berkshire.

concessionary passes and existing pass holders

During these free travel days, we still need concessionary pass holders to scan their passes as normal. If you already have a ticket (for example a 30 day pass) you should also still scan your pass.

Whilst this might sound strange, it is necessary because we and the council need to match the correct type of journeys to see how successful the day is compared to a normal day! 

valid services

While many people will know which of our services run in West Berkshire, we thought it best to clarify properly and avoid any doubt. 

route number	operator	destination	West Berkshire boundary stops
jet black 1	Reading Buses	Newbury to Reading	Greenwood Road
lime 2/2a	Reading Buses	Mortimer to Reading	The Cunning Man
sky blue 15	Reading Buses	Calcot to Reading	Yew Tree Rise
sky blue 16	Reading Buses	Purley to Reading	Tring Road Shops
yellow 26	Reading Buses	Calcot to Reading	Swanholm Gardens
royal blue 33	Reading Buses	Turnham's Farm to Reading	Warborough Avenue

Remember that if you start your journey on one of these routes in Reading and do not already have a return ticket you will still need to buy a ticket as normal.

Newbury show

This free travel offer does not include tickets on the Newbury Show Shuttle N10 which is also taking place on Sunday 22 September; however you can take advantage of the offer when travelling to and from Thatcham or Newbury before catching the shuttle to the show!