Free Christmas travel

Great news for our customers in West Berkshire, Wokingham and Bracknell Forest; this November and December, as bus travel will be  free on selected weekend days! It's also great new for customers in Reading who will continue to benefit from reduced price tickets throughout the holiday season. 

Bus service improvement plan (BSIP) funding made available by the UK Government will help you leave the car at home, avoid parking fees (and parking stress!) and head into town for shopping or to meet up with friends and family. The deals vary depending on the local council area that you board the bus in.

By leaving the car and taking the bus this November and December you can help reduce the amount of congestion on the roads and help improve local air quality too! A single double-decker bus at full capacity can take around 2km of cars off the road.

Park & Ride

Return fares will continue to be £1 per person including all day parking, at Winnersh Triangle and Mereoak Park & Ride sites (at Thames Valley park & ride, parking is still payable but fares are £1 return).

Reading

The discounted Reading All-Bus ticket continues to be available every day of the week for £4 on the app or using tap on, tap off for all day travel in the simplyReading area. The normal on-bus fare is £4.50.

West Berkshire

Customers boarding within West Berkshire will be able to get free return tickets on Saturday 16 November, Saturday 14 December and Saturday 21 December. Your journey must start within West Berkshire and you will be issued a return ticket allowing travel back from anywhere you travel to, including outside the West Berkshire area (e.g. Reading town centre).

When you board you can either ask the driver for a free single ticket, or a return one. If you are planning to travel to and from somewhere outside of West Berkshire be sure to ask for a return ticket as you will be unable to get a free single ticket boarding from outside of the area!

Your return ticket will have a barcode on it so when you are ready to travel back, simply scan the ticket as you board.

Wokingham

Customers boarding within Wokingham will be able to get free single tickets on all Saturdays from Saturday 16 November until Saturday 21 December. Your journey must start within Wokingham Borough, but you can travel to stops outside of the Wokingham area.

You will, however, need to pay for your journey back if it starts outside of the Wokingham area (e.g. Reading town centre). This journey will, however, be capped at just £2 thanks to the Government capping of single fares.

In addition to these free travel Saturdays, there are also two Sundays where there will be free travel on selected routes.

On Sunday 24 November, to help customers travel to the Wokingham Winter Carnival, journeys on leopard 3 and lion 4 / X4 within the Wokingham Borough area will be free. On Sunday 1 December, to help customers travel to the Woodley Christmas Extravaganza, journeys within Wokingham Borough on the orange 13 and 14 will be free too.  

Bracknell Forest

Customers boarding within Bracknell Forest will be able to get free single tickets on all Saturdays and Sundays in December between Saturday 7 December and Sunday 22 December. Your journey must start at a stop within Bracknell Forest but you can travel to stops outside the Bracknell Forest area.  

You will, however, need to pay for your journey back if it starts outside of the Bracknell Forest area (eg. Reading town centre). This journey will however be capped at just £2 thanks to the Government capping of single fares.

Oxfordshire

Customers travelling to or from stops in Oxfordshire on any Sunday from 1 December up to and including 29 December will be charged just £1 single. 

getting your free travel

When travelling for free please be careful not to place a payment card or mobile device on the reader as you get on – otherwise, you may get charged for tapping on. Please ask the driver for a ticket to your destination.

Concessionary passes and existing pass holders

During these free travel days, concessionary pass holders should continue 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 the council need to match the correct type of journeys to see how successful the day is compared to a normal day!

valid services

The below routes are valid for free travel on the dates shown above. You will need to board at a stop before and including the boundary stop of the council area to be able to travel for free.

Free travel is not available on our football services, or any of our park & ride services.

West Berkshire

Wokingham

Bracknell Forest

Oxfordshire