route changes and new timetables from Monday 1 September

On Monday 1 September, we’ll be making improvements to some of our routes and timetables. 

improvements to Caversham routes

Berry 23/24 will now use Caversham Bridge in both directions instead of Reading Bridge. This means that journeys between Caversham Park and Reading will use Church Street and Gosbrook Road to Briants Avenue, and both sides of Caversham Park will have links to central Caversham in both directions. This will also provide a combined frequency between Caversham Centre and Central Reading up to every 15 minutes.

In Emmer Green, the route of berry 23/24 and pink 25 will be swapped, reflecting customer requests and continued punctuality issues at certain times of day. Buses on berry 23/24 will go back to their previous route via Courtenay Drive and Kidmore End Road, and pink 25/25a will run directly along Peppard Road. Additional buses and drivers are being allocated to berry 23/24 to improve punctuality.

Pink 25/25a and outbound aqua 28/28a buses will now additionally stop at Reading Station North interchange. 

Little berries 27 is being renumbered to 29a with an amended timetable during the daytime. Evening journeys will now follow the 29 route in both directions improve reliability. The little berries 29/29a timetable is also being adjusted to improve spacing with pink 25/25a and provide buses up to every 15 minutes over Reading Bridge.

new connections for Kennet Island ruby 10

We’ll making big changes to ruby 10 from 1 September to create a new direct link between Kennet Island, Basingstoke Road, Reading University and Royal Berkshire Hospital in addition to central Reading. 

These changes also create a new direct link for patients who need to travel between Royal Berkshire Hospital and Circle Reading Hospital, which is just a short walk from the Central Piazza stop. 

the new route

From Central Reading, ruby 10 will follow the same route as buzz 9 along Kings Road, Eldon Road, Craven Road (for the Royal Berkshire Hospital), Redlands Road, Shinfield Road (for University of Reading), and Cressingham Road, and then continue along Buckland Road to Morrisons.

The loop around Kennet Island will be reversed, from Morrisons serving Rose Kiln Lane, the A33, Hilton Hotel, Kennet Island Central Piazza and Manor Farm Road before rejoining Basingstoke Road and Buckland Road back towards the hospital and Central Reading. 

stop changes

As part of the timetable and route change, ruby 10 will also see some bus stop changes. In Central Reading, ruby 10 will move stop at St Mary’s Butts to stop CR and on Station Road to stop SA (alongside our other hospital buses). 

In Kennet Island, buses will now stop on the opposite side of the road to their current stops at Hilton Hotel, Central Piazza and Manor Farm Road. Buses will no longer stop at Gillette Way and Brunel Retail Park. 

timetable

The extended route means a new timetable with buses running up to every hour Monday to Saturday. There will be no service on Sundays. 

Outside these times, greenwave 50 and mereoak park&ride 600/650 provide a fast and frequent service along the bus lanes on the A33 7 days a week, a short walk from Kennet Island, and emerald 6 provides frequent 24/7 service to and from central Reading along Basingstoke Road, just a short walk away too. 

more bronze 11 buses on Sundays

The frequency is being increased to every 20 minutes during the daytime on Sundays, the same as the rest of the week!

new night bus for Woodley

An extra late night bus is being introduced on orange 13 on Friday and Saturday nights as part of the Wokingham Bus Service Improvement Plan. Buses will now run hourly until 1.30am.

frequency enhancements

Along with the imminent introduction of a fleet of brand new electric buses, purple 17 will gain an increased frequency at peak periods than last winter thanks to an enhanced timetable.

Buzz 18 is also improved with an increased frequency to Tilehurst every 30 minutes as part of the Reading Bus Service Improvement Plan, making the departure times much easier to remember. This will allow the current 18a journeys to central Reading to become full route 18 journeys to Tilehurst with some modifications to departure times.

timetable changes

We’re also making a number of timetable changes from Monday 1 September. Many of these changes are minor to help improve reliability, however some routes also see increased frequencies and additional buses. 

A full guide to our changes from 1 September can be found below: