Reading Transport Ltd
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Slogan | "Quality travel for Reading" |
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| Parent company | Reading Borough Council Operator a municipal |
| Founded | 1901 |
| Headquarters | Reading |
| Service area | Berkshire |
| Service type | Urban and rural services |
| Routes | 92 |
| Destinations | Reading, Newbury |
| Fleet | 230 in total Optare Excel Optare Solo Optare Spectra Scania L94/Wright Solar Scania N230UD/EL' Olympus Scania OmniCity Scania OmniDekka |
| Fuel type | Diesel and ethanol |
| Chief executive | James Freeman |
| Web site | reading-buses.co.uk |
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 predecessor.
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[edit] Current operations
[edit] Reading Buses
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.
Since 2004, Reading Transport and Reading Borough Council have made a significant investment in upgrading the quality of Reading's main urban bus routes. These 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 3 and 8 buses per hour, depending on the route.[1]
Other routes, including 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 and charcoal gray based fleet colour scheme similar to that used on the premier routes, together with vehicles in various previous colour schemes.
The first premier route introduced was the purple branded route 17, running between the Three Tuns on Wokingham Road and the Bear Inn at Tilehurst via the town centre and Oxford Road. Since then the concept has been rolled out on routes 4/5/6 (dark green), 9 (light green), 15/16 (light blue), 20/21 (maroon), 23/24 (dark pink), 25/26 (light pink), 31/33/35 (dark blue), and 63/64 (orange). Generic buses are silver and charcoal gray, having previously been beige and brown.[1]
Besides the premier and other urban routes, rural services operate to Burghfield, Mortimer Common, Peppard, Riseley, Sonning Common, Spencers Wood, Tadley, Twyford and Wokingham.
[edit] Route details
| Number | Route | Notes | Image | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Reading - Basingstoke Road - Reading International Business Park | A premier route Mon-Fri only |
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| 5 | Reading - Whitley - Northumberland Avenue | A premier route | ||
| 6 | Reading - Baskingstoke Road - Whitley Wood | A premier route | ||
| 9 | Caversham Heights - Reading - Royal Berkshire Hospital - Shinfield | A premier route |  |
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| 15 | Reading - Dee Park - Tilehurst - Westwood Glen | A premier route |  |
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| 16 | Reading - Kentwood - Overdown Road - Purley | A premier route | ||
| 17 | Tilehurst - Reading - Wokingham Road, Three Tuns | Premier route (first created) ethanol-fulled buses run on this route |
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| 18 | Calcot - Kentwood - Oxford Road - Reading - Royal Berkshire Hospital - Lower Earley | |||
| 19 | Kingswood Park Tesco - Reading - Erleigh Road - Lower Earley | |||
| 20 | Reading - University - Beech Lane - Lower Earley | A premier route |  |
|
| 21 | Reading - University - Elm Lane - Lower Earley | A premier route | ||
| 23 | Reading - Henley Road - Caversham Park - Emmer Green | A premier route Continues as a 24 |
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| 24 | Coley Park - Reading - Henley Road - Caversham - Emmer Green | A premier route Continues as a 23 |
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| 25 | Reading - Southcote - Fords Farm - Calcot Estate - Calcot | A premier route |  |
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| 26 | Reading - Southcote - Fords Farm - Beansheaf - Calcot | A premier route | ||
| 27 | Reading - Caversham - Lower Caversham, Amersham Road | |||
| 28 | Purley - Tilehurst - New Lane Hill - Dee Park - Reading - Royal Berkshire Hospital | |||
| 31 | Reading - Dee Park - Tilehurst | A premier route Evenings only |
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| 33 | Reading - Meadway - Tilehurst - Turnhams Farm | A premier route | ||
| 35 | Reading - Dee Park - Tilehurst - Turnhams Farm | A premier route Sundays only |
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| 40 | Reading - St Mary's Butts - Kennet Island | |||
| 62 | Reading - Royal Berkshire Hospital - Bulmershe - Woodley | |||
| 63 | Reading - Bulmershe - Woodley Aerodrome - Reading | A premier route |  |
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| 64 | Reading - Woodley Aerodrome - Bulmershe - Reading | A premier route | ||
| 111 | Reading - Spencers Wood - Riseley | |||
| 112 | Reading - Blandford Road - Shinfield - Spencers Wood | |||
| 126-129 | Reading - Sonning - Twyford, 128 & 129 - Wokingham - Maidenhead | |||
| 137/8 | Reading - Emmer Green - Sonning Common | |||
| 143/8 | Reading - Burghfield - Mortimer, Monday to Friday daytime - Tadley | |||
| 149 | Reading - Burghfield | |||
| N5 | Reading - Whitley - Northumberland Avenue | A Nighttrack route Continues as an N6 |
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| N6 | Whitley Wood - Baskingstoke Road - Reading | A Nighttrack route Starts as an N5 |
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| N9 | Reading - Royal Berkshire Hospital - Shinfield | A Nighttrack route | ||
| N23 | Reading - Henley Road - Emmer Green - Caversham Park | A Nighttrack route Continues as an N24 |
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| N24 | Caversham - Henley Road - Reading | A Nighttrack route Starts as an N23 |
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| N21 | Reading - University - Elm Lane - Lower Earley | A Nighttrack route Continues as an N64 |
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| N26 | Reading - Southcote - Fords Farm - Southcote - Theale | A Nighttrack route | ||
| N31 | Reading - Dee Park | A Nighttrack route | ||
| N64 | Woodley - Bulmershe - Reading | A Nighttrack route Starts as an N12 |
[edit] Newbury Buses
Reading Transport operates public service buses in the town of Newbury and the surrounding rural area under the Newbury Buses brand. Bus routes in and around Newbury are generally fairly low frequency, varying from several buses a day to two buses an hour. Apart from route 102 to Reading, no service is provided on Sundays.
The rural services include services to East Ilsley, Hungerford, Kintbury, Lambourn and Tadley. The A4 corridor from Newbury to Reading via the smaller towns of Theale and Thatcham is served by a number of routes operated jointly by Newbury Buses and Reading Buses. Newbury Buses also operate from Newbury to Basingstoke via Kingsclere, running alongside Stagecoach in Hampshire.
Newbury are also responsible for the contracted services for the Vodafone headquarters, operating a number of red-liveried Scania OmniCitys around the area.
Buses are currently operated in a mixture of a new green and silver fleet colour scheme, and the older cream and brown livery.
[edit] Route details
| Number | Route | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Arnhem Road - Newbury - Valley Road - New Greenham Park | ||
| 4 | Newbury - Stockcross - Boxford - Eastbury - Lambourn | ||
| 6 | Newbury - Chieveley - Hermitage - East Ilsley | Circular route with 9 | |
| 9 | Newbury - Hermitage - Chieveley - East Ilsley | Circular route with 6 | |
| 11 | Greenham - Newbury - Turnpike - Thatcham | Run with 11A and 12 | |
| 11A | Greenham - Newbury - Turnpike - Thatcham | Run with 11 and 12 | |
| 12 | Glendale Avenue - Newbury - Turnpike - Thatcham | Run with 11 and 11A | |
| 13 | Newbury - Kintbury - Inkpen - Totterdown - Hungerford | ||
| 14 | Newbury - Greenham - Parkhouse School | ||
| 15 | Newbury - Almond Avenue - Love Lane - Walton Way - Newbury | Circular route | |
| 32/32A | Newbury - Wendan Road (32) - Bishops Green (32) - Kingsclere - North Hants Hospital - Basingstoke | Run with Stagecoach | |
| 101 | Newbury - Thatcham - Cold Ash - Bucklebury - Theale - Calcot - Reading | ||
| 102 | Newbury - Thatcham - Woolhampton - Theale - Reading | ||
| 104 | Newbury - Thatcham - Brimpton - Tadley - Aldermaston - Beenham - Theale - Reading | ||
| 105 | Newbury - Thatcham - Brimpton - Tadley - Aldermaston - Bucklebury Common - Bradfield - Theale Calcot - Reading | ||
| 118 | Newbury - Curridge - Hermitage - Hampstead Norreys - Yattendon - Stanford Dingley - Beenham | Tuesdays and Thursdays only | |
| V1 | Express Rail Link: HQ - Newbury town centre - rail station | A Vodafone route Optare Solo run |
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| V2 | Business Flyer: HQ - Newbury business park - Horizon West | A Vodafone route | |
| V3 | Lunchtime Shuttle: HQ - Town centre | A Vodafone route | |
| V4 | Lunchtime Shuttle: Business park - Horizon West - Town centre | A Vodafone route | |
| V5 | Rail Link: Business park - Horizon West - Town centre - Rail station - Business park - Horizon West | A Vodafone route | |
| V6 | Rail Link: HQ - Rail station | A Vodafone route | |
| V7 | North Newbury Commuter Service: Speen - Speen - Business park | A Vodafone route | |
| V8 | South Newbury Commuter Service: Penwood - Woolton - Wash Common - HQ - Business park - Horizon West |
A Vodafone route | |
| V9 | Greenham Commuter Service: Greenham - Horizon West - Business park - HQ | A Vodafone route | |
| V10 | Thatcham Commuter Service: Thatcham - Business park - HQ | A Vodafone route |
[edit] Goldline Travel
Reading Transport uses the Goldline Travel brand for its non-public service bus operations, including bus hire and 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.
Goldline Travel has a two-tone green colour scheme. However many 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 benift of visitors who are more likley 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 being repainted in a special livery for the route.
It has been decided that by February 2009, private hire services run by Goldline will cease, and the coaches sold.[2]
[edit] Route details
| Number | Route | Notes | Image | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51/52/53 | Reading - GreenPark Business Park | GreenPark fasttrack |  |
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| 70 | Reading F.C.: Sonning Common - Madejski Stadium | Runs match days only | ||
| 71 | Reading F.C.: Emmer Green - Madejski Stadium | Runs match days only | ||
| 72 | Reading F.C.: Woodley - Madejski Stadium | Runs match days only | ||
| 73 | Reading F.C.: Lower Earley - Madejski Stadium | Runs match days only | ||
| 74 | Reading F.C.: Caversham Park - Madejski Stadium | Runs match days only | ||
| 75 | Reading F.C.: Purley - Madejski Stadium | Runs match days only | ||
| 76 | Reading F.C.: Tilehurst - Madejski Stadium | Runs match days only | ||
| 77 | Reading F.C.: Shinfield and Park and ride shuttle - Madejski Stadium | Runs match days only | ||
| 78 | Reading F.C.: Newbury - Madejski Stadium | Runs match days only | ||
| 79 | Reading F.C.: Reading railway station - Madejski Stadium | Runs match days only | ||
| 142 | Checkendon - Woodcote - Purley - Reading | |||
| 500 | Loddon Bridge park and ride site - Reading | Fasttrack park and ride service |  |
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| TVP | Thames Valley Park: Reading - Thames Valley Park | Contract sevice |  |
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| TW | Thames Water: Reading - Rose Kiln Court or Gainsborough House | Contract service | ||
| HP | Hewlett-Packard: Bracknell railway station - HP Cain Road | Contract service |
[edit] History
[edit] 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 Company) was formed. They were initially authorised to construct and operate a horse tram route on an east-west alignment from Oxford Road through 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.[3]
Constuction started in January of 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.[3]
The purchase deal was completed on 31st 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 of 1902, and the last horse cars ran in July of the following year.[3]
[edit] 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 Whitley, 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 centre in 1998.[4]
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.[4]
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 trolleybuses, 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.[4]
[edit] Trolleybus era
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 in July of that year, on a route replacing the tram route from Caversham Road to Whitley. 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.[5]
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 line was extended to Whitley Wood, along Northumberland Avenue. Subsequent short extensions took the system to its full extentent, with the Kentwood Hill route running to Armour Hill and the Whitley Wood line running further down Northumberland Avenue.[5]
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 December 1967 and November 1968.[5]
[edit] Expansion
The Transport Act 1980 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.[6] 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 competative 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.[7]
[edit] Biofuel usage
Reading Transport has a history of experimenting with biofuels, 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.[8][9][10]
In late 2007, Reading Buses placed an order with Scania for 14 new ethanol fuelled double decker buses. These are scheduled to be delivered in March 2008, and they will 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 are now due to start work on 26 May 2008.[11][12]
[edit] Gallery
Images of buses in coloured liveries for the premier routes can be seen in the table above.
 The welcome sign outside Reading Transport's depot. The various company names can be seen, under the main Reading Transport logo. |
 A Reading Buses Optare Excel in an old livery. This was used before the premier routes scheme. Newbury buses had green in place of blue. |
 A Reading Buses Scania L94/Wright Solar in the old generic livery, introduced with the premier routes. It has been replaced by silver. |
 A Reading Buses Dennis Trident/Plaxton President bus in the new silver generic livery for buses not in coloured branding. |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Reading Buses - Premier routes. Reading Transport Ltd. Retrieved on 2008-02-09.
- ^ Bus Zone - Updates May 2008 Accessed 29 May 2008
- ^ a b c Reading Horse Tramways. Bus Zone. Retrieved on 2008-02-27.
- ^ a b c Reading Corporation Tramways / Transport. Bus Zone. Retrieved on 2008-02-27.
- ^ a b c Reading Corporation Transport - Trolleybuses. Bus Zone. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
- ^ The X1 Story. SCT61 and Richard Delahoy (2003-4). Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ Reading Mainline. Bus Zone. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ All aboard the bio-diesel buses. Reading Evening Post (2007-03-08). Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
- ^ Thorne, Lucy (2008-05-01). Bus fare hike looms as fuel prices rocket. Reading Chronicle. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ Public Meeting on Climate Change. Friends of the Earth (2007-10-23). Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
- ^ Reading Transport places UK's largest ever order for ethanol-powered buses. Scania. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ Mbubaegbu, Chine (2008-05-22). New 24-hour green bus service on road. Reading Evening Post. Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
[edit] External links
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