Have your say on bus services
Bus routes in Wokingham town could be extended to serve new housing under a proposal that is part of a review of bus routes across Wokingham borough.
Wokingham Borough Council subsidises most of the services it is reviewing. The Council is now seeking resident’s views on the proposed new bus routes, along with changes to some existing services, because existing contracts end in May so new ones must be drawn up soon.
The survey, launched last week, reviews the existing bus service across the borough to look at what is currently working for residents and what might need changing. The Council is already proposing several changes to better serve residents.
Proposed changes
The council suggests extending a circular section of Thames Valley Buses’ 121 route, which covers the Norreys estate off London Road, to serve new homes off Diamond Jubilee Way and Oak Drive.
A new route, bus 126 is proposed that could be funded by companies building new homes in the council’s North Wokingham major development. The new route 126 would form a loop serving the Norreys estate via Binfield Road. This would return to the town centre via Toutley Road, Matthewgreen Road, Milton Road, Holt Lane and Reading Road, stopping at both The Emmbrook School and The Holt School on the way.
The existing 122/123 routes from the town centre to Woosehill, extending to Emmbrook in the off-peak, would be unchanged, as would the 128/129 route from Reading to Wokingham town via Twyford. However, the latter’s Saturday service between Twyford and Maidenhead could be reviewed.
Minor changes are proposed to the 125/A/B routes to ensure consistency while the 124, an off-peak service covering London Road and Easthampstead Road, could be withdrawn as it has only one or two passengers daily and might be better served by voluntary groups.
Reading Buses’ Leopard services 3, 8 and 9 from Reading to Shinfield, Arborfield, Finchampstead and Wokingham would be mostly unchanged, although it might be possible to run buses between Arborfield and Wokingham twice per hour instead of hourly.
Again, this could be funded by housebuilders working in the council’s major development at the former Arborfield Garrison. Routes 8 & 9 may also be changed with funding available from the Shinfield and Spencers Wood developments.
The consultation is open until 16 January and residents can respond via the Engage Wokingham Borough platform. For anyone needing help with the survey, please contact Wokingham Borough Council by calling 0118 974 6000 or emailing myjourney@wokingham.gov.uk.
