Residents in Shinfield and Spencers Wood will be given better travel links into Reading thanks to an expanded bus service for the villages supported by Wokingham Borough Council.
An enhanced Leopard service, run in conjunction with Reading Buses, will mean even more residents will be able to take public transport to travel into town, freeing up the road network and helping the environment by reducing the number of car journeys on this busy route.
The enhanced service will see bus route 9 extended to Croft Gardens via the Basingstoke Road and Hyde End Road serving additional stops in Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross. These villages were previously only covered by the 7 route linking Reading to Fleet.
Additional journeys will be provided on what is currently service 10, which will be renumbered as service 8, with two journeys an hour provided into Reading via the Shinfield Road.
From February it will begin to take advantage of a new sustainable transport link, due to open in January, which is just for buses, emergency vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, and links Hyde End Lane, Spencers Wood, and the Shinfield West development.
“Strong bus links connecting our communities to places they need to go are a crucial way to ensure all our residents have a transport option even if they cannot drive or prefer to travel in a more sustainable way,” said Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways and transport.
“Helping to provide great public transport links also takes traffic off the roads, reducing car journeys, helping the environment and tackling congestion. We’ve worked hard alongside our partners Reading Buses to satisfy residents in Spencers Wood and Shinfield by providing a fantastic subsidised service matching the demand for this route.”
A full timetable for these changes will be available from Reading Buses in due course.
For more on sustainable transport and advice in Wokingham borough, visit www.myjourneywokingham.com
