Reading Re Reading's Rethhink - 4

 And So To The Rethink!

Matt is cincerned ...

... but there is absolutely nothing he can do about it! The withdrawal of Reading's PINK route 22 is a commercial decision by an independent business which happens to be owned by Reading Council. So, as owners, you would assume that the council agreed with the Company management decision.

But this man is more hopeful ...

... as the key Councillor for public transport.

Well, John, you have given up as it is your company that is withdrawing it!

Other ideas are discussed ...

... most of which are impractical. Reducing frequency will lose even more passengers; fiddling with the X40 would need the cooperation of Thames Travel, and smaller buses cost the same to run as the current vehicles, less a dribble of fuel.

One suggestion, of running left hand drive buses on the wrong side of the road and moving all the shelters ...

... seems unlikely to help!

But the Council comes up with three stunning ideas. 

Stunning Idea 1

Run less buses at peak time when most customers might be persuaded to travel AND run every 50 minutes during the main part of the day so people can never remember the timetable!

Stunning Idea 2

The Council will give its own company an electric bus which will be kinder to the environment, will be more expensive than the existing bus ...

... and need expensive charging facilities. This will save loadsa money as electricity is cheaper than gas and, as if waving a magic wand ...

... make route 22 profitable again.

As a reality check, it is worth remembering that the biggest cost of running a bus is the driver's wage. It matters not if he is driving a small bus, an electric bus, a diesel bus or a steam bus ...

... the wage bill will be much the same.

Stunning Idea 3

Tell the people of Caversham Heights to use the buses more often. No 3 idea is so brilliant in concept and so certain of success that you wonder why no one has thought of it before.

Despite some unusual financial calculations and unlikely savings, the Council's munificence has enabled the company it owns to proudly announce the salvation if the 22.

On 15th July, just days before the axe was due to fall, the 22 was saved and there was dancing in the leafy lanes of Caversham Heights until the early hours!

So the Council's bus company duly reported the Council's noble rethink and unexpected generosity!

Sorry, Council and bus company, fbb smells one of these ...

... and an almighty stitch-up.

But we should read what the company reports about the salvation of the 22.

Great news for Caversham Heights residents and customers of pink 22 as the service will no longer be cancelled thanks to an agreement with Reading Borough Council. 

That is an agreement between us and us! 

Reading Borough Council will provide us with a one-off capital grant to allow us to buy a new electric bus which, alongside existing Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) funding grant from Government, will allow the valuable service between Caversham Heights and Reading Town Centre to continue to operate.

Valuable, or profitable?

Whilst we await the new, electric, bus, the service will continue to be run on sustainably sourced, bio methane gas.  

The service has been saved from the planned withdrawal and will run along the same route, but from Monday 20 July, there will be a new timetable. 

With less buses, a timetable cut

It is important to emphasise though, that residents still need to make good use of the service for it to be able to continue to run in the future. 

As explained previously, pink 22 has been run at a significant loss since the pandemic, followed by the closure of Kidmore Road by Thames Water which had an additional impact on customer numbers. We urge those who have been vocal about retaining the service now use it and encourage others to do the same. 

Use it (whether you need it or not) or ...

... farewell 22 for ever!

We have been working with Reading Borough Council since we let them know of our intention to withdraw the service to see if there were any funding streams that could help us to continue to run it. 

A fall in the price of purchasing electric buses means funding already secured by the Council through a successful ZEBRA bid to Government can be stretched further to enable the purchase of an additional vehicle. The use of an electric bus will also benefit air quality along the route and provide a quieter journey for passengers. 

Anyway, the Government is paying, so that's all right. Right?

With the new electric bus not available until spring 2027, the Council has reached agreement with us to operate an interim service from Monday 20 July to ensure continuation of service for passengers. 

The provision of a new electric bus on the pink 22 to Caversham Heights, combined with timetable changes, will reduce our operating costs and help to continue to afford to run the service.

Hmmm?

As part of tomorrow's delayed blog, we will take a ride on a route 22 and readers may liKe to assess the chances of the service ever being profitable.

  Next NOT Weekend Variety blog : Mon 3rd Aug 

Reading Re Reading - 3

 The Tangled Web

Once upon a time, Reading Council had a transport department that ran trams, trolleybuses and motor omnibuses. 

The aim was to be a service to the town's ratepayers whilst, as far as possible, contributing some bonus revenue (like a profit for a commercial business) to the civic piggy bank.

But this did not sit well with the lemming like political desire for privatisation and competition.

So Reading Council was forced to sell Reading Buses.

But the council was allowed to sell Reading Buses to a limited liability company wholly owned by ...

... Reading Council!

So it was that Reading Buses Ltd was losing money (we know not how much) on PINK route 22 to Caversham Heights ...

... operated by a shiny PINK bus powered by gas.

It ran to a somewhat disjointed timetable as shown by the extract below.

Note two journeys at 4.00pm, also noting that the company has yet to catch up with the rest of public transport and the computer age, in order to grapple with the intractable problem of the 24 hour clock!

So the boss of Reading Buses Ltd told (so the report goes) his bosses at Reading Council that he would be withdrawing route 22 from 20th July 2026. Note the use of the word "told" rather than "proposed" or "suggested".

The Council bosses do not appear to have made any comment, any protest or even said, "O no you don't!".

But the councillors responsible for Cavesham Heights (e.g. Saadia Saadat, below) ...

... were not at all happy that their colleagues had happily accepted that their bus company was going to withdraw a bus service to part of their municipality; where their constituents would perforce be less than pleased and might withdraw their vote.

The PINK 22 had suffered badly as a result of Covid and further suffered from a major and baffling diversion in 2025 because of a road closure.

Then there was an on-going proposal to divert the route away from its traditional roads ...

... and we all know how regular loyal passengers just LOVE those annoying route changes for operational reasons.

Much to everyone's surprise (very much NOT!) there was vehement opposition to the withdrawal ...

... with a strong poster campaign.

If you were good with computers, you could scan the QR code and add your name to a petition. fbb is not sure how well the demographic of Caversham Heights reacted to an electronic petition. He suspects not well!

Or you could parade threateningly at one of the many bus stops that would no longer be served.

This must have been a very busy stop.

Indeed, IF that had been a typical load, the route would need a bus at least every 5 minutes!

But the press loves to exaggerate, ably supported by contrived pictures!

One plan put forward (fbb knows not by whom) is that the bus-deprived but athletic residents of Caversham Heights could jog a few hundred yards and catch Thames Travel's X40 ...

... running along the main A4074 ...

... and even sharing a few stops with the 22.

It was more frequent than the 22!

So that would be great!

Well now, the 22 still runs; so a solution was found and fbb cannot help thinking that the whole withdrawal episode was a cunning plan by the company and its owners to manipulate the Council (itself!) into a position where it could "bend the rules" and subsidise route 22 without a tendering exercise.

The Council would not want their "Reading Buses Limited" to allow an intruder operator into Caversham Heights, thus risking an outbreak of competition throughout their network.

More tomorrow.

 Next Reading Re Reading blog : Sun 2nd Aug 

Reading Re Reading's Rethhink - 2

That Reading Trolleybus ...

... may have mystified our loyal readers because it is only one third of normal size.

Here it appears in an internet piece about the "Maypine" Trolleybus system ...

... together with an explanation.

Also on-line is this photo ...

... which may show the owner and builder of this splendid ride-in reduction.

Fortunately the interwebnet provides a fuller video explanation.

Glorious! Does it still exist?

Caversham Heights History Mystery

There are lots of places in Reading which carry the name Caversham which lies due north if the centre, accessed by crossing the river Thames.

A full and fearless expose of the estate and its current No 22 bus will form the basis of tomorrow's posting.

Today we have an infill blog as fbb has been hard at work preparing for the usual Fellowship meeting, August style.

It concerns this picture ...

... which is captioned "civilians boarding a bus in Caversham Heights in 1945". fbb cannot verify the location, but it looks about right compared with parts of the estate today.

Above we see posh 1930s style villas similar to those in 1945, but now with extra tree growth.

The 1945 caption also reveals that the bus is going to "Three Maidens" which most definitely us NOT at Caversham Heights.

The "Three Maidens" refers to a public house which adorned the highway at either Whitley or Shinfield according to on-line informants.

That is very much SOUTH of the bustling centre of Reading.

The given address of the pub, at 232 Shinfield Road, puts it well north of the M4 and thus in Whitley or Whitley Wood.

And there it is ...

... complete with appropriate sign.  Below we see it in vintage gloaming; just look at the parked cars and even a bicycle left simply propped up on the kerb.

Safer happier days?

The business was rebranded as "Maidens" ...

... but closed in 2013. It became a Sainsbury's 'Local', seen from a similar angle as the pub sign picture above.

The ever omniscient internet tells fbb that this purveyor of comestibles ...

... is closed utterly ...

... and completely.

So it is not just bus companies that withdraw useful but non profitable services,

But it looks as if a replacement operator has been found ...

... requiring no subsidy from the local authority!

One bus service passes the store, route 3 branded 'Leopard".

Route 600 serves Shinfield, south of the M4. It seems a bit complicated to just pass by in a rambling blog.

At first glance it looks like a portmanteau route combining a 'normal' route to Riseley or Shinfield with a Park and Ride.

fbb is intrigued!

But fbb has been unable to confirm or refute whether Reading Corporation Transport was running cross-town between Caversham Heights and The Three Maidens in 1945.

But tomorrow we will return to today's Caversham Heights.

   Next Reading Re Reading blog : Sat 1st Aug