THE chief of Reading Buses has praised his staff for their 'exceptional team work' during the recent adverse weather.

Over the last fortnight, bus drivers have faced unprecedented conditions with heavy snow fall causing treacherous driving conditions on Reading's roads.

Chief executive officer Martijn Gilbert praised the staff who kept the network of buses running, and reacted quickly to the cancellation of last weekend's Reading Half Marathon.

Mr Gilbert said: "Heavy snow set in late on Saturday night and fell again on Sunday evening causing disruption on both Sunday and into Monday morning that was amplified with ice freezing resulting in congestion which for a second time this winter inevitably caused delays. 

“However, the team at Reading Buses once again worked exceptionally hard to keep services running with minimal delays and diversions – a similarly strong performance to when snow disruption was experienced earlier this month. 

“An added complexity this time round was the cancellation of the Reading Half Marathon at short notice. A number of pre-planned diversions and schedules changes had to be quickly undone and normal service plans re-instated. 

“I am once again extremely proud of the achievements of our team in keeping services running during this exceptional disruption, especially when other transport services were halted. 

“Customer feedback on the hard work of the company and its team has been extremely positive, including recent supportive comments on social media such as comments that we are doing a great job and that other services had buckled under pressure.

"In addition, praise must once again be given to the Reading Borough Council Highways gritting team who worked almost continually to try and keep the major roads clear. 

“Each year we give feedback on their gritting plan and again it worked well to support the largest number of vehicle and passenger movements across the Borough.”

Cllr Tony Page, Reading Borough Council's deputy leader and lead member for strategic environment, planning and transport said: "Again, the staff and drivers of Reading Buses have shown what a crucial role they play in keeping Reading on the move. 

“The Council is justly proud of its bus company and to the dedication and commitment of our Council highways and gritting staff in responding to the very difficult and challenging road conditions in recent days.”