Uni bus route doing well - but faces 'review'

Adam Hewitt • Published 2 Feb 2010 10:00 0 Comments

THE new bus service linking Reading University's Whiteknights and Bulmershe campuses has got off to a good start.

The number 19 was introduced on January 11 as part of a host of route and timetable changes, especially in east Reading and Woodley, but Reading Buses chief executive James Freeman said that it is already doing well.

He said: "The 19 already seems to be attracting about one third more passengers than the 62 that it replaced - thanks mainly to the additional student traffic."

There is an introductory fare of £1.20 on the service, which provides an hourly link between the two campuses and is one of three routes between the university and Reading town centre.

Denise Shearman, head of Campus Services, said: "The University is delighted that recent discussions between Reading Buses and the University and the students' union have led to a new regular bus service linking our Bulmershe and Whiteknights campuses. The 19 service offers students a tailor-made service between their accommodation and academic studies and benefits many of our staff. In partnership with Reading Buses, we are working hard to ensure that public transport delivers a quick, reliable and easily accessible way of getting to the University."

The special fare offer ends on Easter Sunday, April 4 - but Reading Buses warns that the service could be "reviewed" if take-up stalls.

There was anger last year when Reading University cut funding for its Bulmershe-Whiteknights shuttle minibus. The university's Lib Dem society collected a 300-signature petition against the cuts and the university authorities put on a temporary replacement service. But it said take-up was so low it had to be abandoned for financial and environmental reasons.

Link: www.reading-buses.co.uk/university

Number 19 route, hourly Monday-Saturday, no Sunday service:

Starts in Woodley

Stops at Bulmershe campus

Along Wilderness Road and Pepper Lane

Turns onto Whiteknights campus

Stops on Chancellor's Way / Queen's Drive

Continues, via Royal Berks Hospital, to Reading Station.

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