READING Buses has announced many of its routes will be 'getting back to normal' from today (July 6).

Many routes are going back to their normal frequencies, as they were prior to the coronavirus pandemic according to the operator.

Timetables are changing from today where there will be more buses operating.

The operator emphasises, however, that there will still be social distancing in place and spare drivers and buses will be used to help provide support for busy journeys.

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Robert Williams, Reading Buses Chief Executive Officer, said: “With non-essential shops now open and further restrictions being lifted to allow pubs, bars, restaurants, cinemas and other premises to trade again, we have been working hard to ensure we can help everyone who needs to get the bus.

“Since non-essential shops were allowed to open from June 15, we have seen a small increase in customer numbers on our services which have gone from 10 per cent of normal to around 20 per cent - climbing slowly and steadily as different restrictions have been lifted.

“With that in mind we are looking to increase most routes back to roughly their normal service levels."

He added that there will "still be the need for social distancing and we are not expecting customer numbers to suddenly return to normal levels".

He said: “Social distancing will still be in place and our recommended seats on each bus allow for the full two metre distancing.

"If it gets busy unexpectedly, the new one metre plus guidance means that we shouldn’t need to leave anybody behind as our buses are well ventilated, customers are not sitting face to face, customers are also wearing face coverings and journeys are often less than 15 minutes.”

Reading Buses has taken the opportunity to make changes to some services which can be found on the company’s website.

Mr Williams revealed "for the most part, buses will revert back to their pre-lockdown levels" with the Winnersh Triangle park and ride and the Green Line 702 services being reintroduced.

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He added: “For the Reading Buses routes, there will be some evening and Sunday journeys that will be suspended as usage levels remain low, but a 24-hour service will resume on all 24-hour routes to support the gradual reopening of the night economy.

“The other notable headlines for changes are that most routes to and from Caversham will provide faster access to central Reading, running directly to the town centre whenever possible.

"Fewer buses will serve Reading Station North interchange because they also serve other stops near the station, and early morning journeys from central Caversham will now call at the South West Interchange for commuters.

"Timetables have also been amended to provide better coordination between the various routes.

“The little oranges revert back to their normal routes and timetables after some slight variations in Lower Earley during the last few weeks.

“We have also improved the spacing between buses that use the Bath Road to give a more regular service for customers on the common sections."

The company is advising people to use the app to plan their journeys where they will be able to find new timetables and a new feature allows them to see how busy the buses are.

Mr Williams said: "Customers can track their bus and then click on it to reveal whether it is busy – and they can help other customers by filling in the information when on the bus too.”

The company said timetables will be available soon.