Reading Buses 'full' in mornings as students turned away

Due to the reported overcapacity of numerous bus services within Reading, parents have called for more buses to avoid their children being held up when getting to school.

One parent posting online reported that on a number of occasions, their child has been refused entry onto the bus due to it being “full” by 8am. This has meant that student has had to get buses a lot earlier in the morning and ended up waiting in school for up to an hour before classrooms open.

Other parents also reported similar issues including children being late as a result of the travel issues with full services on Reading Buses.

In a Facebook post one parent reported the problem on the route 24 bus service. The post said: "On several occasions, my daughter has been unable to get the bus to school as it is "full" when it gets to her bus stop.”

They continued: “I have asked previously that Reading buses put on more buses in the morning as the one before the 8.14 is at 7.44 which means my daughter is hanging around for 40 minutes before school starts.”

The parent said they have reached out to Reading Buses but is yet to receive a response, and called on others to contact the firm to prompt action. Adding: “I can't be the only parent who feels there should be more buses in the morning.”

Many others commented on the post regarding the busy bus services each morning. One commenter stated that “unfortunately, all the buses around Reading are like this every day.”

Another user said: “Yes, even the 17 often says that the bus is full by the time it gets halfway down the Oxford Road.”

In response, another commenter questioned why the people of Reading should expect such poor service from Reading Buses.

They said: “Why do we have to accept bad service? Adequate public transport is something we should expect in a civilised country. We are one of the world's leading economies. This is what we pay our taxes for.”

Reading Buses has been contacted for a comment.