New bus route to link town to train station

The new bus service will start in the new year

A new bus service, connecting a train station to a town, will launch in the new year.

The new Buzz 9 service will run hourly between south Reading and Green Park Station, six days a week, from 2 January.

The route, which will replace and extend the existing No 9 hourly service, is part of Reading Borough Council’s £26m Bus Service Improvement Plan, funded by the Department for Transport.

Chief executive of Reading Buses, Robert Williams, said the route would "create direct links to a significant area of employment", and the council said it would offer "more convenient and sustainable" travel for residents and visitors.

Buzz 9 will run on the existing No 9 service via Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH), Shinfield Road, Cressingham Road, Northumberland Ave and Whitley Wood Road.

It will then be extended via Whitley Wood Lane, Imperial Way, South Oak Way, Lime Square and Longwater Avenue to Reading Green Park Station.

The new service will offer Monday to Friday trips from Engineers Court to Green Park.

Buzz 9 will also run a new hourly Saturday service.

Green Park station was opened in May 2023

John Ennis, lead councillor for climate strategy and transport, said he was "pleased we are able to offer improved connections to and from [Green Park] with this new bus route".

"The buzz 9 service is part of the council’s ongoing commitment to offer more convenient and sustainable ways for residents and visitors to travel around Reading," he added.