Reading buses - merged posts

[whole diary]

[bobm]

Braved the heat to pay a visit to the Reading Buses annual open day.

Usual attractions at such events - bookstalls, BBQ, rides through the bus wash and a free shuttle from the station.  Also the chance to look around the control room and, in a sign of the times, a chance to have your name in lights - on the electronic destination display on the front of a double decker.

Reading have colour coded their routes for a number of years and the range of vehicles were on display during the day before ending the afternoon with a parade around the town.





Also a chance to see some buses from Reading's past.



This one brought back some memories - I remembering catching it to school and it was old then and only pushed into service when there was nothing else



..and I had forgotten about this Videmat ticket machine.   The trick was to put as many coins to make up your fare as possible (and you could use halfpennies then).  The machine, after making a lot of clanking noises as the coins were checked, then produced a ticket with a photocopy of the coins inserted.  So the big attraction?  The more coins, the longer the ticket!

[bobm]

This year's event is this Sunday (30th June)

https://www.reading-buses.co.uk/reading-buses-open-day

[bobm]

With apologies for the delay - here are some photos from Sunday's open day.

It is the 12th year the company has staged an open day.  The usual attractions were there - rides through the bus wash, have your name put up on the electronic destination displays, tours of the control room etc.

Some new vehicles to see - including this following the takeover of Courtney Buses



It must be something of scheduling nightmare - but Reading Buses have over 15 different coloured routes with buses turned out in specific livery for each service.  The numbers have grown over the years and it is getting harder to fit them all in one photo.



There was also a chance to take an open top bus ride around the town and over the two river bridges.    The route also took in the site of the old bus depot which was demolished to make way for the Oracle shopping centre.





Unless you are a die-hard enthusiast it probably isn't an event to attend every year as not a lot changes, but entrance is free.

[CyclingSid]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-67241888
Possibly more of a puff for the mayor?

In recent weeks Reading has been joined by Greater Manchester in bringing local bus services back under local authority control and Merseyside is also looking to go down the same route.

Not sure that reads right, I think Reading Buses have been under LA control for a long time (or were they "controlled" through a shell company)

[Ralph Ayres]

Sloppy journalism. As I understand it, Reading council simply owns one of several companies running buses in Reading, effectively in competition with any other operator who chooses to run when and where they like in Reading (subject to meeting certain legal requirements, registering the route etc) . That's very different from Greater Manchester which plans the overall network, sets fares and does a tendering arrangement for the right to run each route.

I'm sure there's something for other local authorities to learn from both approaches.