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In this special extra edition, we're taking a closer look at local buses, trains and the journey towards an electric future - and how you can help us to support them. Your usual weekly newsletter will land at 5pm on Thursday (23 July).
 Bus travel getting more popular every year
Passenger numbers in our borough have been continually increasing over the past few years, and we're proud to have played a part in that.
We encourage the use of buses and trains, alongside active habits like walking and cycling, as they're healthier and better for the planet than driving.
Working in partnership with local bus operators, and with funding from the Government, we're always looking to improve services where we can.
In this newsletter we'll recap the changes that have been made, how they've made a difference and how you can help keep our network thriving.
Buses are a valuable asset and fantastic value for short local trips, but their success still depends on as many people as possible using them.
Single journeys remain capped at £3, and there are some cheaper options like advance tickets or youth discounts, so why not give them a go?
 Investing in a better network for everyone
We recently agreed to invest a further £500,000 a year into the local bus services that we support, including community transport services.
This will allow us to expand on the 650,000 passenger trips that currently take place in the borough with our funding every year.
Subject to a tendering process, with new contracts due to start next April, we want to extend some routes and create new ones alongside other improvements.
To ensure we invest as wisely as possible, we undertook extensive consultation with many different groups before finalising our proposal.
The changes will be funded by the Department for Transport through our Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), our long-term vision for the borough's network.
We've also agreed improvements to the A4 into Reading at Suttons Seeds roundabout, which includes a new bus lane to improve everyone's journey.
This follows feedback that journey times on this section can be unpredictable, so more reliability will help the bus to remain an attractive option.
 Helping to drive a long-standing upward trend
Some 2.6 million bus journeys took place in the borough between April 2024 and March 2025, the latest period for which official figures are available.
That's a five per cent growth across the network, with similar growth seen in the years before that. Since then, we've been supporting growth through:
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Improvements to the Leopard 3 in May 2025, resulting in a 62 per cent increase in journeys between Arborfield and Wokingham
- Our 2025 summer youth travel offer allowed anyone aged 5 to 16 to travel for £1 (£2 return) in August, with more than 10,000 journeys undertaken
- We now allow free travel at any time for those with a disabled or companion pass, increasing pass usage by 16 per cent and applications by 30 per cent
- We installed 20 new bus shelters under a new contract, some with measures like a "green" planted roof or a solar roof
- An extra late night bus was introduced on the orange 13 from Reading to Woodley on Fridays and Saturdays
- Our free 2025 Christmas travel offer across all local routes on selected dates attracted some 20,000 trips - a 20 per cent increase on 2024's offer
Over this period, operators made changes like Reading Buses' improvements to the Lion 4/4a, which runs through Earley, Winnersh and Wokingham.
We also get contributions from housing developers which support additional bus services to serve their developments.
 It's official - our borough's buses are just the ticket
Reading Buses, which operates local routes alongside sister venture Thames Valley Buses, is currently third best in the country for customer satisfaction.
It was also named Top Shire Operator in last year's UK Bus Awards for the seventh time, and won the Passenger Transport title in the third consecutive Chartered Institute for Logistics and Transport Awards.
It has rolled out a fleet of 24 zero-emission electric buses which serve the claret 21 from Reading to Lower Earley and the purple 17 to the borough boundary.
The company is owned by Reading Borough Council, so any surpluses are reinvested into services, and it's now celebrating its 125th anniversary year.
Some local services are run by Carousel Buses including the 850 from Reading to High Wycombe via Sonning, Charvil, Twyford and Wargrave.
We've made some major investments to support more walking, wheeling and cycling across the borough too. Find out more about what we've accomplished, and what we're planning in the future, in our previous special edition.
 We're chuffed at growing numbers on trains
Train usage has also increased from 4.2 million (2023/24) to 4.79 million (2024/25) entries and exits across our borough, following similar increases in previous years.
The borough's six stations at Wokingham, Winnersh, Winnersh Triangle, Earley, Twyford and Wargrave offer fast access to Reading, London, Henley and more.
Community artworks have been unveiled at Wokingham and Winnersh Triangle, with support from Optalis, CLASP, Wokingham Town Council, Winnersh Parish Council, Network Rail, Southeast Communities Rail Partnership and South Western Railway.
Both artworks were celebrating the 200th anniversary of Britain's railways, and the Wokingham scheme recently won the Creative Projects (Small Group) category in this year's national Community Rail Awards.
Great Western Railway (GWR) has renovated Twyford station with Twyford Parish Council's support, and efforts are ongoing to make the station more accessible, by bus, walking and cycling and to address parking pressures.
SWR has invested in 90 new Arterio trains, each capable of carrying more than 50 per cent more passengers than the trains they're replacing.
Meanwhile, the Government has frozen rail fares for the first time in 30 years as it continues to nationalise services over the coming year or so.
 Latest figures build on historic achievements
In 2014, we transformed Wokingham station into a travel hub with dedicated bus interchange, secure cycle storage and better pedestrian and cycle access.
This was coordinated with Network Rail's renovation to the station itself, including new passenger lifts and a replacement of the old 1970s building.
Our works were part of a wider regeneration of Wokingham town centre, including the modernisation of Market Place to make it more accessible to pedestrians.
We support active and sustainable travel as part of our wider commitment to addressing the climate emergency, reducing air pollution and building fair, green, safe and connected communities. This includes our My Journey Wokingham team's ongoing work to inspire residents of all ages.
 Sparking people's interest in electric vehicles
To help residents and businesses switch to electric vehicles (EVs) and lower their emissions, we've published an ambitious charging strategy.
This aims to provide one EV charge point for every 22 vehicles, which will support all motorists as the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles is phased out.
We've organised three highly successful drop-in events for people who want to learn more, including one which took place earlier this month.
We've also agreed solar-powered EV charging facilities at Mereoak Park and Ride near Reading, which will generate sustainable income towards all our services.
We previously built 38 chargepoints at 18 locations with Government funding, which was shortlisted for a national industry award.
We're looking into the next steps for installing further chargepoints and we'll announce more through this newsletter in due course.
You can email us if you think your street would benefit, but this is subject to funding and selection criteria like not having access to off-street parking.
Over their lifetime, EVs generally emit less than half the emissions (and much less than half, in some cases) of a petrol or diesel car. Read the Government's official advice on making the switch.
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