No 22 Bus route to return to Priest Hill

James Freeman, chairman of Reading Buses, announced last night the number 22 bus will revert back to the pre-September 2011 route.

He was speaking at the Traffic Management Advisory Panel to a report looking to create sufficient space on Priest Hill for buses to pass. The relevant extract states:

4.2 Reading Buses are proposing to reintroduce the previous levels of bus services in Priest Hill. The existing levels of on-street parking reduce traffic flow at certain periods of the day and week. To improve public transport provision and journey times for the benefit of all passengers a managed approach to parking must be considered. It is propose [sic] to introduce a short section of no waiting at any time to provide a passing place that will protect the route. Liaison with the Residents and Reading Buses will be completed prior to commencing the formal procedure

James Freeman said "We do intend to go ahead as soon as practicable which in reality is likely to be early summer.  We expect that in consequence of Reading Buses changing the route of Pink 22, the Community Link buses 18 and 28 will be withdrawn from Caversham Heights and redeployed elsewhere in Caversham to meet other needs.”

Those residents I told last night who have responded to me so far are very pleased.  Safety and timing issues were top of their concerns, with journeys to work or school often being delayed by buses unable to keep to the timetable.

It is welcome news that Reading Buses has listened to the public and taken appropriate action.  As soon as the implementation date is confirmed I will post again.