Omnibus World: The many colours of Bracknell.

Alighting at Reading railway station for the first time in 20 years, it was amazing to see how the area inside the station had been transformed. However, it was a shame that the same could not be said for the immediate area outside the station. I remember James Freeman, when MD of Reading Buses, saying that a lack of consultation resulted in the loss of the bus station immediately outside Reading railway station, in favour of a vehicle free grand piazza. Today, what welcomes you in place of a grand piazza is a great chasm, as Reading mines for either hidden minerals or Dante’s Inferno. However, that matters very little as it is a quick dash into the surrounding side streets in search of bus service X4 to Bracknell.

A pride of lions. Below YX73 PHK and above KX59 GNV (ex Portsmouth University) showing the contrasting ‘Lion’ livery. Both are departing on service 4 to Reading.

As hoped for, the day got off to a roaring start: the bus that arrived was one of the new Alexander Dennis E40D MMC ‘s in the revised ‘Lion’ livery. We settled into smart leather seats (top deck front of course): checked out the contactless phone charging pad, peered through the full-length sun roof and admired the ambient lighting and set off at a sedate pace (X for express?) to a cacophony of squeaks and rattles along the very straight A329. A visit to Wokingham Railway Station before pulling into the town centre for a short layover and then onto the epitome of 1960’s pre-cast concrete, Bracknell. On route enjoyed a tour around one of the industrial parks and the derelict dry ski slope, although the alpine chalet hotel at the summit remains open. Around the ring road, passing the railway station and the site where the First depot once stood, we arrive at the all too familiar bus station.

The one constant on the Bracknell bus scene is the bus station. Whilst numerous operators have come and gone, Thames Valley, Beeline, First, and Courtney to name a few, the bus station has changed little. The greasy spoon café is as rough and cheap as ever; the toilets are indescribable with the mural no longer a diversion; the former information shop now a focal point for staff to loiter, and the remaining retail outlet long closed. However, the one major redeeming feature is the buses. Today, the majority are under Reading Buses management and trade as Thames Valley, with White Bus coming in on a couple of irregular services. Reading has invested heavily in new buses in an assortment of liveries, whilst still retaining a few of the former Courtney fleet. Visiting on a dull Monday in February, passenger loading looked light on the town services but slightly better on services out-of-town. One negative observation was that the buses could do with a good clean as the exterior on many buses showed signs of several days’ road dirt.

With so much redevelopment in the centre of Bracknell, it is encouraging that the bus station survives especially as it is conveniently adjacent to both the shopping precinct and railway station. The level of bus provision also belies Bracknell’s status as a new town built around a road network designed for the car.

Former Courtney YY67 HDO about to depart on half-hourly service 194 to Camberley. The service extends four time a day to Farnborough.

Above: Reading Buses FL73 WND departing on service 703 for Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 via Slough and Windsor. The 18 daily departures have an erratic headway from Bracknell but become a 30-minute headway when combined with short workings from Slough. Below: how things were when First operated the route.

Above: Two AD E20D’s in a rather drab Thames Valley livery. Front YX68 ULZ and behind YX65 RKK, both ex Courtney although RKK was originally an Alexander Dennis demonstrator. Below: YX73 PGZ arrives into the bus station on service 171, an every 30 minute circular around the town via Hanworth. The livery displays a variation of the bird motif used originally by Courtney.

Two variations on a colour theme: Above: SN69 ZMZ laying over and below YX22 OJG about to depart on service 194 to Camberley.

Two ex-Courtney buses still in service with Thames Valley. Above: KX64 AEJ returning to the bus station on service 150, a 27 minute circular via Binfield. Below: YX67 UYP about to depart on service 156, a 25 minute circular around the town.