Cotswolds and beyond.

 

Stagecoach Optare Solo OU13 DZF having departed the Burford terminus, climbs the hill to its first stop on route back to Witney. The driver about to be swamped by school children who walked down the hill to ensure a seat before the bus reaches the second stop opposite Burford school.   

Five dry days in March 2024: yes, they were surprisingly and nicely timed for a short break in the Cotswolds. Whilst it is feasible to travel from Winchester to Bourton-on-the-Water by public transport in a day, sadly a return on the same day is impossible as Stagecoach Hampshire insist that we are tucked up indoors by 5.30pm. However, travelling by car had its advantages, with the timing of the afternoon tea stop coinciding with the mass exodus of buses and coaches from Burford Secondary school at 3pm. 

 

 

 Go Ahead Pulham’s PUI 9493. A Volvo B9TL with East Lancs Myllennium CH63/39F body, new to Weavaway as OU05 AVY, takes the roundabout on the A40 at speed having just departed Burford school heading towards Witney. The Prince of Burford pub has a garden overlooking the roundabout, ideal to kill two birds with one stone.

For a small rural town with a population of 4,178, Bourton-on-the Water has a remarkably good bus service network - thanks to Pulham’s Travel who have been based in the town since 1860 and operate all the services apart from one community route. The timetables can appear random as many are designed to fit around schools’ work. Nevertheless, residents and visitors alike seem content with the timetable anomalies and services are heavily utilised even during the quiet off-season. On all three days of travel the day started at 10am when three route converge on Bourton and depart for Cheltenham, Cirencester and Kingham.

Day one started by boarding Pulham’s Optare Solo’s working service 855 to Cirencester. This is the second and last departure of the day, the first departure being at 7am for an extended school route beyond Cirencester to Fairford. The 855 is an indirect route of 55 minutes taking in many scenic villages including Arlington, that, even though it is only 10.37am, is already full of overseas visitors alighting from coaches operated by several London companies. Apparently, the popularity of Arlington is due to a visit made by Emperor Hirohito during his state visit to Britain. The bus finally arrives into Cirencester at 10.52am. The bus remains in Cirencester undertaking local short workings of the 855 until the return school run mid-afternoon, whilst we head off for a look around Cirencester and a cup of tea after photographing a Cotswold Green decker operating a town service to and from the hospital. For the next leg of the journey there is some flexibility as Stagecoach service 51 from Swindon to Cheltenham operates hourly. The 12.15pm departure arrives on time and despite coming in well loaded and a reasonable load waiting to board, we still managed to secure the top deck front seats of the Alexander bodied Scania for a very pleasant journey along the A435 which parallels the River Churn and arrive into Cheltenham 40 minutes later. Plenty of time for lunch and an hour at the bus/coach station and on The Promenade, where all except one Stagecoach service terminate, before boarding Pulham’s Mercedes Benz Citaro for the 4.30pm service 801 back to Bourton.  

Cotswold Green LJ04 LFX a VDL DB250 with Wright body still in Compass Travel livery laying over in Cirencester between journeys on service 58 the Hospital Circular.

 

Day two and another Pulham’s Optare Solo, this time on route 802 to Kingham Railway Station via The Rissingtons and Stow-on-the-Wold. This is a round trip to enjoy the typical Cotswold villages and scenery: the route designed to feed passengers into the Great Western train service between London Paddington and Hereford. The first service of the day departs Bourton at 5.30am and the last journey back arrives at 7.35pm. We depart a little after 10am with two other passengers on board and pick up no other passengers along the entire route. Our two other intrepid passengers alight in Stow and we arrive at Kingham station 43 minutes after departure. We hop off on the station forecourt and wait whilst the driver has his five-minute layover at the far end of the station car park. Reboarding, the bus follows the same route back to Stow before using different narrow lanes to reach Upper Rissington where a mother and son board, both known to the driver as there appears to be no fare collection made. The final leg of the journey back into Bourton differs from the outward leg going via Little Rissington, a village that clings to the side of a steep valley dissected by a narrow, twisting road and we arrive back into Bourton at 11.27am. Time to nip back to the accommodation, located next to the car museum, for a mid-morning coffee before heading out again. By 12.20pm we are back at the bus stop, this time heading north on the 801 for the 30-minute journey to Moreton-in-the-Marsh via Stow and lunch in the pub. A little over an hour later we are back waiting for the 801 and a 10-minute journey back to Stow aboard one of Pulham’s Mercedes Benz Citaro’s. Stow is a lovely little village spoilt by the busy A429 running through it. The buses enter the main village square and compete with cars for parking/layover space, made more interesting when the buses in each direction meet in the square. Plenty of time for a stroll down through the village to the coach park located at the rear of the main car park, before boarding yet another Citaro on the 801 and returning to Bourton.

Pulham’s Optare Solo YJ14 BWH at Kingham, Railway Station on service 802 from Bourton-on-the-Water. Kingham station is on the Great Western line between London Paddington and Hereford with one stopping service per hour. Route 802 serves the station seven times a day with the first arrival at 6.13am and final departure at 7.25pm. The 802 runs a varying route throughout the day, covering many of the smaller villages between Bourton and Kingham. 

 

Pulham’s VO17 EOB (L99 NHS), Mercedes-Benz Citaro O295. Photographed in Stow-on-the-Wold waiting time, having arrived from Chipping Norton and on route to Cheltenham. Since the visit in March 2024 the rather erratic timetable has now been given an even hourly headway and a Sunday service has been introduced.

Day three and it’s time once again to board the 801. This time heading towards Cheltenham along the A436 affording great views of the rolling Cotswold hills. The bus turns left onto the A40, heading away from Cheltenham, turning next right for a tour of Andoversford then rejoining the A40, this time heading in the right direction for Cheltenham. Before reaching Cheltenham coach station the 801 takes an indirect route to call at, on the right Cheltenham General Hospital, with its grand portico entrance, and on the left the equally imposing grounds and buildings of Cheltenham College. A short but swift bit of exercise from the coach station, around the corner to the Promenade where Stagecoach local services depart and immediately board Stagecoach Gold 94 for Gloucester via Gloucestershire Airport. Entering Gloucester passed the Stagecoach depot (Tram shed) and into the newish transport hub interchange with 30 minutes before the next bus, so time for a tea. The café within the hub has closed requiring a quick walk along Clarence Street, where all Stagecoach local services layover and enter the time warp that is Poppins with its formica covered tables and plastic seats. The cafe appears to act as the Stagecoach canteen and serves a cup of tea that is so weak it is a wonder it had the strength to leave the cup. 

Pulham’s DD23 BUS Volvo B8RLE, MCV Evora in Bourton-on-the Water about to depart on the 10am service 801 to Cheltenham.

 

Back at the hub a Stagecoach Scania with AD body stands ready to transport us on a tour of the Forest of Dean. Route 22 follows the River Severn before taking an anti-clockwise route through the Forest of Dean, via Littledean and Cinderford to Coleford. The route must be one of the most tortuous for a double-decker in England with the double S bend of Church Hill into the village of Upper Lydbrook being the most dramatic of all, but the Scania makes light of the terrain. Cinderford has a small bus station with two single-deckers, one Stagecoach and one from Willetts Coaches, and another Stagecoach double-decker already in situ when we arrive, necessitating some nifty manoeuvring on our driver’s part. Leaving Cinderford we pick up several shoppers and many students from the local college, all of whom remain on the bus whilst it lays over for a few minutes in Coleford before becoming the 23. We leave the bus and seek lunch with 60 minutes before the next 22 arrives and becomes the 23 that we will catch. Another Scania arrives and despite most of the passengers remaining on board we manage to bag the front seats on the top deck and the 23 continues our anti-clockwise tour of the Forest. Edging ever closer to the Welsh border, the next largish settlement is Bream followed by Whitecroft where we cross over the tracks of the preserved Dean Forest Railway. We follow the railway tracks and river Lyd south for some distance, arrive into Lydney and what remains of the bus station. After a short lay over, it is just a short distance to the A48 and we turn left and follow the River Severn back to Gloucester.

Go Ahead Pulham’s M99 NHS (OX68 BSC) a Wright StreetDeck HEV originally with Oxford Bus. The livery is for service 99 between Gloucester and Cheltenham serving Cheltenham General Hospital and Gloucester Royal Hospital Monday to Friday from 6am until 8pm.

From Gloucester, the route back to Cheltenham is aboard a former City of Oxford Wright Streetdeck HEV belonging to Pulham’s and used on route 99 NHS. From the transport hub the service calls at Gloucester Royal Hospital where there is a long queue of passengers, most of whom want this bus and we depart with a full load. Almost immediately the bus comes to a standstill as traffic builds up waiting for the level crossing gates to open. Once clear of the city, it is a straight run along the A40 dual-carriageway although the steady incline almost defeats our bus, but we make it over the motorway junction and into Arle Court Park & Ride, where the majority of passengers alight. The remainder of the passengers alight at Cheltenham General Hospital leaving just us to alight at the coach station. Just six strides across the pavement and a twenty-minute wait, it is back on the 801 and retracing that morning’s first trip. However, a lorry blocking the single-track lane in Andoversford whilst loading a tractor caused the arrival into Bourton to be twenty-five minutes late. The pub was open, the journeys over, time to take stock: tomorrow it’s back to the car.          

Warning, this article refers to journeys made in March 2024. Since then, Go Ahead Group have made changes to Pulham’s timetables, including more regular headways and increased days of operation. 

YT21 DVG, Scania N250UD, Alexander Dennis H43/28F body in route 10 livery about to depart Cheltenham. Route 10 operates between Cheltenham and Lower Tuffley via Gloucester on a 15-minute headway during the day and 30 minutes off peak Monday to Saturday, and every 20 minutes on Sunday. In addition to the 10, Stagecoach operate another five routes between Cheltenham and Gloucester.

 

Stagecoach Alexander Dennis E30D, PO12 HTC operates a city service in Gloucester, wearing a commemorative Gloucester Corporation heritage livery.

Cinderford Bus Station, Stagecoach and Willetts Coaches block the two bays whilst two Stagecoach double-deckers add to the congestion by attempting to manoeuvre around them.

Mid-morning line up at Pulham’s Bourton-on-the-Water depot.

Bus and Coach World

 

 

The feudal kingdom of Burnhamland.

I have seen the future: it is yellow and BEE awful. 

If you were given the chance to create the future model for combined health and social care services in this country and made a total shambles; when you managed to get your Police Authority put into special measures; when you cleansed the homeless and poor from the city centre to make way for shiny new tower blocks built by your developer chums, what would you do next? Answer: you would take a financially viable transport network away from the operators, ‘nationalise’ it and place the financial burden on the electorate.

But, let’s start with two bus journeys that spearheaded quality contracts which the bus industry in this country should have developed. In both cases the routes feature Stagecoach, Arriva and Merseytravel. Route 472 from Heswall arrived in the form of a Gold livery Scania from Stagecoach for a one hour journey via the Mersey Tunnel to Liverpool, always exciting from the top deck front seat. A quick walk around the corner into Queens Square, Liverpool for the 10 service to St. Helens, not the 10A as this takes an additional 15 minutes. The big question is: will this be my first ‘yellow’ sighting? Merseytravel have a small fleet of hydrogen deckers allegedly working route 10, but no luck. Never mind, the 10 takes 60 minutes to reach St. Helens so every chance of spotting one on route, but no luck, and the same on the return journey. Perhaps these futurist buses were no more than a click and paste PR stunt by the local mayor. What is it with Labour mayors and the colour yellow? Red I could understand, but not yellow. Did central office make a bulk purchase of paint years ago and now has a warehouse full of tins, enough to paint 20,000 buses yellow?

Hatton's SN66 WLA. Alexander Dennis E20D B29F.

Arriving in St. Helens, once a bastion of small independent operators, it is now left to Hatton’s and Huyton to elevate the sea of aquamarine that dominates the bus station. Time for a cup of tea, 90p in the café at the end of the bus station before boarding Arriva 320 which departs every 30 minutes and takes 49 minutes to Wigan. No sooner are we underway than it’s time to enjoy an extended visit to New Boston, as we fight our way through a set of temporary traffic lights, just 100 yards from the still functioning traffic lights at the junction. Pavement battles ensue as vehicles go off-road and many one and two finger salutes exchanged. Eventually, progress is made before a slow procession through Platt Bridge with plenty of time to admire the local scrapyard specialising in buses. Several ex-Stagecoach Merc’s and a couple of body frames, now unrecognisable, stand proud as a glorious landmark for visitors. But no time to ponder, we must ‘gird our loins’ for we are about to enter Burnhamland.

Suddenly, they are upon us, BEEs in front, turning from the left, turning from the right, and without warning coming up behind. The interior of our little Arriva DAF/Wright is enveloped in a yellow hue of double-decker BEEs. Hunting in packs they are out to intimidate, blocking out the view of the historic and scenic wonder that is Wigan Pier. But then, with their modernish glass and steel hive in view they suddenly peel off left to deposit their recently acquired nectar (passengers) in their laire. Whilst we make a circumnavigation of the town centre before entering the bus station via the lower end. Entering this bastion of milk and honey offers little reward. No sign of a queen bee offering assistance to would be passengers, no chance of using the loo until security extricate the little old lady and her wheeled shopping bag from the turnstile. Time to venture out of the bus station as Wigan town centre has some historic buildings displaying its former wealth from the cotton trade and the former market hall is now undergoing a huge redevelopment. 

 

 Diamond NW MX20 KXD. Wright Streetdeck H45/29F.

No time for loitering, I can hear the diesel buzzing of a swarm of BEEs calling me back towards the hive. There are two swarms, the largest being Go Ahead NW, with a motley selection of worker bees from nationwide: the older members of the swarm are double-deckers, many having had surgery to their bodies, whilst the youngsters are single-deckers and many newly delivered. The smaller of the two swarms is the Diamond NW, recognisable by the Wright Streetdecks, some still fledglings with blue plumes yet to mature into full yellow BEEs. Many of the Go Ahead swarm appear to be twins, coming in and out together and displaying the same route number, safety in numbers from any predators who are still loitering (Stagecoach and Arriva). The beekeepers, a dishevelled bunch with no common uniform, sit on the retaining wall of the hive creating great plumes of smoke. Presumably they subdue the swarm whilst it briefly buzzes in and out, or perhaps the king bee Burnham is about to visit to extract more honey (money) from his unsuspecting acolytes. Anyway, time to move on before I (like the local electorate) get stung, 

 

 Go Ahead SK73 CRJ. Alexander Dennis E20D MMC B37F.

Back in the hive, this time for the other Arriva route that goes between Wigan and St. Helens, the hourly 352 via Orrell and Billinge. A lovely run across the hills with expansive views. It is obviously too windy for the swarm as there is not a hint of yellow in sight. Finally, time for a rerun back to Heswall. The 10 from St. Helens is soon full as the local college is in and it’s time for home. We soon start playing leapfrog with two 10A’s and a 10B all the way back to Liverpool and all well loaded. It never ceases to amaze me how far students are prepared to travel for their education, and there is me thinking everybody under 20 had an environmental conscience. That’s a story for another day, time to buzz off home.

 

 Go Ahead NW SN14 TUJ. Alexander Dennis E40D H45/30F.    

The stats. (Source: public documents)
TfGM
£400 million government funding to TfGM since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
£18 million 8th June 2023 to ensure the stability and reliability of the transport network.
The above is in addition to £1.07 billion funding through City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements, £39.7 million for active travel schemes and £19.87 million through Levelling Up Funds for transport.
A fixed sum of £13 million of Bus Service Operators Grant plus (BSOG+) 2023/4 and again in 2024/25.
A further £8.8 billion was announced for a second round of CRSTS 2 for 5 years from 2027.
Franchising will be funded from a combination of the approved capital budgets of c£86m, and the approved revenue budgets of c£134.5 million, associated with the transition to bus franchising; and from net revenues generated from bus franchising for the period beyond transition.
 

BEE Network tranche 1.
Commenced September 2023.
188 routes in phase one.
Timetable changes on 44 bus services.
50 (BYD Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV) electric buses.
Estimated revenue totalling £400m will accrue over seven years.
Diamond sold 134 buses to TfGM and the depot for £30.41m.
2023/24 Bus franchising budget £15.9m.
Cost of purchasing Stagecoach Wigan depot unknown.
Many official TfGM documents redacted. 

                       Diamond NW MX21 ASV. Wright Streetdeck H45/29F.

Bus and Coach World

Azerbaijan & Nakhchivan

BakuBus MMC 15599 (99·JU·284). BMC Procity 12 CNG, new in 2019. One of 510 in service with the operator. Operating service 125 from 28 May metro station to the southern suburb of Lokbatan, a distance of 21km with a 10-minute headway. Photographed on Neftchilar Avenue heading out of the city.

The Republic of Azerbaijan sits on the borders of Europe and Asia with a coastline on the Caspian Sea; land borders with the Republic of Dagestan, Iran, Georgia and Armenia; has the enclave of Nakhchivan. With a population of 10.2 million the capital is Baku, main language is Turkic and the currency is the manat (1 manat = 47p). This former part of the Soviet Union is now a ‘democratically elected one party state’, rich in gas and oil reserves.

The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is a land locked nation situated in the southwest end of the Lesser Caucasus and covers an area of 5,500 KM² with a population of 444,400. It has a 246km long border with Armenia; 204km with Iran and 11km with Turkey. Since the second Nagorno-Karabakh war of 2020 and the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive, the Republic is only accessible to foreigners by air. Biblically, Nakhchivan is said to be the resting place of the Prophet Noah and that the cleft peak of Mount Ilandag was carved out by Noah's Ark. The Republic is also considered one of the least polluted countries in the world, with no major industries and vast areas given over to mountains and national parks.

The capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, has a population of 2.62 million. The terrain is hilly, levelling out on the seafront with a 14km long promenade. The streets are often narrow, and the architecture is a mix of ancient, Soviet and spectacular modern. Public transport includes a two-line metro system, 70 city bus routes, 124 suburban routes, 6 minibus routes in the city and 17 in the suburbs; carries 350,000 passengers daily and is overseen by Baku Transport Agency (BTA). Tickets are purchased using the ‘BakkaKART’, a pre-loaded smart card. The municipal operator is BakuBus MMC with two bus garages, each has a capacity of 300 buses. Two large independents, Cinar Trans LLC and Khaliq Faiqoglu (part of the SAFA Holding group of companies) plus 41 small operators contribute about 2,168 buses to the network, with the minibuses, normally white, accepting only cash (0.30 manat in the city), payable before alighting. Passenger loadings are always heavy with services suffering from day long traffic congestion, and most routes continue to midnight and beyond. 

BakuBus MMC 67197 (77·JA·829) heads a line-up of four out of a total of 205 currently operational BMC Neocity 9M CNGs, new in 2022. The buses are lined-up at the Nizami Ganjavi Park terminus of route 10. Route 10 is a convoluted route east/west through the city centre, the western terminus being at the Zefir Shopping Mall. 

 

Baku’s public transport has seen huge investment and between 2015 and 2020, 603 medium and large-capacity buses were purchased, these included 300 buses bought in 2019. In 2020 115 Turkish built BMC buses were ordered, 80 were 12-meter long and 35 9-meter-long BMC Neocity. As a result of the Clean Bus Declaration (BUS2025), one BYD 12-meter electric bus was purchased in 2023. A second electric bus from China's ZhongTong Bus was purchased in 2024. Recently the Economy Ministry has signed an agreement with BYD to assemble vehicles locally. Major purchases have also been made by the two large independents, Cinar Trans LLC has invested in 150 new vehicles since 2017 and Khaliq Faiqoglu, who operate 300 buses (the blue buses in Baku) have received Otokar or Isuzu types for their city routes 18, 52, 61, 65, 79, 85, 96, 135 and 199.

         

BakuBus MMC 15406 (99·JB·291). BMC Procity 18 CNG, new in February 2020 and one of 20 in service. Photographed passing the architecturally amazing Heydar Aliyev Centre on route 13 towards the large park & ride/interchange site Mezhdunarodnyy avtovokzal.

Ganja is Azerbaijan’s second largest city (population 335,600) and owes much of its history to being on the original silk road. The city saw bombing by Armenian forces during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Between 1955 and 2004 the city had an extensive trolleybus network. Today most routes are operated by mini and midibuses of various ages and from several manufacturers. Information on the network is limited, although ten routes were observed.

20·EY·910 Karsan ATAK operated by Azər Avtonəqliyyat in Ganja. The vehicle was new to Baku in 2018 and came to Ganja in October 2023. Photographed passing the Ganja branch of National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan on Shah Ismayil Khetayi Avenue.

Sheki is a small city on the slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains (population 68,460). There are 16 bus routes operated by minibuses (Marshrutkas) primarily of Mercedes Benz manufacture, the vast majority Mercedes 208D’s with the occasional 507D. Despite their age, these vehicles manage the hilly terrain with gusto: routes 11 and 17 climb to The Palace of the Sheki Khans situated at 800m above sea level, fully laden with passengers, showing little sign of their age. 

55·BJ·0882, PAZ-3205 operating route 22 in Sheki. Route 22 operates between the Olympic complex, bus terminal, hospital, theatre, old bazaar, caravansary, The Palace of the Sheki Khans, and children's hospital. The route climbs to over 800m on a steep incline. The bus is returning to the city centre passing the caravansary. 

Nakhchivan City (population 94,500) is the administrative centre for the Autonomous Republic. A small walkable city with wide boulevards, a result of Soviet planning, that provide a one-way system for the bus network. Until 2004 there was a trolleybus system consisting of three routes. Today the city buses are mostly Isuzu and King Long midibuses whilst suburban buses are fleets of Mercedes 208D/408D’s. The main bus station is in the north of the city at the junction of Dilgam Pishavari Road and the M7, whilst the out-of-town minibuses congregate around the central market in the south of the city. 

O·014·MR a MAZ 206 in Nakhchivan city. The only one of this type seen during the visit.

Ordubad is the second largest city in Nakhchivan, built on a hillside close to the Iranian border and is a mixture of modern and medieval architecture. The local bus service travels up Emin Sadliq Road, with the primary objective to get residents up the steep hill from the bottom of town using Mercedes 208D/408D’s.

75·BA·039, a KAvZ 3270. KAvZ is a subsidiary of the GAZ Group. Photographed in Ordubad, Nakhchivan, now acting as a motorhome.

Throughout the visit it was difficult to identify coach operators as most vehicles carried no signwriting. They were however quite modern vehicles. The current favoured large vehicle type is the Neoplan Cityliner, whilst slightly older vehicles mainly consist of Mercedes Benz Travelgo’s. New midi-coaches are TEMSA and all smaller coaches Mercedes Benz Sprinters.

99·JB·060, 99·JB·010, two of the numerous Neoplan Cityliners seen throughout Azerbaijan. These are parked at Heydar Aliyev Centre.

Azerbaijan is investing heavily in transport infrastructure. The recent agreement between the country and its neighbour Armenia to open a transit corridor between the two parts of Azerbaijan will see both road and rail links established. The investment in buses seen in Baku might spread to the hinterland. For now  Azerbaijan remains a hidden treasure.

Faiqoğlu 1044 (99·JM·354), Anadolu Isuzu Citiport 12, new in 2016 and one of 55 in service. The bus is arriving at the Yaşıl Bazar terminus on Khatai Avenue, Baku.

GAZ-3221, 55·BE·099 heading up hill on route 11 - new bazaar; bus terminal; old bazaar; caravansary; The Palace of the Sheki Khans; children's hospital; Olympic complex. Despite its age and heavy passenger loading, the vehicle makes the climb to over 800m with aplomb.   

75·AF·186, a PAZ-672 looking smart for its age, in the car park of the Dusdagh Salt Mines’ Hospital, Nakhchivan. The PAZ 672 was produced between 1968 and 1989.

77·CF·108 has a Sunsundegui Sideral body possibly on an Iveco chassis. Parked at the Qobustan State Reserve on a school trip.

                                                                                            Bus and Coach 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.          In the past.     Left, First Bus, right two examples of Courtneys operation. Left, Beeline operating the 192. Centre the mural in the bus station toilet and a Mercedes laying over.  Bus and Coach World