NOTE Since the Reading Borough Council statement (see below), the Number 28 bus service has been cancelled.

Improvements to Community Link Bus Service 28 For Tilehurst And Purley

12/02/2008
Reading Borough Council Press Release

A bus route is to be extended in response to concerns that were raised about the lack of service between Purley and the Tilehurst Triangle shops.

Reading Borough Council has teamed up with neighbours West Berkshire to jointly sponsor the extension of Community Link bus route 28, following a consultation carried out by Reading Buses.

From Monday February 25, when the new routes 15 and 16 start, route 28 will offer a selection of daytime journey options from Purley to Tilehurst Triangle, Asda, central Reading and right through to the Royal Berks Hospital. An extra improvement is that the new 28 will also serve stops at the north end of Long Lane which haven't benefited from a bus service in recent years.

There is also an extra earlier bus from Dee Park and New Lane Hill to Tilehurst Triangle, with the first bus arriving at the Town Centre 20 minutes earlier than it currently does. Buses from Purley Knowsley Road will be at 9.00am, 10.40am, 12.20pm, 2.00pm (and will leave Tilehurst Triangle 10 minutes later). That gives shoppers at least an hour and a quarter at The Triangle, or an hour at Asda.

The departure times from Tilehurst Triangle back to Purley will be at 10.34am, 12.14pm, 1.54pm and 3.34pm

And in a further improvement, a change to the route 87 school bus to Hugh Faringdon School will now see it leave Purley Knowsley Road at 7.46am, giving a direct link from Purley for the first time. In the afternoon the return bus connects into a route 28 bus at Tilehurst Triangle to get pupils back home.

Reading's Lead Councillor for Transport, Tom Crisp, said: 'When the two councils became aware of the concerns of residents we got together and agreed a service that does the job and is also affordable to the councils. Reading Buses have helped identify bus resources that have allowed an earlier first bus and an extra morning bus. We look forward to welcoming local Tilehurst and Purley residents onto all the new services.'

Keith Chopping, West Berkshire Executive Councillor for Transport said, 'West Berkshire is pleased to have been able to give support to the extension of route 28. We would like to thank residents for informing us of their needs and are happy that they will now be able to access shops and essential services via the new route.'

And Councillor Tony Jones, Chair of Reading Buses, added: "I am pleased that we have been able to extend the 28 route in west reading and Purley. I hope that local people will give these services their full support so that they can become a permanent part of the bus network in their own right."

ENDS