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Recent Bus Fare Editions
For a modest extra cost BTS members can receive Bus Fare in addition to Trolleybus Magazine, which contains news and articles on road passenger transport from the Thames and Kennet areas.
July 2010
The Isle of Wight Rock Festival was held on11-13 June 2010. To help ferry the people around the Island to the event Southern Vectis hired 5 Spectras from Reading Buses complete with crews for the period. Mark Hamlin reports on what he saw.
Ex Reading Buses 275, a 1968 vintage Brstol RE with Pennine Coachcraft bodywork is in danger of being scrapped if a new owner cannot be found by the end of this summer. Peter Whitehead appeals for people to try and save the vehicle.
There is the usual comprehensive round up of news from operators in the Kennet and Thames Valley areas.
June 2010
Its all change in Bracknell as some of the First bus services are transferred under tender to Thames Travel. There is a full report of all the changes.
The final instalment of the story of Reading Buses Metroriders is included together with a comprehensive listing of their service history and subsequent disposals.
There is also the usual comprehensive round up of news of bus operators in the Kennet and Thames Valley area.
May 2010
Reading Transport has announced an order for six ADL 400 Enviro hybrid double deck buses for delivery in November/December 2010. A full report on this development is included in this issue.
Chris Spencer reports on an enjoyable day out in Berkshire and South Oxfordshire, encountering a number of operators and vehicle types.
There is a photo feature on the former operator Reliance Of Newbury.
The usual comprehensive round up of bus news in the Kennet and Thames Valley area is also included.
April 2010
School services in the snow - The concluding part of the big freeze that hit the Thames Valley area in January 2010.
There is a colour tribute to the Reading Buses Metrorider featuring the 12 basc livery variations carried over the years.
Details of the approval by Wycombe District Council of a Coachway facility next to the M40 motorway at Handy Cross to host frequent services to London, Oxford, Reading and Slough is given
There is the usual comprehensive round up of news in the Kennet and Thames Valley areas.
March 2010
A comprehensive report about operations by Reading Buses in the big freeze is given, highlighting the trials and tribulations of trying to operate a bus service in such conditions.
A round up of news from the Kennet & Thames Valley areas brings us up to date with local operations
February 2010
On 5 Janaury 2010 heavy snow once again caused major problems for bus operators in the Kennet & Thames Valley area. A comprehensive report is given.
As a result of the Local Transport Act of 2008 , the two largest operators in Oxford, Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach in Oxford are to take advantage of new competition legislation to share services on the four main traffic corridors in the city. Details are included in this issue
There is a comprehensive round up of news from operators around the Kennet & Thames Valley Areas.
January 2010
Reading Buses have recently made a number of service revisions and full details are given
Details are given regarding the Governments Green Bus Funding
There is a full account of how bus services in the Reading area were affected by the big freeze.
December 2009
The series on the 'Tribute To The MetroRider' is concluded.
There is a back page feature on the Luton & District service X14 which operated between Reading, Leighton Buzzard and Aylesbury.
A comprehensive roundup of news from the Kennet & Thames Valley area is also included.
November 2009
Details of Reading Buses service changes, which were due to have been introduced in September 2009, but now postponed until January 2010 are given.
There is a report on Reading Buses ending their experiment with Bio-Ethanol buses.
Part 3 of a tribute to the Reading Buses Metrorider is included plus the usual comprehensive round up of transport news from the Kennet and Thames Valley area.
October 2009
David Hillas gives a potted history of bus services in High Wycombe which is accompanied by four pages of colour photos.
A comprehensive round up of bus news in the Kennet & Thames Valley area brings us up to date with all that's happening in the area.
SEPTEMBER 2009
This month's edition includes Part 2 of a tribute to the Reading Buses Metrorider. Details are also given on the massive project of revamping the Reading railway station area together with a new transport interchange on which work will start in 2010.
There is the usual comprehensive round up of bus news from the Kennet and Thames Valley areas.
AUGUST 2009
Reading Buses recently carried out a service review in a bid to cut costs during the current economic recession. An update of the changes made are reported in this issue.
Part 1 of a tribute to the MetroRiders that were once part of Reading Buses fleet is included together with a comprehensive round up of fleet news in the Kennet & Thames Valley area.
JULY 2009
Stagecoach in Oxfordshire has invested a cool £9 million in a new fleet of environmentally friendly double deck coaches for its flagship Oxford Tube service. A full report is included.
There is also a review of the Royal Windsor Land Train as well as news of a prehistoric Olympian which visited Maidenhead recently!
JUNE 2009
Like most bus companies in the UK, Reading Buses is suffering a significant drop in revenue arising from the recession. A review of the company's efforts to stabilise the situation by the end of their financial year in October is given.
There is also a look back at Winkfield Coaches, an offshoot of the well-known White Bus Services of Winkfield, near Windsor which ceased operations in early 1991.
May 2009
News is reported on the plans to transform Oxford's bus services following the pedestrianisation of a number of streets in the city centre. The project will be carried out in two phases with phase one completion expected in 2010 and phase two completed by 2013.
Details of Courtney Coaches network of bus service changes in the Maidenhead area in February 2009 are given whilst Mac Head tracks down three former AWRE buses exported to Malta 20 years ago which are still in operation there.
APRIL 2009
This issue contains details of the service revamp in the Newbury area and also the rebranding of Reading Buses rural services.
John Zebedee gives details of a new "Buses In Reading" website and encourages us all to get involved.
The usual comprehensive fleet news on the Kennet & Thames Valley areas is also included.
MARCH 2009
This month features the story of the transport chaos that ensued following the heavy snowfall during the early hours of 2 February 2009 and also the flooding and black ice in the middle of the month.
The usual comprehensive fleet news from the Kennet and Thames Valley area is also included.
FEBRUARY 2009
Simon Brown gives an introduction to the bus scene in the Basingstoke area whilst Mac Head takes us for a day out on Green Line.
There are details of 3 preserved ex-Reading motorbuses for sale.
Mac Head asks what goes on behind a bus and coach livery with a look at White Bus Services.
A full round up of news in the Kennet & Thames Valley area is also included.
JANUARY 2009
This issue includes an article written by Dave Hall for the local Reading Evening Post about the history of Reading's trolleybuses.
There is a review of Reading's 'Pop Art' advertisement Scanias together with a look back at the days when Alder Valley buses on the London commuter services from Reading were used by London Transport for sight seeing tours during the day!
The usual comprehensive news of the Kennet and Thames Valley is also included.