Free bus travel this November & December
2 weeks ago
Great news for our customers in Wokingham and Bracknell Forest; this November and December, bus travel will be free on selected Saturdays with some bonus Sundays on certain buses!
Thanks to bus service improvement plan (BSIP) funding made available by the UK Government, the councils in Wokingham and Bracknell Forest have been able to fund free travel days during November and December to help you leave the car at home, avoid parking fees (and parking stress!) and head into town for shopping or to meet up with friends and family.
By leaving the car and taking the bus this November and December you can help reduce the amount of congestion on the roads and help improve local air quality too! A single double-decker bus at full capacity can take around 2km of cars off the road.
free travel dates
The days with free travel vary depending on the area you are travelling in and our drivers will only be able to issue free travel onboard buses within the areas below.
Our usual selection of great value fares will be available for customers outside of these areas.
Wokingham
Customers boarding within Wokingham will be able to get free single tickets on all Saturdays from Saturday 18 November until Saturday 23 December. Your journey must start at a stop within Wokingham but you can travel to stops outside of the Wokingham area.
You will, however, need to pay for your journey back if it starts outside of the Wokingham area (eg. Reading town centre). This journey will however be capped at just £2 thanks to the Help For Households fare scheme.
In addition to these free travel Saturdays, on Sunday 26 November to help customers travel to the Wokingham Winter Carnival, journeys on lion 4 / X4 within the Wokingham Borough area will also be free.
Bracknell Forest
Customers boarding within Bracknell Forest will be able to get free single tickets on all Saturdays in December between Saturday 2 December and Saturday 23 December. Your journey must start at a stop within Bracknell Forest but you can travel to stops outside the Bracknell Forest area.
You will, however, need to pay for your journey back if it starts outside of the Bracknell Forest area (eg. Maidenhead). This journey will however be capped at just £2 thanks to the Help For Households fare scheme.
how does it work?
When you board in Wokingham and Bracknell Forest on the appropriate days, just ask the driver for a free single ticket if you are boarding. This will then be valid for your entire journey.
On the return, if you are still in Wokingham or Bracknell Forest simply ask for another free single ticket; otherwise, you can buy one of our £2 adult and boost single tickets using contactless or with cash from the driver (or if you are on one of our Wokingham buses, with tap on-tap off). When boarding in the free area, please be careful not to place a payment card or mobile device on the reader as you get on – otherwise, you may get charged for tapping on.
Concessionary passes and existing pass holders
During these free travel days, we still need concessionary pass holders to scan their passes as normal. If you already have a ticket (for example a 30 day pass) you should also still scan your pass. Whilst this might sound strange, it is necessary because the council need to match the correct type of journeys to see how successful the day is compared to a normal day!
valid services
The below routes are valid for free travel on the dates shown above. You will need to board at a stop before and including the boundary stop of the council area to be able to travel for free.
Free travel is not available on our football services F53 and F54.
Wokingham
On routes 121 and 122, free travel is available on the whole route.
|
route number |
direction of travel |
Wokingham boundary stops |
|
125 |
Wokingham to The Meadows |
Dukes Ride crossroads |
|
127 |
Reading to Maidenhead |
London Road - The Drive / Hare Hatch |
|
128 |
Wokingham to Reading |
London Road – The Drive |
|
151A |
Wokingham to Bracknell |
Keephatch Gardens |
|
234 |
Maidenhead to Waltham St Lawrence |
Hare Hatch stop ONLY |
|
239 |
Maidenhead to Henley-on-Thames |
Aston Lane stop ONLY |
|
leopard 3 |
Wokingham to Reading | Halls Lane |
|
lion 4/X4 |
Reading to Bracknell | Mays Lane / Keephatch Gardens |
Bracknell Forest
On routes 108, 150, 156, 157, 158, 171 and 172, free travel is available on the whole route.
|
route number |
direction of travel |
Bracknell Forest boundary stops |
|
53 |
Bracknell to Wexham Park Hospital | Jealott's Hill |
|
151A |
Bracknell to Wokingham |
Coppid Beech Hill |
|
194 |
Bracknell to Camberley | The Meadows shopping centre |
|
LondonLine 702 |
Reading to London Victoria |
Winkfield, The Squirrel (not Heatherwood Hospital) |
|
Flightline 703 |
Bracknell to Heathrow Airport |
Winkfield, The Squirrel (not Heatherwood Hospital) |