A councillor has called for a direct bus service between Woodley and Twyford, the commuter village that has trains running to and from London.
Twyford train station allows commuters to use Great Western Railway and Elizabeth Line services to get to and from London.
The next closest train station is Earley, which is on the nationalised South Western Railway line between Reading and London Waterloo.
Councillor Greg Bello (Labour, Loddon) has called on Wokingham Borough Council to ‘bring the buses’ by supporting direct services between Woodley and Twyford.
His appeal was made during ‘question time’ at the full council meeting on Thursday, October 23.
Cllr Bello said: “At the last council meeting, several councillors shared how residents want buses from their wards to Twyford station.
“The answer was that a consultation will launch in January.
“This consultation will be like the bus route from Woodley to Wokingham – it goes the long way round to reach its destination.
“Why not save time and take the direct route to set up a Woodley to Twyford service that residents keep asking me for?”
His question was addressed to Adrian Betteridge, the executive member for active travel, transport and highways.
Cllr Betteridge (Liberal Democrats, Barkham & Arborfield) explained that the council’s bus service support funds are committed until 2027.
He said: “I share your frustration and I’d love to do this now, together with improving bus services between Wokingham town and Twyford, Lower Earley and Wokingham and the many other routes where residents want new or improved services.
“We rely on bus operators to set up and operate routes where they’re commercially sustainable, and we only have limited resources from national government developers and taxpayers with which we can support priority services and services which we hope to grow in future to be commercial.”
The answer comes as Reading Buses is set to launch a bus route between Reading and Twyford on Monday, November 3.
This new route 12 bus will run between Friar Street in Reading town centre and outside Waitrose in London Road, Twyford, a six-minute walk away from the station.
While it will stop at Shepherds Hill, it will then carry along the A4 to Sonning and Charvil rather than stopping elsewhere in Woodley.
After the meeting, cllr Bello said: “It was disappointing to hear that the council will only commit to a consultation.
“It’s like asking people if the sky is blue. We already know what the answer will be because enough residents have raised it with me.
“They will be annoyed that yet again Woodley misses out when Reading Buses launches the new Reading-Twyford route.
“The council could have pushed for Woodley to be included in this route.”
