A new idea is emerging to tackle parking chaos at Twyford station.
Residents are calling for a dedicated, fast shuttle bus from Wokingham to link with Twyford’s Elizabeth Line services, potentially starting at the Coppid Beech park and ride.
SoonYau Cheong said: “Commuting to London is already hard, who wants to add another transport leg that is slow, unreliable , and we have to pay for.
“Might as well take the train to Reading, but the fare is more expensive than departing from Twyford.
“The solutions are: to build a multistorey car park in Twyford; to reduce the train fare from Wokingham, via Reading, to a level matching Twyford.”
Twyford’s popularity as a gateway to London Paddington has outstripped the capacity of its single-level car park, which local reports say is often full shortly after 7.15am, pushing commuters into nearby residential streets.
Against that backdrop, Wokingham borough council has been working hard on building better bus and active travel links as an alternative to simply building more parking and now a cross-party working group is reviewing the same problem.
In a Facebook discussion on the proposal, most respondents said they already choose Twyford over Wokingham because of its faster and, in some cases, cheaper services.
One commuter summed it up as “cheaper and faster”, while others pointed out that Wokingham–Reading–London tickets are more expensive than from Twyford.
Asked whether they would use a dedicated rush-hour shuttle bus – if reliable – several said yes – but with conditions.
Reliability, frequency and price came up repeatedly, with one respondent insisting buses would need to run at least every 30 minutes and arrive 10 minutes before the half-hourly fast Paddington trains.
Another said they would only switch if the return fare was “significantly cheaper than the station car park”.
On the route and the stops the bus should take, opinion was divided. A number of people backed Broad Street in Wokingham town centre as the obvious starting point, with some suggesting existing London Road stops and a call at Cantley Park if the bus ran via Hurst.
Others argued that an out‑of‑town service from Coppid Beech park and ride – close to the A329(M) and already set up for bus users – could work better for drivers, especially those coming from Finchampstead and Barkham.
Jo Jo Hillier said: “The abandoned park and ride site would be great to utilize not just for a Twyford shuttle but for other places such as Oxford etc.”
However, a substantial minority were sceptical of adding “a second layer of public transport” into an already long commute. Some said they would rather change at Reading to avoid any extra bus leg, even at higher rail fares.
Others worried that delays, roadworks or a sick driver could leave them 40 minutes late and in trouble at work. A few seasoned commuters were more relaxed, saying that after years of daily disruption on the railways you simply aim to arrive early and accept the occasional bad day.
Several commenter’s questioned whether a shuttle could ever be fast and reliable enough in peak-time traffic to tempt drivers out of their cars, arguing instead for a Twyford multi‑storey car park or reduced fares from Wokingham to match Twyford.
What is clear is that there is an appetite in Wokingham to look beyond the car – but residents say any shuttle will only succeed if it is frequent, affordable and, above all, genuinely reliable.
Many residents, however, are still focused on a large car park at Twyford station.
Jaynage Thorn said: “While inconvenient, the best solution is to level Twyford completely, dig down and out, and then build up 3 layers.”
Conservative Councillor Charles Marghetts preferred that the service should start from outside Wokingham because he lives in Finchampstead. He said: “For this idea to work, services would need to be reliable, fast and very regular.”
Green Party spokesperson, Gary Shacklady, had another suggestion: “One of our policies is to put a bus route through Woodley to Twyford station.
“There’s a lot of traffic going through Woodley and Wokingham to Twyford.
“It would be a real shame if they only build more car park.”
Wokingham council executive member for active travel and transport, Cllr Adrian Betteridge said: “Improving access to Twyford station is a priority for the Lib Dem-led council, for all means of transport including buses.
“We recently supplemented this with a cross-party working group to involve councillors of all parties.
“Options for improving bus services to Twyford station from Wokingham, Woodley and other locations were included in the council’s recent bus services consultation, the results of which are currently being analysed.
“The council currently subsidises buses by around £2 million per year, drawing on government grants, developer contributions, town and parish council contributions and council funding.
“We have sustained and improved many routes since 2022 and will continue to work to make best use of this money across the many calls for it.
“I hope this will include enhancements to Twyford station.”
