Controversial Bus Lane Changes Ignite Debate

A controversial bus lane into Reading is set for changes after critics said it made journeys worse.

The London Road bus lane, introduced in August 2024 and running from Liverpool Road in East Reading to Cemetery Junction, has divided opinion. The Labour administration at Reading Borough Council says it speeds up buses and improves air quality, while opponents say it has failed.

Plans are now being drawn up for work in Reading and on the Earley side of the Sutton Seeds Roundabout in Wokingham Borough. The changes would shorten the bus lane in Reading by 30 metres to create a dedicated right turn into Liverpool Road, and add bus lane sections on the A4 and the roundabout. The matter was discussed at Reading council's traffic management sub-committee on Thursday 5 March.

Green opposition leader Councillor Rob White, who lives near the lane, criticised the Labour administration for creating queues. He said: "We want to see good bus lanes which speed up buses."

He added: "When this first came up, I said we supported all of the bus lanes apart from the one we're discussing. We could see, along with residents who responded to the consultation and much of the modelling that was done, that it was going to cause problems for everyone. We said it needed to go back to the drawing board; we didn't say scrap the scheme, we didn't say kick it out, we said back to the drawing board."

He continued: "As we predicted, the queues of traffic increased massively, I think they doubled, causing congestion, the buses got caught up in it, so the scheme slowed everyone down. The bus journey times got longer, and the timetabling was out the window; it was very unpredictable, and pollution got worse. Amongst this, the Labour government put the price of buses up, which disappointingly put people off using the bus."

Mr White did, however, acknowledge that bus use rose after weekend services were introduced at the Winnersh Triangle and Thames Valley park and ride sites, and he suggested some drivers are "rat-running" through Palmer Park Avenue to speed up journeys.

Labour councillor Paul Gittings said the bus lane is intended to boost public transport after the failed East Reading Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) scheme. He said: "Personally, I think that would have been a very, very good thing. It was fully funded, Reading would not have had to pay a thing. Unfortunately, due to the opposition of cllr White and others, who kicked up a tremendous furore about a public transport scheme, it was also scuppered by Wokingham councillors on their planning committee. So this is the alternative."

Former deputy leader Tony Page described the London Road bus lane as "second best" in May 2024.

Councillors noted that Wokingham Borough Council has an informal consultation on extending the bus lane within its boundary. That consultation ends on Sunday 29 March — you can take part via the Wokingham council website.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter