Published: Thursday, 17th July, 2008 16:00
All aboard for anniversary
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Derek Hopkins welcomed the chance to photograph buses old and new
Pic by: Jon Mikol
IT WAS all aboard for fun as Reading Buses celebrated a decade at its depot in Great Knollys Street.
Families and enthusiasts queued before the opening to see a rainbow of both modern and vintage buses, with the optional extras of taking a trip through the giant bus wash and sitting in the driver’s seat.
James Freeman, chief executive of council-owned Reading Transport Ltd, said: “The weather turned out brilliantly and a great time was had by all.
“It was an opportunity for us to open our doors and welcome people in to see what we do and where we do it to keep the buses
running 24 hours a day.
“This is by far and away the most modern bus fleet in the UK of a similar size. We have 180 buses and they are all 100% accessible with lower floors.”
The day also raised £1,322.44 for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Mr Freeman said: “We couldn’t have done it without the support from all the staff at Reading Transport, so my thanks goes out to all who helped to make the day as special as it was.”
Roland Martin, community fundraiser for MacMillan, said: “The weather was perfect and we all enjoyed rides through the bus wash, eating ice cream and chatting with the friendly staff who all volunteered their time to make it a great event and help raise vital money for Macmillan Cancer Support. We greatly thank all involved.”
The day culminated in a cavalcade of Premier route and vintage buses around the town centre.
Other things to enjoy, included a merry-go-round, home made cakes and stalls selling models and souvenirs.
Mark Taylor, a controller at Reading railway station, helped son Thomas, two, have a go on the fairground roundabout bus.
He said: “The open day’s local to us and I work on the railways, so we thought we’d come and do something a little different. We’ve had a couple of bus rides and are going to go home for lunch and come back for the cavalcade. It’s a nice day out.”
Reading Buses has operated transport including trams, trolleybuses and now bio-ethanol buses since the late 19th century and moved to Great Knollys Street to make way for the Oracle.
Cllr Fred Pugh, deputy mayor of Reading, said: “It’s wonderful that we are promoting the use of buses at times when lots of car drivers’ costs are escalating, and this is certainly in Reading a viable alternative because we’ve got a good bus service.
“All parties on the council support the retention of buses in public ownership. We are not going to sell them off.”
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