There was a surprise for shoppers outside the Lexicon’s Princess Square entrance in Bracknell as they came across a brand new bus in the pedestrian area.
Thames Valley Buses had arrived to officially launch the new vehicles that have recently been introduced onto their 171/172 south Bracknell routes with local councillors and residents alike.
The new environmentally friendly buses, with the latest low emission Euro VI engines, have been in service for a few weeks and, according to Thames Valley Buses, are already getting lots of praise from customers.
The company say they are a step-change in luxury and comfort for their customers. Amongst the features are coffee-shop style wood effect flooring and comfortable high back seats.
The buses also provide seat back phone holders with wireless charging, as well as USB charging ports, and free WIFI to help customers stay connected whilst on the move. They all feature next stop audio and visual announcements, and distinctive blue route branding to assist customers navigate their journeys.
Said Robert Williams, Chief Executive Officer: “It was great fun to have the bus outside The Lexicon to show shoppers what all the fuss is about. We had lots of existing customers come and tell us how much they loved the new buses and had customers from other routes asking when they were getting them!
“It was also nice chatting to non-bus users who were unaware of how high-spec these new vehicles were and we even had some promise to take their first trips with us!
“The 171/172 circular route around South Bracknell is one of our most popular services, so we are proud to be able to bring this investment to the area. We are confident they will transform customer journeys and encourage more people to choose the bus.
“For the people of Great Hollands, they now have all new buses to get them to and from Bracknell Centre. We have these amazing buses on routes 171/2 that combine with some new vehicles just launched on Reading Buses lion 4 and follows investment in route 194 last year.
“This means that customers travelling between Great Hollands and Bracknell town centre will have an amazing choice of high quality, environmentally friendly new buses for their journeys.”
Robert added: “All tickets are accepted on all four routes meaning customers can turn up at stops where the routes overlap and not have to worry about waiting long for a bus – customers can use both the Reading Buses and Thames Valley Buses apps to track buses and check arrival times as well as buy tickets.”
Customers are advised that whilst the buses are new, the timetables and routes remain the same as current.
Main photo: Arron Jordan, Robert Williams, Councillor Guy Gillbe, Simon Fisher, Nick West, Ben O’Shea and Paul Visser.
Pictured above left to right: Simon Fisher (Thames Valley Buses General Manager), Councillor Guy Gillbe and Robert Williams (Reading Buses Chief Executive Officer)
