Pink 22 Bus Service Saved Amid Controversy

Saved at the last minute: the Pink 22 bus between Reading town centre and Caversham Heights will keep running after a last‑minute deal between Reading Buses and Reading Borough Council.

The route had been due to be axed on Monday 20 July, but officers and the company negotiated behind the scenes and confirmation came on Wednesday 15 July.

John Ennis (Labour, Southcote), the council's lead for transport, said officials had been exploring options and made a commitment to keep the service after a public meeting.

"From the outset the Council has been exploring every possible option to enable the pink 22 to continue to serve passengers. I'm pleased a solution has now been found.

"I had requested that Council officers think outside the box and consider innovative and novel ways in which this could be achieved. Given that only a commercially viable solution would enable the route to run, that was a far from easy task, but they have worked behind the scenes to come up with a solution which does exactly that, which I'm sure the community appreciate."

The fix uses a one‑off grant to buy a new electric bus, due to join the fleet next Spring.

Robert Williams, chief executive of Reading Buses, said: "We are pleased to have found this solution to ensure that the pink 22 to Caversham Heights can continue to run following substantial declines in patronage over the last few years.

"Our hope is that the new electric bus will provide an additional incentive for residents to give the service a try, as the service is ultimately only justifiable if a larger proportion of the community use it than just those who have no alternative.

"We also intend to continue conversations from the public meeting about how the route could be amended in the future."

Conservative councillors called it a council U‑turn. Cllr Isobel Ballsdon (Conservative, Caversham Heights) said: "I welcome the council's U-turn to save the pink 22 bus. This is a real victory for our community campaign and everyone who refused to stay silent.

"But this should never have happened in the first place. Vulnerable residents have been put through weeks of unnecessary stress and uncertainty, and Caversham Heights commuters are still left with a service that's far less useful than before.

"This decision proves that when our community stands together, we can force the council to listen."

She added the timetable is reduced: buses will run every 50 minutes at peak and every 45 minutes off‑peak, versus 30 minutes at peak and 60 minutes off‑peak previously.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter