TEMPORARY changes to popular bus routes across the Royal Borough will continue for another year, the council announced.

Interim adjustments were made last autumn to subsidised bus services will stay on for an additional 12 months while the local authority and bus operators figure out a longer-term solution to post-Covid recovery.

The council invested additional money to keep the services going for initially six months while work was undertaken to reflect changing traveller habits and keep residents connected in a cost-effective manner.

Bus companies are facing financial hardships post-Covid as passenger numbers remain low compared to pre-pandemic levels and have been suffering from extra fuel and cost pressures.

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The changes affected Thames Valley Buses, White Bus, and Bear Buses, and included rerouting certain sections of some routes, changes to the timetable of some buses, and the frequency of some routes.

The Royal Borough has announced it is investing more money in these interim adjustments to continue to maintain the services while the long-term solution works continue.

In the borough, around half of the bus routes are currently subsidised and bus companies rely on targeted post-Covid recovery funding, which will eventually come to an end.

Cllr Phil Haseler, lead member for highways and transport, said: “We, along with the bus operators, have agreed to extend these interim changes, giving us more time to work together on a longer-term solution for our bus network from April 2024. This extension will avoid the removal of whole routes, while maintaining a good level of provision while we carry out this wider work.

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“We recognise that bus services are valuable to our communities and businesses, in tackling climate change, and for some people this is their main way of travelling around the borough and beyond. At the same time, operators are local businesses facing unprecedented challenges and difficult decisions.

“Last October we took a proactive approach, and we are now simply extending this arrangement until March 2024 which will ensure that we keep the current level of service for the next 12 months, giving certainty to operators and connecting residents, businesses and visitors around the borough. In the meantime, we continue to support and steer operators on their journey to transition fully and effectively into a post-Covid operating environment.”