It has been a long campaign lasting over two years and there were times when I wasn’t sure it would ever get off the ground. But this week, I am delighted to announce a new bus route will be unveiled that links Newbury, Harwell and Didcot and finally creates a public transport route up the A34.
‘Improving connectivity’ was one of the pledges I made to West Berkshire when I was first elected. And, as I have written previously in this column, I have long thought it was extraordinary that the only way a Newbury resident could reach Didcot by public transport was to take a train into Reading and then catch another one out again. A route that was costly, convoluted and inconvenient for a distance of just 17 miles.
A little research revealed that a bus route used to exist but was discontinued for some reason in 2004. And many years before that, those with long memories will recall the train route which ran between Southampton, Newbury and Didcot.
The new X34 service will run hourly from Monday 24th July, Monday to Saturdays and will stop at Newbury Bus Station, Vodafone roundabout, Chilton, and Harwell Science Campus before reaching its final destination at Didcot Parkway. You can connect to Oxford either via another bus at Harwell Campus or by train from Didcot Parkway where there is a 13-minute direct service. The West Berkshire Connect ticket will be valid up to Harwell, and the full range of Thames Travel tickets on the route to Didcot.
This service will have important implications for commuters. For many years, the fastest growing businesses in this area have been located along the M4 corridor which is why there has been so much focus on east-west travel including the development of Crossrail. However, with 10,000 new jobs coming to Harwell Campus, and a burgeoning tech scene emanating in the business parks, the A34 between Newbury and Oxford is becoming a hive of economic activity. I have been struck by the number of Newbury residents who go to work in that direction, including the many talented young students at Newbury College who are undertaking apprenticeships at Harwell. This will give them a quick, low-cost bus route to work and most importantly, help to drive down car usage on the A34 which is vital for reducing emissions on one of the busiest roads in the South East.
I want to thank Oxfordshire County Council, West Berkshire Council and Thames Travel for helping to make this a reality, especially by taking the rare step of implementing a bus service that crosses two counties. This route would not have been possible without the £2.6 million of Government funding that was awarded to West Berkshire under the Bus Improvement Service Plan – in recognition of the fact that rural areas are in desperate need of better bus infrastructure. I remain ambitious for this route and would love to see go all the way to Oxford in the future (my next campaign!).