First Berkshire & The Thames Valley
Encyclopedia
Bracknell
Bracknell is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Reading, southwest of Windsor and west of central London...
, Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
and Wokingham
Wokingham
Wokingham is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire in South East England about west of central London. It is about east-southeast of Reading and west of Bracknell. It spans an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 30,403...
, in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is part of First Group, a major bus and train operator with a turnover of nearly £2.5 billion a year and 62,000 employees across the UK and North America. The division operates around 120 vehicles and employs 300 staff.
History
First Berkshire & The Thames Valley was previously the Berks Bucks Bus Company, trading as the Beeline, one of the successor companies to Alder ValleyAlder Valley
The Thames Valley and Aldershot Omnibus Company, trading as Alder Valley, was a former bus operator in England.-The NBC era:The Thames Valley and Aldershot Omnibus Company was formed by the merger of two National Bus Company subsidiaries, Aldershot and District Traction and Thames Valley Traction...
, privatised in 1987. The business originally operated in High Wycombe, Reading and Newbury, as well as its current area, and was owned by a group called Q-Drive. In 1990 the High Wycombe operations were sold to the Oxford Bus Company
Oxford Bus Company
Oxford Bus Company is a bus operator serving the city and surrounding area of Oxford, England and is the trading name of City of Oxford Motor Services Ltd. It is now a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group...
, and in 1992 the Reading and Newbury operations were purchased by Reading Transport - which still operates them.
In 1993 Beeline bought the Slough operations of Luton & District Transport
Arriva Shires & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex is a division of Arriva, with operations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London. It is one of many private operators of London Buses. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester...
, until 1986 the Slough depot of London Country Bus Services
London Country Bus Services
London Country Bus Services was a bus company that operated in South East England from 1969 until split up and sold in 1986 under Margaret Thatcher's government's bus deregulation scheme.-Creation:...
and later part of the London Country North West
London Country North West
London Country North West was a bus operator in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, England. It was formed in 1986 when London Country Bus Services was broken up, and acquired by Luton & District in 1990.-History:...
division.
Beeline was sold in 1999 to First, who renamed the company First Beeline Buses Ltd.
First Group took the decision to corporately brand their services in 2001/2, and First Beeline took the trading name of First Berkshire & The Thames Valley.
Fleet summary
The company operates the following bus types:- Volvo OlympianVolvo OlympianThe Volvo Olympian was a rear-engine double decker bus built by Volvo at Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. It was first built in 1992 and entered production in March 1993, replacing the Leyland Olympian....
- Volvo B9TLVolvo B9TLThe Volvo B9TL is a low-floor double-decker bus built by Volvo Buses since 2002. It superseded the older Volvo B10TL and the Volvo B7TL.-Chassis:...
- Dennis Dart SLF
- Scania K114Scania K114The Scania K114 is a rear-engined bus built by Scania of Sweden with an 11-litre engine.It could be built as a coach or an intercity bus ....
- Scania L113
- Scania L94Scania L94The Scania L94 is a longitudinal inclined-engined bus built by Scania AB, which was a direct replacement of Scania L113. It is used widely in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Australia...
- Mercedes-Benz Citaro
- Dennis Trident 2Dennis Trident 2Dennis Trident 2 is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally built by Dennis in the United Kingdom, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow...
- Optare SoloOptare SoloThe Optare Solo is a low-floor midibus manufactured by Optare in Leeds, UK since 1997. The name "Solo" is a play on the low-floor status of the bus, the manufacturer believing its vehicle having an entrance that is "so low" from the floor, namely 200 mm with kneeling suspension.The innovative...
Services
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
, High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
, Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
. The company was previously the dominant operator in Maidenhead
Maidenhead
Maidenhead is a town and unparished area within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It lies on the River Thames and is situated west of Charing Cross in London.-History:...
, but town services there were abandoned in 2004 and are now run by Courtney Coaches
Courtney Coaches
Courtney Coaches are a bus operator baseed in Bracknell, Berkshire, England. They operate a network of commercial and contracted local bus services and school buses in and around Bracknell and Maidenhead...
.
As well as normal First branded services, there are five specially-branded groups of routes. Some routes to Heathrow Airport are run with blue "Heathrow 7 Series" Mercedes-Benz Citaros
Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro
The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is the current Mercedes-Benz/EvoBus mainstream single-decker bus intended for public transport, introduced in 1997 and replaced the Mercedes-Benz O405/O405N series...
. Some of these are newer (2007) buses, some are from 2003 which were originally in a silver livery in a standard BAA template, all are now blue. Similarly, some routes in Slough are branded as "Slough Trading Estate Hoppa", and use red liveried Optare Solo
Optare Solo
The Optare Solo is a low-floor midibus manufactured by Optare in Leeds, UK since 1997. The name "Solo" is a play on the low-floor status of the bus, the manufacturer believing its vehicle having an entrance that is "so low" from the floor, namely 200 mm with kneeling suspension.The innovative...
s (these were previously purple and branded as "Linx"). The Legoland Shuttle is run with yellow buses in Legoland graphics.
Coach services are also run under different brands. The Reading to Heathrow RailAir
RailAir
RailAir, Railair or Rail Air describes a number of airport bus and coach services designed to connect the National Rail network to airports in the United Kingdom. Services are currently concentrated on London Heathrow Airport, with one other from London Luton Airport...
service uses "RailAir" branded services, and routes 700, 701 and 702
Green Line routes 700, 701 and 702
Green Line routes 701 and 702 and former route 700 are limited-stop express coach services, currently operated by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley as part of the large Green Line Coaches network. It operates between Bracknell and London. Green Line routes 701 and 702 are operated by First Group...
use Green Line
Green Line Coaches
Green Line is a commuter coach brand in the Home Counties of England. It is owned by the Arriva group.Green Line has its origin in the network of coach services established by the London General Omnibus Company in the 1920s and 1930s...
-liveried vehicles.
Standard routes
| Number | Route | Other notes |
|---|---|---|
| Slough - Slough Trading Estate - Burnham - Priory Estate | A Slough Trading Estate Hoppa service | |
| Slough - Slough Trading Estate - Britwell | A Slough Trading Estate Hoppa service | |
| 2 | Slough - Slough Trading Estate - Burnham - Whittaker Road - Priory Estate | A Slough Trading Estate Hoppa service |
| 3 | Wexham Park Hospital - Upton Lea - Manor Park - Slough Trading Estate | |
| Wexham Park Hospital - Slough - Chalvey - Cippenham | ||
| Slough - Chalvey - Cippenham | ||
| 51 | Heathrow Terminal 5 - Staines - Chertsey - Addlestone - Weybridge - Byfleet - Brooklands Tesco | Sunday service only runs as far as Addlestone |
| 58 | Burnham - Britwell - Slough - Langley - Uxbridge | |
| Eton Wick - Eton - Slough - Datchet - Wraysbury - Heathrow Terminal 5 | ||
| Langley - Eton Wick - Eton - Slough - Datchet - Wraysbury - Heathrow Terminal 5 | ||
| 62 | Brands Hill - Datchet | |
| 65 | Slough - Goldsworthy Way | |
| 71 | Slough - Windsor - Egham - Staines - Heathrow Terminal 5 | A Heathrow 7 Series service, replacing routes 41/43 |
| X74 | High Wycombe - Slough | Run in competition with Arriva Shires & Essex Arriva Shires & Essex Arriva Shires & Essex is a division of Arriva, with operations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London. It is one of many private operators of London Buses. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester... 's parallel route 74. Previously running via Beaconsfield as per Arriva's service, from 28 August 2010 the route now uses the M40 motorway instead to provide a faster journey. |
| Maidenhead - Slough - Langley - Heathrow Airport Central bus station | A Heathrow 7 Series service | |
| Cippenham - Slough - Langley - Heathrow Airport Central bus station | A Heathrow 7 Series service | |
| 77 | Slough - Windsor - Heathrow Terminal 5 | A Heathrow 7 Series local service |
| 78 | Britwell/Burnham - Slough - Langley - Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 | A Heathrow 7 Series service |
| 155 | Bracknell - Harmanswater - Forest Park - Crown Wood - Harmanswater - Bracknell | A Bracknell town service |
| Bracknell - Crown Wood - Birch Hill - Great Hollands - Easthamstead - Bracknell | A Bracknell town service | |
| Bracknell - Easthamstead - Great Hollands - Birch Hill - Crown Wood - Bracknell | A Bracknell town service | |
| 190 | Reading - Wokingham - John Nike Leisure Centre - Bracknell | No longer goes through housing estates, this is now an "express" style Reading <-> Wokingham <-> Bracknell service |
| 191 | Bracknell - Ascot - Windsor - Slough | |
| 192 | Bracknell - Charters School | School service |
| 194 | Bracknell - Crowthorne - Sandhurst - Camberley | |
| 200 | Windsor railway station - Windor town centre - Legoland | Run for Legoland Windsor Legoland Windsor Legoland Windsor is a child-oriented theme park in Windsor, Berkshire in England, themed around the Lego toy system. The park opened in 1996 on the former Windsor Safari Park as the second Legoland after Legoland Billund in Denmark. The park is located within close distance of Windsor Castle and... , using specially liveried yellow buses. |
| 501 | MCI - Madejski statdium - Reading town centre | A Park and ride Park and ride Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip... service |
| Green Line 700/701/702 Green Line routes 700, 701 and 702 Green Line routes 701 and 702 and former route 700 are limited-stop express coach services, currently operated by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley as part of the large Green Line Coaches network. It operates between Bracknell and London. Green Line routes 701 and 702 are operated by First Group... |
Bracknell, Ascot, Windsor, Slough, London Victoria | A Green Line Coaches Green Line Coaches Green Line is a commuter coach brand in the Home Counties of England. It is owned by the Arriva group.Green Line has its origin in the network of coach services established by the London General Omnibus Company in the 1920s and 1930s... service |
| X25 | Reading railway station - Heathrow Airport | A RailAir RailAir RailAir, Railair or Rail Air describes a number of airport bus and coach services designed to connect the National Rail network to airports in the United Kingdom. Services are currently concentrated on London Heathrow Airport, with one other from London Luton Airport... service |
Other services
First Berkshire & The Thames Valley operates a school bus scheme, using American-style school buses, running around RunnymedeRunnymede
Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Berkshire, and just over west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is the site of a collection of memorials...
, from an outstation in Chertsey
Chertsey
Chertsey is a town in Surrey, England, on the River Thames and its tributary rivers such as the River Bourne. It can be accessed by road from junction 11 of the M25 London orbital motorway. It shares borders with Staines, Laleham, Shepperton, Addlestone, Woking, Thorpe and Egham...
.
The company also used to operate Ride Pegasus!, a larger scheme run under contract to Surrey Country Council from an outstation in Merrow
Merrow
Merrow or Murrough is the Scottish and Irish Gaelic equivalent of the mermaid and mermen of other cultures. These beings are said to appear as human from the waist up but have the body of a fish from the waist down...
, Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
. This stopped running in July 2010 after the council cut the funding for the scheme.