The first alternative bus service of its kind in the country, one that was geared towards the needs of people with restricted mobility, was set up in Reading. It was demand-responsive, fully accessible and aimed to enable people with restricted mobility to travel independently, in order to participate in ordinary day to day activities. It was launched in October 1981 by Sir Peter Baldwin and the Mayor of Reading Cllr Basil Dunning outside the Reading Civic Offices (below).
Sir Peter Baldwin, who died in 2010 aged 87, was a senior Civil Servant who championed many changes to transport in the UK, particularly for people with restricted mobility. His innovations included redesigning London Black Cabs for disabled access and creating the standard for low floor buses. Among his wide-ranging charity work was chairing the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee.
The first Chair of the ReadiBus Board was Councillor Bunty Nash, (pictured above) cutting the 20th birthday cake with Major of Reading, Councillor Tony Jones, in 2001. ReadiBus has been closely associated with the office of the Mayor throughout its history receiving great support from the office. The Mayor’s crest is carried on the buses to this day.
ReadiBus has had a close working relationship with Reading Buses, the Council-owned bus company for many years. ReadiBus looks to develop its service complimentary to that provided by the mainstream operator. At one time ReadiBus shared premises with Reading Buses and today the Managing Director of Reading Buses is a member of the ReadiBus board. Originally, ReadiBus and Reading Buses shared a common livery (above).
The nature of the service means that ReadiBuses get into every nook and cranny of Reading, clocking up over 380,000 miles locally. The popularity of the service led to ReadiBus topping the Post’s ‘Wish’ campaign by a considerable margin in 2012/13 (pictured above with Post Editor, Andy Murrill).
ReadiBus continues to celebrate the arrival of new buses, in this case above at Wokingham Borough Council's Shute End headquarters in 2013 with current Chair, Dr Sophie Bowlby (right). You can see more celebrations to mark the arrival of new vehicles here.