Thames Valley Buses Limited,[1]trading asThames Valley Buses, is a bus company based in Bracknell, England. It was known as Courtney Buses until 2021. Founded in 1973, the company operates a network of commercial and contracted local bus services and school buses in Berkshire, north Hampshire and small parts of Oxfordshire, Surrey and Buckinghamshire. In March 2019 it was purchased by Reading Buses, with the company having gradually rebranded to its current name between October 2019 and April 2021.
The Courtney Group was formed in 1973 as a taxi hire firm in Bracknell by William Courtney-Smith, and moved into coach hire in the 1980s.[2] In 2000 Courtney Coaches commenced its first local route, 53 (Wexham Park Hospital - Maidenhead - Bracknell). This was taken over by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley in 2003.[3] The company expanded dramatically in January 2004 when all seven local routes in Maidenhead were taken over from First Berkshire.[2][4]
In September 2006 Courtney Coaches had its licence revoked by the Traffic Commissioner.[5] An appeal was launched, operations continued and the decision overturned by the end of 2006.[6] Between 2005 and 2007, a park & ride service was operated between Maidenhead town centre and a temporary site at Stafferton Way. The Stafferton Way site had been used to provide replacement parking during a period in which a town centre car park was shut.[7]
In October 2007 the company introduced a unique ticketing system, ETMSS, which uses mobile computer technology to replace fare charts and reporting software with one computerised system.[8] Other features include the ability to modify fares from anywhere using the internet, GPS tracking of individual buses and reduced insurance costs as a result of this, and the ability to calculate fares, cash exchanges and refunds.[9] The cost of installation was reportedly paid back within the first 12 months.[8][9]
The routes in Maidenhead were changed significantly in early 2009. However, changes to the stopping pattern on route 6 (Maidenhead— Windsor) received criticism from some residents[10] and were further changed in April 2009.[11]
Further expansion came in January 2009, when the shuttle service between Didcot Parkway station and Milton Park was expanded from one bus to two using a new low-floor double-deck vehicle at a cost of £175,000. Over 400 passes for the service were issued to workers prior to its introduction.[12]
Courtney moved its depot from Downmill Road, Bracknell to Hogwood Lane Industrial Estate in Finchampstead in late 2010.[13] The company announced a change of trading name to Courtney Buses in late 2011.[14] In November 2011 Courtney began operation of a new Christmas park & ride service in Windsor.[15] There was more expansion during 2014, when four contracted routes in the Bracknell area, along with nine contracted routes in the Wokingham area, were taken over by Courtney following the withdrawal of Thames Travel.[4][16]
In July 2015, Courtney Buses took over the operation of nine routes in Bracknell previously operated by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley.[17][18]
In December 2017, it was announced that Reading Buses was to take on three services withdrawn by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley in the Slough area.[19] A fourth route was later added.[20] The Thames Valley Buses name, historically associated with Thames Valley Traction, was used for the new services.[21] Operation began on 20 January 2018.[22]
In January 2018, Courtney Buses expanded into Slough after taking over four routes in the area, which until that point, had been operated by First Berkshire & the Thames Valley.[23]
In November 2019, Courtney Buses began to merge gradually with Thames Valley Buses, a process which was completed in April 2021, with the whole company being renamed as Thames Valley. The first routes to receive the new branding included route 5 from Slough-Cippenham and the Green Line route 703 from Bracknell-Ascot-Windsor-Slough-Heathrow Airport. Courtney-branded routes in the Windsor and Slough areas, including routes 2 (Dedworth-Windsor-Slough), 10 (Dedworth-Datchet-Wraysbury-Heathrow Airport), 10A (Slough-Datchet-Wraysbury-Heathrow Airport, formerly service 11), 10S (Slough-Churchmead School) and 15 (Slough-Eton-Eton Wick-Maidenhead) were also amalgamated into the Thames Valley brand. A new simplySlough & Windsor fare zone was also introduced, including Heathrow Airport but excluding Legoland.
The Thames Valley Buses livery consists of a grey base with a green ‘valley of colour’ for routes in the Slough area, with lilac for the Heathrow routes, although the latter has been withdrawn (except for a 10A journey from Slough to Churchmead School during term time) due to cuts in bus funding from Heathrow.
In August 2020, the Thames Valley brand was introduced to the Wokingham area, with 3 Alexander Dennis Enviro200s transferred from Reading Buses in their existing ‘Little Orange’ livery, but with the branding changed to ‘Thames Valley Wokingham’. With sister company Newbury & District’s Bombay Sapphire contract ending in September of that year, it released an Enviro200 MMC to return to the Thames Valley fleet, receiving the finalised grey and orange livery for the Wokingham area routes. Reading Buses’ simplyBracknell & Wokingham Zone was expanded to cover the Courtney/Thames Valley routes in the respective areas, along with a new simplySouth Bracknell for the Southern Bracknell housing estates prior to this in January of that year.
In October 2020, the Thames Valley brand was launched in Maidenhead, with a grey and purple livery. At the same time, duplicated numbers in the area were resolved, as services 4 (clockwise) and 4A (anti-clockwise) (Maidenhead-Paley Street-Shurlock Row-Waltham St Lawrence) were renumbered 234 and 235 respectively, as First Berkshire & the Thames Valley also operate a bus service numbered as 4 in the town, along with there being two service 5’s at Courtney/Thames Valley Buses. This resulted in the Maidenhead service 5, which operates to Farmers Way via Wootton Way Shops, being renumbered as the 3. A new, expanded simplyMaidenhead zone was also introduced.
In April 2021, services 10 and 459 were withdrawn due to Heathrow Airport Holdings cutting funding for buses, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, therefore the routes were deemed to no longer be sustainable to operate. However, term time journeys from Slough to Churchmead school for pupils at the school only, will continue to operate as the 10A. The Thames Valley name was also applied across the entire company. Thames Valley Buses have also won the tender for the evening and Sunday journeys on route 12 (Slough-Burnham-Priory Estate) from Slough Borough Council, to supplement First Berkshire & the Thames Valley’s Monday-Saturday daytime services.[28][29][30]
In 2002 Courtney Coaches became the first bus company in Britain to operate a bus on 100% soya oil.[31]Abingdon based company Regenatec converted an Optare Solo minibus to operate on the fuel,[32] which gained the company appearances on Working Lunch[33] and in The Daily Telegraph.[34] The cost of conversion was around £3,500.[31] Fuel savings of around 80% were reported,[35] and this cost was paid back in eight months.[33] In March 2007 Courtney director Bill Courtney-Smith and Regenatec director Mike Lawton were invited to 10 Downing Street by Prime Minister Tony Blair to demonstrate another converted vehicle at an environmental presentation.[35] Bill Courtney-Smith later bought half shares in Regenatec when the company experienced financial trouble in early 2009.[2]
In May 2012 it was announced that as part of the government's Green Bus Fund initiative, Courtney had received funding to purchase two double-deck Hybrid electric buses.[36]
Thames Valley Buses operate a number of local routes in the towns of Slough, Maidenhead, Wokingham and Bracknell; longer-distance routes take its buses to Windsor, Henley-on-Thames, Reading and Slough. The company also runs contracts to The Heights in Weybridge (currently suspended due to COVID), Chineham Park, Foundation Park and Sony in Basingstoke (currently suspended during COVID). The company formerly ran contracts for Bedfont Lakes, until the contract was lost in late 2018 to London United and Bombay Sapphire until the current parent company, Reading Buses transferred the contract to their Newbury and District division (the service was withdrawn in September 2020 due to COVID causing dwindling visitor numbers and users) and Milton Park, which was lost to Thames Travel in late 2020.[37][38]
Fleet
As of March 2021, the fleet consists of 52 buses.
Since local bus service work began, the predominant type in the fleet has been the Optare Solo, although other vehicles are also owned. However, in recent times, the fleet has shifted to predominantly Alexander Dennis vehicles. Two notable buses delivered in 2006 were the only Alexander Dennis Enviro300s with East Lancs Esteem bodywork,[39] which left the fleet in 2011. Two Optare Tempos powered by 100% pure plant oil, the first 12m single-deckers to run on this fuel, were ordered in 2010. They have since departed the fleet in late 2020.[40][41]
Slough is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley 20 miles (32 km) west of central London and 19 miles (31 km) north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021 Census, the population of the town was 143,184. In 2021, the wider Borough of Slough had a population of 158,500. Slough borders the ceremonial counties of Greater London and Buckinghamshire.
The Royal County of Berkshire, commonly known as simply Berkshire, is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London to the east, Surrey to the south-east, Hampshire to the south, and Wiltshire to the west. Reading is the largest settlement and the county town.
Bracknell is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the borough of Bracknell Forest. It lies 11 miles (18 km) to the east of Reading, 9 miles (14 km) south of Maidenhead, 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Windsor and 25 miles (40 km) west of central London. Bracknell is the third largest town in Berkshire.
First Great Western Link (FGWL) was a train operating company in England owned by FirstGroup that operated the Thames franchise from April 2004 until March 2006.
Reading Transport Limited, trading as Reading Buses, is an English municipal bus operator owned by Reading Borough Council, serving the towns of Reading, Bracknell, Newbury, Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead, Wokingham and the surrounding areas in the counties of Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey and Hampshire, as well as parts of Greater London.
RailAir 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 Heathrow Airport, with one other from Luton Airport. RailAir services are operated as public transport services by or on behalf of train operators, where the whole journey is paid for as a through ticket which combines the railway and bus journey, although journeys can be made using the bus only. As such, many are operated where the train and bus operator are owned by the same company.
Staines railway station is on the Waterloo to Reading line and is the junction station for the diverging Windsor line, in southern England to the west of London. It is 19 miles 2 chains (30.6 km) down the line from London Waterloo. It serves the town of Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England.
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Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) is a statutory fire and rescue service covering the area of the ceremonial county of Berkshire in England. The fire service was formerly administered by Berkshire County Council, but when that was abolished the service became the responsibility of the Royal Berkshire Fire Authority, made up of representatives from the six unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest Borough Council, Reading Borough Council, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Slough Borough Council, West Berkshire Council, and Wokingham Borough Council.
Alder Valley was a bus operator in South East England.
Thames Valley Traction Company Limited was a major bus company operating services to and from Reading, Bracknell, Maidenhead, Newbury, High Wycombe and Oxford and surrounding areas for 52 years in the 20th century. For many years it ran the "Reading A" and "Reading B" limited-stop services between London's Victoria Coach Station and Reading via two differing sets of intermediate stops.
First Beeline Buses Limited, trading as First Beeline, is a bus operator providing services in and around Slough. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
Carousel Buses Limited, trading as Carousel Buses, is a bus company based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Originally an independent company, it is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. It is grouped together with Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, both of Oxfordshire, and with Pulham's Coaches of Gloucestershire, with the fleets of each operator regularly interchanged.
Reading's location in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line and the M4 motorway, some 40 miles (64 km) west of London has made the town an important location in the nation's transport system.
Healthcare in Berkshire was the responsibility of five clinical commissioning groups until July 2022: Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead, Slough, Bracknell and Ascot and Wokingham.
C.E. Jeatt & Sons Limited, trading as White Bus Services, is a bus operator based in Berkshire and runs bus and coach hire services within Windsor and Ascot. It is part of the Rowgate Group.
Windsor Express are bus routes that run between Reading, Windsor, Bracknell and London.
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