On the free, fast electric buses

Slough: Eco friendly service to town centre launches

The council has launched a free electric bus service to take passengers to and from Slough town centre.

A three-month trial period, funded by the council, will begin in the last week of October using experimental bus and cycle lanes along the A4.

The temporary lane was created by Slough Borough Council after it secured £180,000 from the Department for Transport (DfT) to ‘support a green restart to local travel’ following the COVID-19 lockdown.

But the scheme, which cost £50,000 to implement, has attracted widespread criticism for causing long tailbacks through the town’s main arterial road.

To deliver the free bus service, which will run from Monday to Saturday, the council teamed up with the electric bus specialists BYD UK, based in Iver, and Thames Valley Buses.

The route will start at Station Road, near junction seven on the M4, and travel through the town centre onto the Sainsbury’s roundabout at the junction of Yew Tree and Uxbridge Road.

The hourly loop service will also incorporate St Andrew’s Way, Cippenham.

Cllr Rob Anderson, cabinet member for transport and environmental services, said: “The experimental bus and cycle lane was introduced to help residents socially distance during the ongoing pandemic alongside making road space available for active and sustainable travel.

“I am delighted we have provided the funding to now introduce a free, fast and environmentally friendly electric bus service which will operate daily along the length of the temporary lane.

“Residents often quote the price of public transport is one of the key blockers stopping them leaving the car at home and jumping on the bus. So we have taken the blocker away with this trial.

“This free service will provide residents with a speedy, frequent service into central Slough and I look forward to seeing them on the buses.”