For their third annual Grand Christmas Giveaway, Reading Buses has partnered with local sponsors who, alongside the company themselves, have donated the equivalent of more than £2,000 worth of gifts to bring some joy to customers.
The Grand Christmas Giveaway, which will be attended by Reading Buses Santa, his elves and reindeer, will be in Reading town centre late afternoon on December 7, 8 and 9.
Reading Buses will, in addition to the sponsors’ gifts, be giving out their own discount vouchers and free smartcards to help make the shopping trips of their customers more enjoyable as well as reminding them of the benefits of bus use.
The festive helpers will be giving out mince pies provided by Sainsbury’s who have also donated four £20 gift cards. Apres Bar on Station Hill have donated a free chalet hire with £50 bar tab, London Irish and Reading FC are offering free match tickets, there’s 2 x £50 vouchers from the Broad Street Mall, Lostopia mini golf are giving 1 x family and 1 x group ticket for their mini golf attraction, Reading Arts have kindly donated 3 x family tickets for the pantomime, But is it Art Gift Shop are giving away 3 Reading-themes bundles with independent café Shed offering some food and drink vouchers. The Biscuit Tin on Station Hill are also offering bus users a 10% discount during this period when shown a bus ticket bought on that day or a valid smartcard and IKEA are offering items.
Said Jake Osman, Reading Buses Marketing and Communications Manager: “Traffic in Reading can be quite problematic at this time of year.
“Motorists face the hassle of parking, getting out of congested car parks and traffic congestion in general as more and more people come to the town centre for their Christmas shopping or to attend festive events and activities.
“Coming to town by bus is an easier and cheaper solution allowing people to make better use of their time. There’s no need to try and find parking spaces – and we know that our customers love using the free bus WiFi and phone chargers.
“If you are travelling in a group, it’s still great value to get in and out of town using our group ticket. The group ticket offers unlimited day travel for up to four people for only £6 evenings after 6.00 pm, weekends and school and public holidays – and only £9 at all other times.”
“There are also plenty of buses running well into the evening every day to help get people home safely after having a mulled wine or two – with all our period tickets, including the group ticket, valid until 4am. And with our ‘up all day and all night’ 24/7 routes, you don’t even need to worry about missing the last bus as there isn’t one!”
The Grand Christmas Giveaway launch was photographed at Apres Bar and the Biscuit Tin, Station Hill.