Exciting improvements are announced today by Reading Buses to their popular Green Line services.
A fleet of brand new buses will accompany a new name for the Green Line 702 and 703 routes.
Reading Buses announce that the new state of the art vehicles – representing nearly £2.5m investment – will become The London Line 702 and Flight Line 703.
The buses will be decked out in the familiar green of the previous Green Line 702 and 703 services to help existing customers to easily adapt to the name change.
The routes will both carry the tagline ‘Windsor Express’ on the side to reflect the common sections of the 702 and 703 routes between Legoland, Windsor and Slough which remain completely unchanged following timetable improvements earlier in the year.
The new London Line 702 – formerly Green Line 702 – reflects the connection between Windsor, Slough and the capital, while Flight Line 703 – formerly Green Line 703 – reflects the great connections between Bracknell, Windsor, Slough and Heathrow Airport.
Reading Buses say the new state of the art British double deck buses built by Alexander Dennis will have many attractive features to appeal to existing and new users – or even royalty.
These include seat-back USB and wireless charging points; free WIFI; coffee shop style flooring; comfy high back seats and an area with tables on both decks.
They will have a glazed staircase and roof lights to allow more natural light as well as an upstairs ‘air chill’ system to help keep customers cool on warmer days.
There is a full automated next stop audio/visual announcement system; external destination announcements; and a driver PA system to help with diversions such as the changing of the guard in Windsor.
The Flight Line 703 buses will have an additional luggage rack to ensure customers using these vehicles to get to the airport for holidays and trips with ease.
They have been sourced as part of the timetable enhancements introduced in partnership with Heathrow Airport earlier in the year, with the rest of the fleet to be similarly upgraded later in the year.
Reading Buses say the routes themselves and the timetables will not change and the company will be updating all information over the coming weeks with the new names.
They ask that customers are patient whilst this happens as existing Green Line naming will remain in place in the short-term in certain places, but will be phased out soon.
Reading Buses Chief Executive Officer Robert Williams said the company was ‘excited’ to have received their first fleet of brand-new buses since the pandemic.
“We are excited to be able to announce this significant investment in our Windsor Express routes to Heathrow and London, and to reflect that with our new branding which closely aligns with the locations we serve.
“We have worked very hard to achieve a really fantastic specification for the vehicles.
“We are conscious that the Green Line name has had a long association with routes in this area so we wanted to make sure that customers were not surprised by the change.
“We have retained a green colour scheme and ‘line’ naming to make the switchover as seamless as possible in customers’ minds.”
Robert added: “Whilst there is no change to the route or timetables, we are hoping that these new buses encourage even more customers onboard. And for the time being all single journeys cost just £2 thanks to the government fare cap – so it is a real bargain!
“The buses are state-of-the art and are extremely luxurious both inside and out. We have even arranged a royal surprise to promote the service and the new buses.”