Today, the operator of Reading Buses, which includes Newbury and District, has gone public with a ‘huge thank you’ to all their employees for keeping buses running for key workers as well as for others to do essential journeys to access food shops.
“Our employees are demonstrating a magnificent and responsible attitude during this extremely difficult period,” said Robert Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Reading Buses, today.
“We are extremely proud of the whole team for everything they are doing, whether it is continuing to work, volunteering for furlough or just ensuring that the company, which includes Reading Buses, Newbury & District and Thames Valley/Courtney Buses, can continue to operate.
“As many office-based staff as possible are working from home to ensure we are following government guidelines.
“Where our key workers like drivers, cleaners, engineers and the back office support team need to come to work, we are maintaining social distancing wherever possible.”
He said that Reading Buses employees have even had volunteered for reduced pay or hours to ensure that other colleagues could continue to work as well as trying to make sure the company would survive the crisis.
“It has been such an amazing experience to be part of this team and see how everybody has been working for each other and the town. The camaraderie is high and our employees have been such an inspiration during this difficult period, as they all work for each other.
“It has also been great to see the many wonderful comments on our social media feeds as people recognise the difficult situation we find ourselves in and have praised our workforce for continuing to provide bus services even in spite of no immediate government funding helping to support routes.”
Robert added: “We are determined to get through this crisis and to continue to provide a comprehensive network of buses around the local area for now and for the future.”
PLEASE NOTE: Newbury & District routes 1a and 1c were suspended on Monday 6 April due to customer numbers being extremely low. There is temporary timetable to help keep communities connected.
The new timetable will run Monday to Saturday and starts from Tuesday 14 April. Copies of the new time tables can be found here: https://www.reading-buses.co.uk/newbury-district
