Plans to introduce six new bus lanes on key routes in Reading are set to be discussed next week.

Reading Council wants to tackle poor air quality which blights some parts of Reading and create a healthier environment for residents.

£26 million is being invested into local bus services by the Council with the aim of attracting even more passengers to use them. Key to achieving that is speeding up journey times and increasing reliability.

The six new bus lanes being recommended for approval at a meeting of the Council's Traffic Management Sub Committee on 11 January are:

• A329 Oxford Road - outbound bus lane between Zinzan Street and George Street

• A329 Oxford Road - outbound bus lane between Pangbourne Street and Norcot Junction

• A4 Bath Road - outbound bus lane from Circuit Lane to Granville Road

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• A327 Southampton Street - inbound bus lane from Pell Street to The Oracle roundabout

• A4 London Road - inbound bus lane between Sidmouth Street and London Street

• A4 London Road - inbound bus lane between Liverpool Road and Cemetery Junction

The six new bus lanes have been identified for areas in Reading where services suffer from the most delays due to congestion, particularly at peak times.

The proposal has been subject to two rounds of consultation - a four-week informal consultation in summer 2023, followed by a formal statutory consultation in November and December.

The Council has undertaken a thorough review of all consultation responses, acknowledging concerns raised as well as the positive comments. It believes improving the reliability, speed and frequency of bus services is key to encouraging more people to travel by bus, resulting in reduced congestion, fewer carbon emissions, better air quality and improved health and wellbeing for residents.

Without making significant changes to the transport infrastructure, including new bus lanes, and providing realistic sustainable transport alternatives, car usage is likely to continue to grow, creating greater levels of congestion and damaging the health of Reading residents.

A number of responses to the recent statutory consultation argued that motorcycles should be able to use the new bus lanes if introduced. The Council is responding with a proposal to make an experimental Traffic Regulation Order to allow this, which would then be reviewed at a later stage.