Bus travel

The University works closely with local bus providers to ensure a great service to our campuses and to provide travel discounts for students and staff.  Travelling by bus helps to reduce carbon emissions, amount of congestion on our roads and the amount of local air pollution! On this page you will find all that you need to know about:

Bus fares and offers

Boost tickets (student offer)

By purchasing a Boost ticket when travelling anywhere around Reading town, students can save up to 1/3 off their bus fare. All University students are eligible - buy your Boost tickets on the Reading Buses app, from the driver or via tap on / off.

Current prices (as of April 2025):

  • £2.50 single trip - get anywhere in the simplyReading zone
  • £4.00 unlimited, all day travel - get anywhere in the simplyReading zone
  • boostsaver10 - save even more money by pre-booking 10 tickets for as little as £16.50, making each journey £1.65. These tickets last all year.  These can be purchased via the Reading buses app or their online portal - find information on how to get your ticket here.

Find out more about all our great discounted bus fares available to our students here. From 1st June 2023 students will need to verify their eligibility for Boost tickets on the Reading Buses app.

simplyUni season tickets (for staff and students)

If you travel more than 4 days per week, then a simplyUni season ticket may be the best option for you. These smartcards can be purchased per term, academic year or calendar year.

Simply show your student or staff ID while using the smartcard. For more information and to purchase, visit the Reading buses tickets page here.

Bus-to-work (staff offer)

As part of our Sustainable Travel Plan, the University has partnered with Reading buses to offer staff discounted bus travel. You can select the relevant fare zone and time period for your situation and are able to use the bus any day of the week or time, not just to commute.

Current prices (from 1 October 2022):

 SimplyReading  SimplyNetwork
 90 day pass  £122  £186
 Annual pass  £465  £700

For full terms and conditions and details on how to apply, visit the HR page here.

Plus Bus - discounts for combined rail and bus travel

Buy a PlusBus ticket with your rail ticket, and you can add unlimited bus travel around Reading. This link takes you to information specific to Reading, but remember that PlusBus discounts could also be available for buses to the station wherever you live. The PlusBus offer can also be used in conjunction with a Railcard.

Bus routes: Whiteknights & London Road

The main bus routes from our Whiteknights Campus are the Whiteknight 20 and Claret 21 which travel from Reading train station and town centre, past London Road campus and onto Whiteknights campus up to every 7-8 minutes (Mon to Fri, daytimes during semester time). The Claret 21 runs 24/7 so you will never miss the last bus.

There are a number of routes which run to or very near our Whiteknights Campus, from which you can travel all around Reading. Use the hyperlinks below to check live departure times from each stop and routes for each bus (remember to select the correct date).

Whiteknights Campus (Chancellor's Way stop or Whiteknights House stop)

  • White Knight 20 – Central Reading to Whiteknight Campus via Christchurch Green
  • Claret 21 - Lower Earley via University, Asda (Lower Earley), Rushey Way

Earley Gate (Three Tuns stop)

  • Lion 4 - Bracknell via Wokingham, Great Hollands
  • Purple 17 - Tilehurst (Water Tower) via Cemetery Junction, Central Reading, Oxford Road 4 to Bracknell via Wokingham

Shinfield Road (Christchurch Green stop or Chancellors Way adj stop)

  • Leopard 3 - Wokingham via Royal Berkshire Hospital, Shinfield, Arborfield
  • Buzz 9  - Reading Station - Spencers Wood via Royal Berkshire Hospital, Whitley Wood

Whiteknights Road (Bridges Hall stop)

  • Little Oranges 19a - Central Reading - Loddon Bridge via Royal Berkshire Hospital, Earley Gate, Silverdale Road
  • Little Oranges 19b - Central Reading - Lower Earley (Asda) via Royal Berkshire Hospital, Earley Gate, Beech Lane
  • Little Oranges 19c - Loddon Bridge - Central Reading via Woodley Piazza, Chequers, Bulmershe, Earley Gate, Royal Berkshire Hospital

London Road Campus is a short walk from Reading Town Centre.

See Reading Buses' excellent map showing our campus and where buses stop.

We are now offering a FREE Park and Ride for staff and students from Mereoak (Junction 11 of the M4, RG7 1WJ).

We have partnered with Reading Buses and Royal Berkshire NHS Trust to deliver this exciting new sustainable travel option. Staff and students can now use the Hospital P&R 300 from Mereoak.

How to take advantage of this fantastic new service:

  • Simply show your University of Reading Campus Card to the bus driver
  • Free parking at Mereoak is included, no permit needed
  • Use the Christchurch Green stop for Whiteknights campus and the Royal Berkshire Hospital stop for the London Road campus

For all details and FAQ's, please see our Driving to the University web pages.

Bus routes: Greenlands Campus

Our Greenlands campus at Henley is accessible by bus from High Wycombe; Marlow; Henley; Shiplake / Twyford and Reading. Carousel service 850* stops on the main A4155 road along the edge of the Greenlands campus roughly every 20 minutes. See the following links for route and timetable information and detail of fares.

Reading town centre 

  • Routes 850 timetable - Central Reading -  High Wycombe via Twyford, Wargrave, Henley-on-Thames and Marlow.

Carousel fares information. Staff can get a trial week's ticket for this service - contact sustainability@reading.ac.uk for more info.

*Reading Buses tickets and passes are not valid on this service.

Alternatively, the Aqua 28 bus service from central Reading routes via Caversham to the centre of Henley. This offers another option to change buses for onward travel to Greenlands.

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