Well-known as the university town in Berkshire, England, Reading is also a major commercial centre and a learning hub for students. The city is also home to a dynamic transport system, thus making it very convenient for students living in student accommodation Reading to travel around the city quite easily. They should spend less time commuting to bus stops, train stations, and quickly avail the city’s boat services. Likewise, students can also share bicycles to reach their university campus on time.
SimplyBus Concession Cards
Those willing to explore the city of Reading can buy SimplyBus concession cards that are split into area zones like simplyReading, simplyNewbury & Thatcham, simplyWokingham & Bracknell, simplyBracknell and simplyNetwork. All university students qualify for discounted boost fares, where the concessional price is £1.50 for single trip and £2.70 for unlimited all day
Buses
Reading operates its fleet of buses through a frequent local bus network within the borough, and a less frequent network in the surrounding area under the ownership of Reading Buses. The weekday daytime frequency of buses is between 2 and 8 buses per hour, operating throughout the day. The buses are recognizable by their color like Emerald 5 & 6, Purple 17, Claret 21, and Yellow 26. The main route that connects the universities and the city center is the Claret route (21 and 21a) plying every 7 minutes, 24 hours a day. Students must consider looking for accommodations with close proximity to these bus services. Those living in Central Studios, student accommodation in Reading can locate the St Mary's bus station and West Street bus stop, for convenient travel and daily commute.
Trains
Reading is a major junction point on the National Rail system, with railway lines, linking Reading to both Paddington and Waterloo stations in London. Other stations in the Reading area are Reading West, Tilehurst, and Earley. Students should make a viable choice of living near train stations so that they can save both time and money on commuting. For instance, students living at 191 Kings Road, Reading can reach the Reading Train Station in just 16-minutes on foot.
Boats
Well-known as a river port at the confluence of the Thames and Kennet, Reading city can also be explored by boat services operating and navigable on both the Thames and Kennet rivers. There are scheduled boat services that operate on the Thames on the Reading side of the river near Caversham Bridge. Students can take the Thames River cruises that operate trips including a service on summer weekends and bank holidays to Mapledurham, taking 45-minutes in each direction with 2-hours’ ashore for visits to tourist attractions like Mapledurham Watermill and Mapledurham House, an Elizabethan stately home.
Cycles
Another viable option is to travel economically by sharing a bicycle in Reading. The OYBike bicycle sharing system operates in Reading, with approximately 15 bicycles with docking stations at Reading station, Holiday Inn (Basingstoke Road) and Green Park.
The aforementioned transport network of buses, trains, boats and other alternative means of travel like cycle rides are available across the city of Reading. By availing these services, students can save a lot on their daily commute as most of the bus stops, train stations and boats services on the Thames, are located close to the prominent student accommodations Reading. University Living, a global student accommodation marketplace, offers living spaces with strategic locations that have excellent transport connectivity across all regions in Reading.
