A three phased introduction to a new bus service connecting Poyle, Colnbrook, Langley and Iver to Heathrow T5 was formally announced on November 18.

The service is being operated by Reading Buses and has been devised in conjunction with Heathrow Airport.

The first of the three phases of the new Reading Buses 459 service started this month and will run until December 20.

The initial timetable is only operating Monday to Friday between approximately 9:30am and 2:30pm and is completely free to use, with this first phase being trialled using a electric bus.

Once this phase ends, the company will use one of their single deck buses that run on compressed natural gas to complete the second part of the trial between January 2 and January 31.

It is then hoped that the full timetable, complete with new fares, will be in place from February 3 onwards with the service being run by a Euro 6 diesel engine bus, which has fewer emissions than a single occupancy modern car.

Reading Buses Chief Executive Officer, Robert Williams, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Heathrow Airport on this new project.

“We feel this is a great opportunity to get employees to and from the airport sustainably – as well as holidaymakers in the local area.

“The initial trial is focussing on understanding how different bus types can cope with this type of work.

“We hope that customers start using the bus for the initial trial and then we can bring in the full timetable early next year.

“We do, of course, welcome any and all feedback on this service to ensure it meets the needs of the customers.”

Working with Reading Buses, Slough Borough Council has been supported by Heathrow Airport Ltd and Colnbrook & Poyle Parish Council to design the route and enable this new service to run.