Thames Valley Buses

Thames Valley Buses Limited, trading as Thames Valley Buses, is a bus company based in Bracknell, England. It was known as Courtney Buses until 2021. Founded in 1973, the company operates a network of commercial and contracted local bus services and school buses in Berkshire, north Hampshire and small parts of Oxfordshire, Surrey and Buckinghamshire. In March 2019 it was purchased by Reading Buses, with the company having gradually rebranded to its current name between October 2019 and April 2021.

The company is known for its use of alternative fuels, having been the first bus company in the United Kingdom to operate a bus run on 100% soya oil.

The Courtney Group was formed in 1973 as a taxi hire firm in Bracknell by William Courtney-Smith, and moved into coach hire in the 1980s. In 2000 Courtney Coaches commenced its first local route, 53 (Wexham Park Hospital - Maidenhead - Bracknell). This was taken over by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley in 2003. The company expanded dramatically in January 2004 when all seven local routes in Maidenhead were taken over from First Berkshire.

In September 2006 Courtney Coaches had its licence revoked by the Traffic Commissioner. An appeal was launched, operations continued and the decision overturned by the end of 2006. Between 2005 and 2007, a park & ride service was operated between Maidenhead town centre and a temporary site at Stafferton Way. The Stafferton Way site had been used to provide replacement parking during a period in which a town centre car park was shut.

In October 2007 the company introduced a unique ticketing system, ETMSS, which uses mobile computer technology to replace fare charts and reporting software with one computerised system. Other features include the ability to modify fares from anywhere using the internet, GPS tracking of individual buses and reduced insurance costs as a result of this, and the ability to calculate fares, cash exchanges and refunds. The cost of installation was reportedly paid back within the first 12 months.

The routes in Maidenhead were changed significantly in early 2009. However, changes to the stopping pattern on route 6 (Maidenhead — Windsor) received criticism from some residents and were further changed in April 2009.

Further expansion came in January 2009, when the shuttle service between Didcot Parkway station and Milton Park was expanded from one bus to two using a new low-floor double-deck vehicle at a cost of £175,000. Over 400 passes for the service were issued to workers prior to its introduction.

Courtney moved its depot from Downmill Road, Bracknell to Hogwood Lane Industrial Estate in Finchampstead in late 2010. The company announced a change of trading name to Courtney Buses in late 2011. In November 2011 Courtney began operation of a new Christmas park & ride service in Windsor. There was more expansion during 2014, when four contracted routes in the Bracknell area, along with nine contracted routes in the Wokingham area, were taken over by Courtney following the withdrawal of Thames Travel.