Travel by bus
Changes to First Beeline routes 7 and A4 from Sunday 28 April 2024
From Sunday 28 April 2024 routes 7 and A4 have revised timetables, to improve reliability.
Route 7 also has a change of route in Britwell, with buses towards Britwell now operating along the same roads as buses towards Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, and no longer in a clockwise loop. Buses now run in both directions along Long Readings Lane, Monksfield Way, Doddsfield Road and Wentworth Avenue, and no longer serve the stop in Long Furlong Drive near Aldridge Road. This is to allow buses to have more ‘recovery time’ at the Britwell terminus at Kennedy Park Shops, to help improve reliability, without inconveniencing customers wanting to get off in other parts of Britwell.
On route 7, some evening and late night journeys from Britwell no longer run, with an hourly service (with all journeys running through to Heathrow) between 7pm and 11pm. The last bus from Britwell is now 2305 on all days, with the 1926 (Sat, Sun), 1948 (Mon-Fri), 2029/30, 2133/34, 0003 and 0103 journeys from Britwell no longer running.
On route A4, all journeys now operate the full route between Cippenham and Heathrow Airport Central Bus Station, with no longer a need to change buses towards Heathrow at certain times in the evening and overnight.
Please check the new times on routes 7 and A4 carefully as some existing journeys may run earlier or later than previously or may run in a different way or no longer run.
£2 fare cap has been further extended: 1 January 2023 – now until 31 December 2024
You can “get around for £2” by bus from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024, thanks to a national government bus fare cap scheme. Most bus fares are capped at £2 for a single and £4 for a return. Bus companies in Slough which are participating: Carousel Buses*, First Bus Berkshire & Thames Valley (First Beeline)*, Reading Buses (Windsor Express) (until at least 30 June 2024), Red Eagle Buses*, Redline Buses and Thames Valley Buses (until at least 30 June 2024). Single journeys on TfL route 81 are still £1.75.
* extension of this scheme beyond 31 December 2023 is still to be confirmed for this bus company.
Slough Bus Station closed
Following a fire, Slough Bus Station is closed until further notice. All bus routes in Slough are instead using bus stops in Wellington Street, Brunel Way, High Street and Windsor Road.
Bus operators in Slough
You can contact each bus operator for more information about their services. Their contact details, websites and mobile apps are listed below.
Bear Buses
- Route 305
Visit the Bear Buses website
Telephone Bear Buses on 020 8867 0617.
Carousel Buses
- Chiltern Hundreds routes 103, 106, 107, route 583.
Visit the Carousel website or download the Carousel app.
Telephone Carousel on 01494 450151.
For information on how to travel safely visit Carousel's COVID-19 updates page .
First Bus Berkshire & The Thames Valley (First Beeline)
- Routes 3, 6, 7, 8, 12 (Mon-Sat daytimes), 13, A4 and X74
Visit the First Bus Berkshire & The Thames Valley website or download the First Bus app.
Telephone First Bus on 0345 646 0707.
Hallmark Connections (Hotel Hoppa)
- Route H5H
Visit the Hotel Hoppa website or download the Hotel Hoppa app.
Reading Buses
- Windsor Express routes - The London Line 701, 702
Visit the Windsor Express web page or download the Windsor Express app.
Telephone Reading Buses on 0118 959 4000.
For information on how to travel safely, visit Reading Buses' keeping you safe past 19 July page and face coverings on buses page.
Red Eagle Buses
- Routes 63 and 68
Visit the Red Eagle website.
Redline Buses
- Route WP1
Visit the Redline website or download the myTrip app
Telephone Redline Buses on 01296 426786.
Thames Valley Buses
- Routes 2, 5, 12 (Mon - Sat evenings and Sundays and Public Holidays), 15, 53
- Windsor Express route - Flightline 703
Visit the Thames Valley Buses website or download the Thames Valley Buses app.
Visit the Windsor Express web page or download the Windsor Express app .
Telephone Thames Valley Buses on 0118 973 3486.
Transport for London (TfL)
- Route 81
Visit the TfL Buses webpage or download the TfL Go app.
Telephone TfL on 0343 222 1234.
For information on how to travel safely, visit the TfL Keeping our network well-ventilated and clean page.
Community Transport
If your mobility is restricted or if you have difficulty using public transport, please contact Slough Community Transport.
Live bus updates
Want to know how your bus is running?
Visit the Traveline website and select "Live times".
You can also text a bus stop code to 84268 and get an automated text back, normally in less than a minute, with the next buses from that stop.
In Slough the bus stop codes start with “slg” (eg. “slgdatg”). If texting 84268, you can also add a route number (leaving a space after the bus stop code, eg. "slgdatg 8") to show just the next buses on that route from that stop.
The times are specific to an individual stop for travel in one direction. The code for the stop in the other direction will be different. A clock time (e.g. 0935) will be shown if the information comes from timetables or an expected waiting time (e.g. 5 mins) if it comes from a real-time information system.
Your mobile operator may charge you for your text to 84268 (this usually costs around 10p), and Traveline charges you 25p for the text that they send back.
For more information, visit the Traveline services page.