Travel

Did you know that if everyone did one less car journey per week and instead walked, cycled, took public transport or shared a lift it would reduce car traffic by at least 10% resulting in cleaner air, less noise and more space to play?

The daily commute
Have you ever thought there must be another way when you are sitting bumper to bumper, the only occupier of your car crawling along following and being followed by other single occupancy cars on the way from Thatcham to your place of work?

There are alternatives to the single occupancy drive to work including walking, cycling, taking the bus, taking the train, car sharing, working from home or working closer to home. With so many alternatives available there is likely to be one that suites your needs. Find out more by browsing the right hand column of this page.

Being tied to a timetable may seem limiting; however you will find it quite liberating.

The trip to the corner shop
Half of all car owners drive for trips of less than 1 mile. How often do you get into your car to visit the corner shop with out considering that you could walk or cycle instead? Avoid the hassle of parking and get some fresh air and exercise as well.

The school run
How many trips to school are by car when it would be less stressful, more enjoyable and healthier to walk or cycle?

The stats
On average across the GB population there are 435 car driver trips per person per year. - 57% of the population has a driver's licence - so there are around 435/0.57 = 763 car driver trips per car driver per year. A 10% reduction would be 76 car driver trips per car driver, or 38 return journeys;  switching one journey per week would achieve at least this (even taking into account that not everyone who has a licence drives, and that there are less than 52 travelling weeks in the year) (taken from Sustrans website).

Walking or Cycling

Cycling and particularly walking are sustainable ways of travel, providing free exercise on your way to another goal. Both are real alternatives to the car as more than a quarter of all car journeys are less than 2 miles long.

To find out more about walking or cycling visit:
Sustrans
West Berks council website: cycling in West Berkshire including Newbury and Thatcham cycle routes
West Berks Council website: walking strategy including Thatcham walking maps

Taking the bus

Buses run regularly between Thatcham and Newbury (up to every 15 minutes), Thatcham and Reading (up to every 30 mins) and to other local locations. There are 2 bus companies operating in the Thatcham area (Newbury buses and Weavaway Travel).

For routes, timetables and more information: visit the public transport pages at West Berks Council website or Newbury buses website.

Taking the train

Trains run regularly between Thatcham and Newbury and Thatcham and Reading, the journey is quicker than that by car (7 minutes by train from Thatcham to Newbury and 22 minutes from Thatcham to Reading) and you travel alongside the attractive Kennet and Avon Canal and get a bit of exercise at each end.
For train timetables, live train departures and more, visit National Rail Enquiries website..

If you have a 3G Vodafone mobile phone, you can also get train timetables and live train departures on your phone, so you can stay informed while out and about.

Share a lift

If your commute is not practical by bike, bus or train, there is still the option to share a lift for all or some of your commute.
CarShare.com provides a directory of UK carsharing sites, and liftshare.com liftshare.com has 478 lift share journeys registered in the Thatcham area! Another site Journey2share is promoted by New Greenham Park.

Reduce your CO2 when travelling

To find out about what else you can do to reduce your travel carbon footprint and save money, visit National Energy Foundations - Eco Travelling