Introducing Jam Buster

In January 2024, we launched a new bus service called West Berkshire Community Connect, linking Northwest Downlands to Newbury. Not your typical bus service, Community Connect is all about flexibility. You decide where you want to go, within the Downlands area, and we'll tailor a journey just for you.

To give our bus a personality of its own, we decided to let the creativity of local school children shine. We launched a competition aimed at students in Newbury and the Northwest Downlands to name and design the bus. We had an amazing response receiving over a whopping 470 entries - talk about enthusiasm!

After much deliberation (trust us, it wasn't easy), we're thrilled to announce the winners are:

• In the Year 1 to 6 category, congratulations to Chloe from The Willows Primary School for her winning name, "Jam Buster".
• In the Year 7 to 11 category, a big shout out to Tia from The Castle School for naming the bus, "Linda".

Tia and Cllr Billy Drummond

Chloe and her prizes in front of Jam Buster

However, Chloe's name "Jam Buster" took the crown as the overall winner and will go through the process of the bus being officially branded with the new name.

Councillor Stuart Gourley, Executive Member for Environment and Highways at West Berkshire Council, said:

"The name 'Jam Buster' was a standout winner with the judges. It perfectly captures the spirit of promoting sustainable transport across our district through West Berkshire Community Connect.

"I wish to pass on my congratulations to Chloe and Tia for taking the time and effort to be part in this fun competition and I hope they both enjoy their prizes!

"We also need to give a round of applause to all the entrants. The students should be justifiably proud of their entries, and we hope they had fun too."

The judging panel were impressed by the creativity, effort, and imagination poured into every submission. They especially enjoyed looking at the locations added to the signposts and the colouring of the vehicle.

A huge thank you to everyone who made West Berkshire Community Connect a reality!

Here is a word cloud of the suggested names of the bus: