Over 250 fantastic ideas were submitted by residents, following the competition’s launch last month. Suggestions for the bus names ranged from heartfelt words of remembrance to punny takes on Royal Borough classics.
The public vote – open until Sunday 18 October – will let residents choose their top four names, with winning entries displayed on Carousel buses to be seen by millions of residents and visitors.
The final shortlist, reviewed by a panel of judges from the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead and Carousel Buses, is:
• Elizabus
• Borough Beacon
• Brunel
• Dexter Express (referencing Dexter the cat, the beloved Windsor resident)
• Jewel of the Thames
• Royal Rambler
• Royal Rider
• Regal Riverside
• The Wick
• The Winton
Cabinet Member for Highways, Customer Services, Libraries & IT, Cllr Geoff Hill said: “We are delighted to present the shortlist for our bus names, hand-picked from a huge selection of incredible ideas that showcases the very best of the Royal Borough. Thank you to everyone that took part, and I can’t wait to see which ones the residents will choose. We hope these names will bring a smile on your journeys, and encourage more residents and visitors to choose a healthier, sustainable way of getting around the borough.”
The competition builds on the Royal Borough’s long-term investment into buses in the borough, including improvements to the service to improve accessibility and reliability, and promotional offers and initiatives to support more residents to use buses. This has seen bus journeys in the Royal Borough surpass pre-pandemic levels for the first time according to the Department of Transport, among one of the first regions in the country to do so.
Join in and vote for your favourite ideas here!
