Elizabus, Dexter Express or The Wick? Residents can vote on 10 shortlisted names for four Carousel buses in Windsor and Maidenhead until midnight on 18 October.

Four buses in the Royal Borough are about to get names, and residents are choosing them. A public vote on a shortlist of 10 is open until midnight on Sunday 18 October.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is running the competition with Carousel Buses. It says more than 250 names were suggested after the competition opened in August (council announcement, 29 September). A panel of judges from the council and Carousel picked the shortlist.

The shortlist

  • Elizabus
  • Borough Beacon
  • Brunel
  • Dexter Express
  • Jewel of the Thames
  • Royal Rambler
  • Royal Rider
  • Regal Riverside
  • The Wick
  • The Winton

The council explains only one of them. Dexter Express refers to “Dexter the cat, the beloved Windsor resident”. It says the entries as a whole ranged “from heartfelt words of remembrance to punny takes on Royal Borough classics”.

The four names with the most votes will be displayed on Carousel buses.

How to vote

  • Where: online only, on the council’s Name a Borough Bus page.
  • Who: anyone over 16 in the Royal Borough, according to the competition terms.
  • Deadline: voting closes at midnight on Sunday 18 October 2026.
  • The result: decided by the public vote, and the terms say that decision is final.

The terms also say personal details collected for the vote are held until November 2026 and used only to run the competition.

Why the council is doing it

Councillor Geoff Hill, Cabinet Member for Highways, Customer Services, Libraries and IT, said he hoped the 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 council links the competition to its wider spending on local buses. It says bus journeys in the Royal Borough have now passed pre-pandemic levels for the first time, citing Department for Transport figures, and that it was among the first areas in the country to get there.

That spending is not all on schedule. The council’s latest budget report, which went to Cabinet on 29 September, lists the Bus Service Improvement Plan among the capital schemes now running late (Month 3 and 4 Budget Management Report). More on the council’s finances in our report on its Exceptional Financial Support.

What it means for you

  • If you want a say, you have until midnight on Sunday 18 October. It takes one visit to the voting page.
  • If you use Carousel routes in Windsor or Maidenhead, the four winning names will appear on its buses. The council has not said which routes or when.
  • For live disruption to buses and roads, see our Windsor roadworks and travel page.

We will report the four winners when the council announces them.

Sources