Cambridge Guided Busway - ongoing discussion and updates (merged topic)

[whole diary]

[Red Squirrel]

Well, I for one appreciated the particular irony running through that entire post, Red Squirrel! 

It was CAST.IRONy

[trainer]

This has to be one of the best-worst puns I have seen, combining aptness and excruciating brain pain with information. 

[John R]

I see HM travelled on a guided bus on a visit to Cambridge today, though it's not clear whether she actually went on the guided bit. Wonder whether she used her free bus pass....

[trainer]

I see HM travelled on a guided bus on a visit to Cambridge today,.... Wonder whether she used her free bus pass....

Almost certainly, since is known never to have any money on her (presumably lost on the horses).

[grahame]

The closure of the bridleway alongside the guided busway is into its eighth week ^ prompting calls for the track to be raised onto stilts.

Flooding forced the route to be shut between Swavesey and St Ives on January 5 and it remained closed last night, even though most of the water has receded and roads across the county which suffered a similar deluge have reopened.

The length of the closure now stands at 51 days, well in excess of the 29 days which Cambridgeshire County Council previously said would be the average annual period of flooding.

That was also surpassed last year, when the track was shut for 48 days.

Article continues

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/As-closure-of-flood-prone-busway-bridleway-reaches-eighth-week-should-the-track-be-put-on-stilts-20140225063000.htm

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

How much would that cost? But then money seems to be no problem to get the Cambridge busway.

[chuffed]

Perhaps they could rename it the Cambridge guided splashway ....but they had better make sure that none of Stagecoach's competitors have introduced branded greater crested newts to the water in the last couple of months. I am still scrubbing off the Co-op logo from the ones found near the proposed Sainsbury's here in Portishead....

[TonyK]

Nearly time for the start of the big legal battle to start. Should make rich pickings for many lawyers.

[Brucey]

I had need to travel today on the Cambridge Busway, from near the Science Park to St Ives return.  One way I could get a lift, but I'd need to get the bus back.  Looking at The Busway Website, it looks like it would cost ^6 on Stagecoach or ^5 on Go Whippet.  At this point, I almost chose to drive (32 miles @ 15p per mile = ^4.80).

Anyway, I took the lift there and the bus on the way back.  This is where my moan starts: at the ticket machine at St Ives Park & Ride (you are supposed to buy your ticket before boarding on the guided section and can also pay by card) the first screen you are presented with is choose either "Stagecoach" or "Go Whippet" but no information on who operates which route - not very helpful.  With a bit of time to spare, I played around to find the fares.  My journey would be ^3.90 on Stagecoach or ^3.40 with Go Whippet.  Somewhat different from the website prices.  On the journey several people were turned down from the service C (Go Whippet) as they had purchased Stagecoach tickets.

It makes me wonder how many journeys are not taking place on the busway because people are finding the prices quoted online to be far too high and choose to drive instead, and how many are actually put off because the fares system/ticket machines are too complicated?

[Lee]

A nice new rail vs busway battle looming on the Haverhill route... - http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/haverhill_multi_million_pound_cambridge_rail_link_could_ease_traffic_problems_on_a1307_1_3463566

[TonyK]

A nice new rail vs busway battle looming on the Haverhill route... - http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/haverhill_multi_million_pound_cambridge_rail_link_could_ease_traffic_problems_on_a1307_1_3463566

You would think they should have learned the lesson about busways by now. And I don't think BAM Nuttall will want anything to do with it until the court case is over.

[trainer]

Even the latest edition of Buses carries a letter pointing how in France the rubber-tyred solutions are not coping on technical and capacity grounds.  I can't quote it all, but Nantes is over capacity and can't increase it without huge expense so is looking at trams and already Caen is converting its equivilent to a busway to a tram system.

Even First's attempt to sabotage the trolley bus scheme in Leeds comes in for criticism.  And this from the champion of bus solutions.

[stuving]

Even the latest edition of Buses carries a letter pointing how in France the rubber-tyred solutions are not coping on technical and capacity grounds.  I can't quote it all, but Nantes is over capacity and can't increase it without huge expense so is looking at trams and already Caen is converting its equivilent to a busway to a tram system.

Even First's attempt to sabotage the trolley bus scheme in Leeds comes in for criticism.  And this from the champion of bus solutions.

Did you - or the mag - really mean Nantes? Their Busway isn't guided, it just runs mostly on a reserved roadway. And they are building some new, less tram-like, ones (Chronobus). And of course they have three tram lines as well.

[TonyK]

Do it "cheap", do it twice, they say. Edinburgh (hardly the exemplar) has now "trammed" over its busway. Leeds original guided busway has been abandoned by some of its operators because it is slower than just running buses in the traditional sense parallel to the route, and needs none of the adaptations to the buses. Nantes, BTW^▸ (by the way), had a huge turn-out to see its third tramline open, so much that the tram could merely inch its way into town. The trolleybus opening was more muted.

Tram-train will save us all.

[Brucey]

Having used the Cambridge busway a few times now, I fail to see the benefit of it being "guided".  It costs more to build than a road, special buses are required and problems are created when the buses break down.

My opinion is that a bus only road (with rising bollards or similar to prevent unauthorised use) running along the same route would do as a good a job.