Yet another weekend, Yet another diversion

This weekend, a different diversion for the A, D and Citi 8 bus services due to the work on Histon A14 roundabout.

Details are here https://www.stagecoachbus.com/service-updates/serviceupdatesarticle?SituationId=ID-19/09/2019-16:20:27:614

However, I would say that the details for the replacement services are, as usual with Stagecoach, vague.

Take this shuttle ‘along the A route between Cambridge City Centre and Orchard Park’. What times does it run and why isn’t it arranged to allow passengers travelling to St Ives to change at Cambridge North. Surely that would make more sense. Specific times for the ‘shuttle’ are needed.

Last night I travelled out of Cambridge on the 22.25 departure for St Ives. After picking up and dropping passengers at the Histon Road stop near Orchard Park, we then diverted through Orchard Park West, Orchard Park East, CRC and Science Park (non-stop, of course), then out along the A10 to the Milton Recycling facility, and in through Impington( a narrow twisty. road), to rejoin the normal route at Histon. This added an extra 15 minutes to the journey time.

Do Stagecoach create a revised timetable to account for these scheduled delays, or do they simply allow the bus service to become chaotic?

In my observations, they generally allow the buses to become chaotic.

I also take issue with Stagecoach over the lack of public information at bus stops about the diversions, particularly the effect this has on travel to/from the Orchard Park stops because of the contra flow route swap between the A/d and B services.

Train companies are penalised for this delays like this. Why not buses?

Another weekend, another diversion

The title of last week's post was rhetorical. For lo, another weekend closure and diversion looms.

On September 14 and 15 the Busway will be closed between St Ives and Swavesey. The nature of the diversionary route - the lack of public roads (!) - means that the Fen Drayton Lakes stop cannot be served at all.

No details have been given of the revised timetable that will result from this quite extensive diversion.

Is there no end to the diversions?

SO,...yet again there's a Busway closure this weekend - this one's between Oakington and Longstanton and will last all day Saturday and Sunday.

The County Council's announcement claims that "all services will be running as normal", but as the diversionary route takes several minutes longer than the direct Busway route, it's hard to take this statement at all seriously. Indeed, one wonders why the County Council feel it's necessary to make this sort of false statement Wouldn't passengers - or those who haven't given up in disgust following a summer of closures and diversions - rather be given accurate, reliable and, above all, truthful information, rather than this misleading spin? Feel free to offer your thoughts in the Comments!

NB: the closure applies equally to buses, cyclists and pedestrians. And, presumably, horses as well.

Histon-Orchard Park footpath reopens, but Busway closed until 4th Nov

I was very surprised this morning, when I discovered a 75m length on the busway had been concreted over - to allow bikes and pedestrians to walk along it, under the A14 bridge!

It's clear a major delay to the bridge-widening works has occurred. There are piles installed at both overbridges, but there's much more to do.  In a update published here on 28th Aug, the County announced the busway would now reopen on the morning of Nov 4th.

In the interim, plants have grown up about 1m, including some substantial trees, and it looks rather like it did before, like an abandoned railway line. Is this the first incidence of a busway being concreted over? ;-)

Further closures 23rd - 26th Aug and 30th Aug-2nd Sep

Swavesey Parish Council website has announced busway closures the next 2 weekends between Swavesey and Longstanton - "In order to carry out defect correction works"

Not clear whether the maintenance track / bridleway / cycle path will be closed or not.

Stagecoach are also listing both these closures.

Further closure, 17-18 August

Another weekend, another closure. And another closure with little advance warning.

The Busway will be closed between Park Lane and Station Road, Histon. All day Saturday and Sunday. As a result, the northbound stop can't be served - outbound buses will pick up at Station Road Stores instead.

Here's a link to the County Council announcement.

Additional Busway closure August 10-11

Not content with the summer-long closure of the Busway between Histon and Orchard Park, this coming weekend (August 10-11) sees the closure extended to the Science Park. This means that Stagecoach A and D services won't be able to serve the Orchard Park, CRC and Science Park stops. No alternative is being provided for Orchsrd Park passengers (other than the existing "diversion" stops that service B uses on Histon Road). Alternatives for the other stops are on Kings Hedges Road (near the CRC) and at the Golden Hind (for the Science Park).

Here's the Stagecoach announcement relating to this latest closure.