'Catch The Bus' Week 29 April - 5 May

Stagecoach is teaming up with Greener Journeys and other bus providers to encourage the public to travel by bus. We know there has already been a huge shift from cars to buses as a result of the opening of the guided busway, so it's anybody's guess how successful  'Catch the Bus' week will be.

As an inducement, Stagecoach East will be offering the chance to obtain free East Dayrider Gold tickets. These free tickets will be available  between 12.00 and 14.00 at the following places:

Monday 29 April - St Ives Town Centre
Tuesday 30 April - Cambridge Petty Cury/Market Square
Wednesday 1 May - Huntingdon Town Centre
Thursday 2 May - Peterborough Cathedral Square
Friday 3 May - Bedford outside the Harpur Centre

Look for a large green hand.

Details here.

Bridge Street roadworks

One of the readers of this blog has reported that all the Jesus Lane and Bridge Street bus stops are back in action, although the live bus times display at the Bridge Street stop for Citi 1,2,5,6 services hasn't been switched on yet. So it looks as if things are back to normal.

However, a B heading for Hinchingbrooke was seen  about 1.30pm turning the corner from Chesterton Lane, so possibly one driver forgot that the bus route was restored to normal.

The news item has about the diversion has been removed from the Stagecoach website implying that the service is back to normal.

 

Incident on guided bus

The Hunts Post  (17 April, page 1) reports an incident on a Stagecoach guided bus near Cambridge Regional College when a bus lurched to a stop and several passengers were thrown about in the vehicle.  This was on 8 April about 10.15am. Paramedics were called, but no-one had to be taken to hospital. The news report unfortunately doesn't give  a clear description of what actually happened.

This week's Hunts Post  (24 April, page 4) reveals that  Stagecoach has followed  disciplinary proceedings regarding this incident. However, the investigation has been hampered because the bus's CCTV was faulty.

Starlight bike ride on guided busway

Cambridgeshire County Council is organising a late night cycle ride between Cambridge and St Ives to celebrate the new solar stud lights that were recently installed along the cycle track. Any cyclist is welcome to join in. Groups will start from either end at 10.30pm on Friday 12 April. Meet at the Golden Hind, Milton Road, or at St Ives Town Hall. Refreshments will be provided at  Longstanton Park & Ride until midnight.

Full details here.

Also reported in the Cambridge News.

Several comments about the cycle ride in the Cambridge News here.

Truck drives onto busway

The Cambridge News reports that a truck drove onto the busway at Longstanton, but fortunately managed to get back onto the road by diverting through the park and ride site.
Click here to read full report. Apparently there is a £1000 fine for such incidents.

Photo of the lorry on the busway here.

Cross country ski-ing on the busway

Gordon Fuller of Hemingford Grey has been using the guided busway cycle track to train for a cross country ski-ing marathon using roller skis. The marathon took place at Engadin in Switzerland on 10 March and Gordon completed the 26 mile course in 4 hours 39 minutes 59.5 seconds. He is raising money for SiKanda a charity that helps to provide protective clothing and housing for landfill workers in Mexico.

Information about the project Gordon is supporting can be found here.

More details at the Hunts Post.

Jesus Lane diversions

The diversions in Jesus Lane due to works on the underground sewage pipes continue until 7 April, although it appears that the work has finished.

From 8 to 30 April, Bridge Street will be  (partly) closed for similar work, and the diversion for Huntingdon-bound buses remains in place. However, Cambridge-bound buses on route B will revert to their usual route as from 8 April.

See announcement on Stagecoach website here.

Bank Holiday market - St Ives

Today ( Easter Monday) St Ives Bus Station is closed due to market stalls being sited there. Cambridge-bound buses are running from their usual stop in Station Road. It's not obvious where Huntingdon-bound buses are running from, but it's likely to be The Quadrant, where, for once, the District Council has put up big notices preventing car parking there.