Guide wheel damage - FoI request

And yet another Freedom of Information request...

Sam Webster pickied up on the response to a previous FoI request. The latter had said, inter alia, that the "... considerable damage to the upstand further along the beam ... is consistent with damage caused to the guideway elsewhere on previous occasions where a guide wheel has sheared off". Sam wanted "counts, dates, locations and further descriptions of the 'previous occasions'".

The County Council, in its response, has provided information on two previous incidents. One, in November 2012, took place at the road crossing just north of Longstanton Parn & Ride site; the other was at Orchard Park in April 2013. In both cases the bus was incorrectly positioned in relation to the entry flare, resulting in the bus rolling and the guide wheel (or its arms) fouling the concrete upstands.

The first incident resulted in the driver's dismissal; the second in disciplinary proceeedings against the driver.

For the full FoI exchange, including more details on both incidents, follow this link:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/busway_guide_wheel_damage

Busway incidents reported to the HSE - FoI request

Another recent Freedom of Information request was to the Health & Safety Executive. Sam Webster asked for "a list of all of the incidents on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway that have been reported to yourselves along with dates, the source(s), a brief description and whether or not you investigated."

The HSE submitted its response two days ago. It has records of only three incidents:

1.  The fatality on 17 November 2015
2. The Whippet crash near Cambridge station on 21 June 2017
3. An incident between Histon and Oakington on 15 July 2017 in which a young cyclist fell off the maintenance track onto the Busway

Paperwork relating to the first of these is exempt from disclosure - the HSE notes that their investigation is ongoing.  Documentation about the others is included in the FoI correspondence.

Here's the link to the FoI request and the related documentation:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/incidents_on_the_cambridgeshire

(Please note the original version of Document 2 posted there should be ignored - the wrong file was attached. The correct version of that document appears later in the exchange of correspondence.)

Plans, sections and book of reference - FoI request

The County Council has just posted what is, for the time being, only a partial response to the last of the current crop of Freedom of Information requests.

This request came from Sam Webster (who, careful readers may recall, was responsible for the first of the requests covered by this blog). He asked:

Could you please provide copies of the 'plans, sections and book of reference' referred to in the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway Order 2005 Explanatory Note ( http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/... ). Although the information is available during working hours at the County Council’s offices, this is not accessible for those of us in full time employment who must be at our own places of work during these hours. As these documents form part of UK legislation, they really should be available on your website given how cheap and easy this is.

For the time being, the County Council has made the relevant documentation available only to Sam himself. It turns out that there are currently 58 documents, some of them substantial in size. However, the Council is working to upload these documents to its website, a task which it anticipates should take no more than a "couple of weeks".

As usual, I'm providing a link to the full FoI request:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/plans_sections_and_book_of_refer

I'll try to remember to keep an eye open for the appearance of these documents on the County Council website - and, if successful, post a follow-up to let you have the URL.

Busway derailments - FoI request

In the three weeks following the 21 June derailment on the Busway south of Cambridge railway station, four Freedom of Information requests relating to various aspects of the Busway and its operation were submitted. I will attempt to track them and to provide more information as responses to these requests are posted.

First up in this mini-series is a request from Sam Webster, who asked the following of the County Council:

There have been a number of derailments on the guided busway. For each of these, could you please provide:
1. Date, time, location and type and operator of the bus
2. A brief description of any damage to the busway caused by the derailment
3. The cost of any repairs to the busway (a rough estimate is fine)
4. Copies of any reports compiled on the derailment
5. Details of any penalties applied to operators as a result of the derailment
6. Details of any changes made to the operation of the busway as a result of the derailment

The County Council's response details four such derailments:

A: 20/11/12 15:00 St Ives-bound guideway north of junction with B1050 at Longstanton Single decker bus operated by Stagecoach
B: 22/2/16 13:59 St Ives-bound guideway north of Trumpington cutting Single decker bus operated by Stagecoach
C: 7/7/16 07:33 Northern end of single guideway section in Trumpington cutting Single decker bus operated by Stagecoach
D: 21/6/17 15:47 Trumpington-bound guideway south of Hills Road bridge Single decker bus operated by Whippet Coaches

Reports were compiled on B and C - these have been in the public domain for some time. A report on D is currently in preparation. No report was ever produced on derailment A, even though the cost of repairs for that one (ca. £100,000) cost twice the anticipated combined totals of the three other incidents. No penalties have ever been imposed (although it's too soon to say what might happen regarding the most recent derailment).

Anyone wanting to read the full response - or to have a handy link to the two reports referred to - is advised to follow this link. The Cambridge News also picked up on this request - its story based on the information provided can be found here .