New stops for Houghton & Wyton (at last...)

It's over 6 years since the need for Busway services to be able to serve Houghton & Wyton was first raised on this blog. In early 2013 the parish council commissioned a survey of local residents. And it's just under two years since this blog reported that design work was under way to see the project to fruition.

Well, it finally happened! February 22 saw the official opening of the new stops on the A1123 Houghton Hill Road. There's even a crossing to ensure that villagers aren't mown down by traffic when accessing the new stops.

The Hunts Post was there to record the occasion.

With the recent diversion of half of the daytime Route B services via RAF Wyton, the new stops will see a half-hourly service in both directions. (There are a handful of peak-hour "A" services as well.)

Note: at the time of writing this, there's no indication on Traveline that the new stop exists, or that it's being used. So this is still a "work in progress". But the Parish Council is quite clear that they're operational.

Bus stop for Houghton village

Houghton village is situated about 2 miles west of St Ives. The guided service B does not call at Houghton because there are no bus stops on the A1123. Local residents have been campaigning for several years for bus stops to be provided. That campaign is soon to be realised with design work currently under way for new bus stop lay-bys, a pedestrian crossong point and real time bus information.


Hunts Post 22 March 2017 page 13.

New bus stop for Houghton village

After coming off the guided busway at St Ives, Stagecoach's route B heads towards Huntingdon. But it doesn't stop at the sizeable village of Houghton & Wyton (population around 2000) because there is no bus stop on the main road that skirts the village.

An article in the Hunts Post (3 August 2016, page 19) reveals that a long campaign by the Houghton & Wyton Parish Council may be about to bear fruit. Cambridgeshire County Council has now agreed, in principle, to fund a pair of bus stop and a pedestrian crossing to allow bus passengers to cross the A1123 safely. The crossing will also improve access to a local cemetery and make it easier for vehicles exiting from the village onto the main road.

Busway services to Houghton and Wyton

If you use Stagecoach service B between St Ives and Huntingdon, you will be aware that the buses skirt the edge of the villages of Houghton and Wyton, but don't stop there. Currently, the nearest stop for the B is at Hartford Marina about a mile away.

The parish council is commissioning a survey of local residents to find out how much demand there is for a busway stop on the A1123 to serve the village.

Hunts Post (20 February 2013, page 34) here.

New bus stop for Houghton and Wyton

It seems absurd that Stagecoach's route B does not stop at Houghton, a sizeable village of perhaps 2000-3000 people. The Hunts Post ( 12 September, page 15) reaveals that Stagecoach would call at Houghton if a bus stop could be provided on the main road (A1123). Cambridgeshire County Council says a bus stop would cost £50,000 and it seems also there are design problems about where to site the stop. Yet, a mile along the road, buses call at the stop beside the Marina where there is no layby and scarcely even a bit of pavement from people to wait on. I also wonder why there is no bus stop at Huntingdon Garden and Leisure, which must surely be a magnet for passengers.