Changes to Stagecoach fares and timetables

From 29 March, Stagecoach is introducing fare rises which will affect not only busway services but also other Stagecoach routes in Cambridgeshire.

This table shows the main new fares:

Cambridge Dayrider - £4.10
Cambridge Dayrider Plus - £6.40
Cambridge Megarider - £13.50 (Smart) £14.00 (Paper)
Cambridge Megarider Plus - £24.00 (Smart) £24.50 (Paper)
Family Dayrider Plus -  £7.20
Cambridge Megarider Xtra - £47.50
Cambridge Megarider Plus Xtra - £87.00

The price of multi operator tickets on the busway will also change.

Full details here.

Details of timetable changes which start from 6 April can also be found at this link.

New busway to be built in Bristol

Balfour Beattie has been awarded a £26 million contract to build a two mile guided busway in Bristol as part of a scheme to get buses quickly past heavily congested roads. It will form part of the MetroBus system and will link Ashton Vale with Temple Meads railway station.

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Councils-award-26-million-contract-build-mile/story-25900574-detail/story.html

Changes to Whippet busway services

Whippet are proposing to make sme changes to their bus services, including those that serve the busway. The new timetables are planned to start from 25 May, and have been made public before they are sent to the Traffic Commissioners for approval.

You can read full details at http://www.go-whippet.co.uk/march-consultation/

How will busway services be affected?

Here are the main changes affecting the busway: 

Route D will be abolished, and all service run as route C via the Science Park.

The Long Road route C services will run on all weekdays, not just college days and will call at Robinson Road outside the Rosie Hospital.

Daytime Saturday C services will be the same as weekdays, and will alternate with the 1A giving a half hourly service between Cambridge Rail Station and St Ives.

Service 5 will run a circular St Ives-Hemingford Abbots-Hemingford Grey and will provide a feeder to the busway service C.

There are links to the proposed new timetables and comments can be sent in to Whippet by 22 March using this link on their website.

New busway service between Trumpington and Cambridge Rail Station

Starting 5th April a new busway service (route R) will start, connecting Trumpington Park and Ride with Cambridge Railway Station during the morning and evening travel-to-work tomes Mondays to Fridays only. This is timed to give a 5 minute journey between Trumpington and the Station, a lot quicker than the existing route A which loops round Addenbrooke's Hospital.

There are links to the new service R timetable at
http://thebusway.info/serviceupdates.aspx

At the same time there will be a number of changes to service A and B, especially early morning departures from Hinchingbrooke and St Ives.

Timetables ( both before and after 5 April) for routes A and B can be found at http://thebusway.info/routes-and-times.aspx

During the Easter Weekend Stagecoach busway services will be as follows:

Good Friday 3 April - SUNDAY SERVICE
Saturday 4 April - NORMAL SATURDAY SERVICE
Easter Sunday 5 April - NORMAL SUNDAY SERVICE
Bank Holiday 6 April - SUNDAY SERVICE

Details here.

Traffic speeds at Busway/A1096 crossing in St Ives

This week's Hunts Post (25 February, page 15) reveals the effect that the opening of the busway has had on traffic speeds on Harrison Way (the A1096) which links St Ives with the A14. The article is based pm department of Transport figures which show that speed on the A1096 has fallen by 5.8mph since July 2007. Not all the falls in speed can be attributed to the busway, however.

An 'all time low' was reached in January 2013, but since the traffic lights were re-sequenced to prevent pedestrians and cyclists from triggering the lights so frequently, speeds have started to rise again.

To read the article, visit the Hunts Post here.

The article does not, however, deal with other causes of delay on the A1096 such as closure of the A1123 at Earith Bridge when the river is high and St Ives becomes gridlocked. When are politicians going to vote money to raise the A1123 onto stilts at Earith to prevent these disruptive closures?

Nor does the article touch on the innumerable delays caused to bus passengers by  congestion in the narrow streets of St Ives, or in central Cambridge.

Cambridge Half Marathon - Sunday 8th March

Busway route B will be diverted on Sunday 8th March until 4pm because of road closures for the half marathon.

Stops at New Square and Jesus Lane/Round Church Street will be unavailabe in both directions. The Castle Street (Shire Hall) stop will be only be available for buses going to St Ives.

Details here.

Lighting the Busway - progress, or, Festina lente

Readers with good memories may recall three postings last year concerning proposals to light the southern section of the Busway. Approval was eventually given by the County Council's Economy and Environment Committee on 21 October. Now, there's an item on the Cambridge News website reporting that work on the lighting is "set to be completed before autumn". Whilst in theory "before autumn" could even mean "tomorrow", reading the story rather than the headline shows that it's more reasonable to expect completion in, say, "late summer" - the tender's only recently gone out, contractors aren't expected on site until June, and switch isn't anticipated until September, according to the Council. Still, progress is progress.