This afternoon the Maintenance / Cycle track is flooded right across to a depth of over 5cm (and rising) just to the east (Fen Drayton side) of the Ouse viaduct.
The gates are not yet closed, and warnings not yet in place.
Thursday, 28 December 2017
Wednesday, 20 December 2017
Christmas and New Year Bus Services
Information about Stagecoach bus services running during the festive season in the Cambridge area can be found at https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/east/christmas-2017
Whippet will be running no services on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or
New Year’s Day. Normal service on other days during the festive season.
Wednesday, 13 December 2017
Biogas vehicle on the Busway
I should preface this post by admitting that I have no first-hand knowledge of what follows, nor has the blog received reports from its readers. But with that caveat...
The ITV News website is reporting that a "biogas powered double-decker bus is being trialled on the Guided busway between Huntingdon and Cambridge. It's hoped the bus can cut emissions by up-to 84 per-cent."
Apparently, the bus was on a six-week trial that began on 1 November. So we've probably all missed our chance to see it! (The ITV News report only appeared on 12 December.)
Since I haven't seen it myself, I can't offer you a photo of my own. There's one with the ITV News story - and lots, lots more on Flickr (more than any casual reader will ever need, for sure!). The vehicle, registration DD16 GAS, is usually based in the Sunderland depot of Stagecoach North-East.
Postscript (3 hours after the original posting): It's reported on the Anglia & Thames Valley Bus Forum (and by a very reliable/authoritative contributor) that this vehicle has been "on Demo for suitability around Cambridge. As it was already fitted with Busway Guidewheel brackets, [Stagecoach] decided to use it at Fenstanton."
The ITV News website is reporting that a "biogas powered double-decker bus is being trialled on the Guided busway between Huntingdon and Cambridge. It's hoped the bus can cut emissions by up-to 84 per-cent."
Apparently, the bus was on a six-week trial that began on 1 November. So we've probably all missed our chance to see it! (The ITV News report only appeared on 12 December.)
Since I haven't seen it myself, I can't offer you a photo of my own. There's one with the ITV News story - and lots, lots more on Flickr (more than any casual reader will ever need, for sure!). The vehicle, registration DD16 GAS, is usually based in the Sunderland depot of Stagecoach North-East.
Postscript (3 hours after the original posting): It's reported on the Anglia & Thames Valley Bus Forum (and by a very reliable/authoritative contributor) that this vehicle has been "on Demo for suitability around Cambridge. As it was already fitted with Busway Guidewheel brackets, [Stagecoach] decided to use it at Fenstanton."
Tuesday, 12 December 2017
Partial closure, December 13
The Busway will be closed tomorrow, December 13, in the Histon area, between 1000 and 1600. This is to allow tree maintenance work to be carried out. (Some might suggest that this is not before time!)
Outbound services will use a temporary stop in Station Road, travel through Histon village, and then rejoin the Busway at Park Road. The reverse diversion applies to inbound services, although there's no need for any temporary stop in that direction.
I first picked this up from the Cambridge News. More detailed information (including a map) is also on Whippet's website. At the time of writing there doesn't seem to be any information about this on the Stagecoach "travel updates" page. Nor is it mentioned on the County Council's dedicated Busway web pages. (The Cambridge News reports that the diversion was announced on Twitter, but it doesn't show up if you follow the Busway-specific Twitter link on the County Council web page - which suggests the Council neglected to use its own preferred hashtag.)
Outbound services will use a temporary stop in Station Road, travel through Histon village, and then rejoin the Busway at Park Road. The reverse diversion applies to inbound services, although there's no need for any temporary stop in that direction.
I first picked this up from the Cambridge News. More detailed information (including a map) is also on Whippet's website. At the time of writing there doesn't seem to be any information about this on the Stagecoach "travel updates" page. Nor is it mentioned on the County Council's dedicated Busway web pages. (The Cambridge News reports that the diversion was announced on Twitter, but it doesn't show up if you follow the Busway-specific Twitter link on the County Council web page - which suggests the Council neglected to use its own preferred hashtag.)
Monday, 4 December 2017
Speed sensors
The Cambridge News reports that speed sensors - similar to those positioned on roadsides the length and breadth of the country - have been installed by the side of the Busway, not too far from Trumpington Park and Ride.
This is quite separate from the speed monitoring device which the Council purchased earlier this year - understood to be a mobile device which could be put to use at any point along the Busway.
And that seems to be all there is to say. Short and sweet, or something.
This is quite separate from the speed monitoring device which the Council purchased earlier this year - understood to be a mobile device which could be put to use at any point along the Busway.
And that seems to be all there is to say. Short and sweet, or something.
Friday, 3 November 2017
Unauthorised vehicles on Busway
Readers of this blog, and/or of other local media, will be acquainted with the seemingly persistent problem of unauthorised vehicles finding their way onto the Busway (and usually, as a result, falling foul of the car traps). The County Council reports that there have been 71 incidents between the opening of the Busway and September of this year. This blog long since gave up bothering to report such incidents - there's only so much repetition that the average reader can cope with.
The Cambridge News recently had a crack at trying to determine how some motorists manage to get things so wrong, although its investigation seems to have focused only on potential sat-nav problems (or GPS applications, perhaps) at one specific junction. And using only Google Maps as the data source.
This seems to have started with a report from a News reader who "told the News they were using Google Maps on their Android phone to get to Cambridge Regional College yesterday evening (October 31), when the software appeared to direct them onto the guided busway." The News reporters' investigation tentatively concluded that the cause might lie in the map being set to "night mode", where the Busway isn't so clear on the display and the driver might be confused.
At this point I would recommend that you read the News report:
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/very-wrong-turn-people-misreading-13842750
Perhaps sensing that the risk of adverse publicity for one of its products, Google was quick to undertake its own investigation. Google says that its maps are "routing correctly". Given how long the Busway has been operating, any other result would have been surprising! But Google didn't respond directly to the "night mode" issue, merely noting that they welcomed suggestions for improving their services.
And this is the point where I need to point you to the follow-up Cambridge News story which covers Google's response:
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/busway-cambridge-google-satnav-trap-13849028
The News also posted a poll at the end of the first story. Its follow-up reveals that only 10% of those responding claimed that their sat-nav had confused the Busway with a public road. Actually, I'm not sure I should have written "10%" - we don't know how many individuals this represents, but if only a small proportion of that 10% were to slavishly follow their sat-navs, then...
The Cambridge News recently had a crack at trying to determine how some motorists manage to get things so wrong, although its investigation seems to have focused only on potential sat-nav problems (or GPS applications, perhaps) at one specific junction. And using only Google Maps as the data source.
This seems to have started with a report from a News reader who "told the News they were using Google Maps on their Android phone to get to Cambridge Regional College yesterday evening (October 31), when the software appeared to direct them onto the guided busway." The News reporters' investigation tentatively concluded that the cause might lie in the map being set to "night mode", where the Busway isn't so clear on the display and the driver might be confused.
At this point I would recommend that you read the News report:
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/very-wrong-turn-people-misreading-13842750
Perhaps sensing that the risk of adverse publicity for one of its products, Google was quick to undertake its own investigation. Google says that its maps are "routing correctly". Given how long the Busway has been operating, any other result would have been surprising! But Google didn't respond directly to the "night mode" issue, merely noting that they welcomed suggestions for improving their services.
And this is the point where I need to point you to the follow-up Cambridge News story which covers Google's response:
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/busway-cambridge-google-satnav-trap-13849028
The News also posted a poll at the end of the first story. Its follow-up reveals that only 10% of those responding claimed that their sat-nav had confused the Busway with a public road. Actually, I'm not sure I should have written "10%" - we don't know how many individuals this represents, but if only a small proportion of that 10% were to slavishly follow their sat-navs, then...
Sunday, 29 October 2017
Timetable changes today (or tomorrow, in fact)
Stagecoach are making more changes to their Busway "B" service. In theory these impact only on the "regular road" section between Huntingdon and Peterborough, but it's possible there might be consequences for the Busway proper.
The B is to be rerouted via Stilton. To accommodate this, Peterborough services will leave Huntingdon 3 minutes earlier. And southbound services will generally leave Peterborough 5 minutes earlier. If this latter isn't sufficient to fit in the extra route mileage, then arrival at Huntingdon could be late, with consequences on the Huntingdon to Cambridge stretch. Only time will tell!
A revised timetable for the Huntingdon to Peterborough stretch is available for download here. The new times are also available from Traveline. The dedicated Busway pages on the County Council website seem unaware of either the route change or the amended timetable.
It's not 100% clear from either Stagecoach or Traveline if the Huntingdon/Peterborough service is continuing as a through service to/from Cambridge (there are a few runs that never have, of course). It seems unlikely that any change is planned in this regard, but until we have a new complete timetable for the whole Busway, it's impossible to be certain.
According to Stagecoach the changes come into effect today (29 October) - but there isn't a Sunday service on this stretch, so in practice they apply from 30 October.
The B is to be rerouted via Stilton. To accommodate this, Peterborough services will leave Huntingdon 3 minutes earlier. And southbound services will generally leave Peterborough 5 minutes earlier. If this latter isn't sufficient to fit in the extra route mileage, then arrival at Huntingdon could be late, with consequences on the Huntingdon to Cambridge stretch. Only time will tell!
A revised timetable for the Huntingdon to Peterborough stretch is available for download here. The new times are also available from Traveline. The dedicated Busway pages on the County Council website seem unaware of either the route change or the amended timetable.
It's not 100% clear from either Stagecoach or Traveline if the Huntingdon/Peterborough service is continuing as a through service to/from Cambridge (there are a few runs that never have, of course). It seems unlikely that any change is planned in this regard, but until we have a new complete timetable for the whole Busway, it's impossible to be certain.
According to Stagecoach the changes come into effect today (29 October) - but there isn't a Sunday service on this stretch, so in practice they apply from 30 October.
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