High up the ‘to-do’ list of the Cambridge Area Bus Users Executive Committee is to take steps to bring the needs of bus users to the attention of our local politicians. With this in mind, we have resolved to ask public questions at local council meetings when we believe an issue should be brought up the agenda.
At the 17th November 2025 meeting of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s Transport Committee, Miranda Fyfe (CABU Executive Committee member) raised a question tabled by Richard Wood (CABU Secretary) as follows:
Cambridge Area Bus Users was disappointed to learn that plans to franchise local bus services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have been delayed until at least 2028. This extended ‘limbo’ period prolongs uncertainty for bus operators and passengers alike. Commercial services are likely to deteriorate as bus operators need predictability to invest in route development and new vehicles, whilst the Combined Authority will continue to struggle to provide its patchwork of less-than-ideal supported services under the current deregulated model. The Bus Services Act 2025 requires the Combined Authority to identify, list and protect socially necessary local services. The papers for this meeting note: “The … current suite of interventions is not affordable in the long-term”. Delays to implementing franchising will exacerbate this problem.
The wholly contracted (aka franchised) model will remove current barriers to integrating self-supporting and supported routes as the Combined Authority takes control over investing public funds in an expanded, attractive, high-quality bus network which the business community is demanding, and our communities need.
Those who use the bus the most in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, according to a report published in the papers for this meeting, are children, teenagers and young adults. This delay will adversely impact upon young people’s access to education, training and jobs they otherwise couldn’t take, jeopardising the Combined Authority’s ability to deliver targets on reducing the youth NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) count.
Under franchising, fare structures – including Tiger Pass fares, subject to restricted discussion at this meeting – will be the decision of the Combined Authority, with fare revenue accruing to the Authority, rather than commercial operators’ shareholders. It will then be for the Authority to decide if (for example) the revenue from 20 Tiger Pass £1 single fares are preferable to that from 5 young people paying £3 single fares.
What interim measures, ahead of the start of franchising, do the Combined Authority propose to implement, to bring stability for operators, to support bus users (particularly young people) the needs of the business community and to adapt the transport system to cope with regional growth?
Note: whilst there is a mention of the Tiger Pass, we have no wish to interfere with the restricted nature of the Committee’s discussions which will, inevitably, involve members discussing commercially sensitive information.
You can read the response Miranda received from Transport Committee Chair and Mayor’s Representative Chris Boden, or listen to it on the webcast. You can also read the other public questions asked at the meeting (and responses to them), many of which were about bus services. They include a succession of questions from the Castor, Ailsworth, Wansford and Wittering Bus Campaign (whose excellent campaigning efforts led to the reinstatement of the No 27 service in 2024) about potential improvements to their service, a question from a resident about the lack of evening bus services in Peterborough, a question from Cambridgeshire Sustainable Travel Alliance (of which Cambridge Area Bus Users is a founder member) around the Tiger Pass (£1 bus fares for under 25s) and a question from Paul Hollinghurst around the value-for-money of the South Cambridgeshire Tiger-on-Demand service requesting more effective bus route linking the communities and key destinations between Trumpington and Foxton.
At the 26th November Meeting of the Combined Authority’s Board Richard Wood (CABU Secretary) raised a question as follows:
Cambridge Area Bus Users note that Mayor Bristow would like to boost high street retail trade in the Combined Authority area, starting with Peterborough. Would the mayor care to share with the Combined Authority Board, and the wider electorate, his business case for achieving this by subsidising free parking of private motor vehicles, compared with other uses of a similar amount of public funding by (for example) working with businesses to offer high street discount vouchers to Tiger Card users or, indeed, all bus and train passengers arriving in Peterborough and, over time, all of our cities and market towns?
Mayor Paul Bristow’s response to his question is not yet available on the Combined Authority’s website, but you can listen to it on the webcast.
Cambridge Area Bus Users 