Queen Edith’s Roadworks: Bus Diversions 8 July – 9 August

Significant diversions for citi 1 & citi 2

Cambridge Area Bus Users note, from Causeway one.network, that a road closure has been granted for Cadent Gas from Mon 08/07/24 on Queen Edith’s Way, Cambridge between the Fendon Road roundabout and Wulfstan Way. As a result Stagecoach’s citi1/citi2 will be on diversionary routes.

map showing road closure from Fendon Road roundabout to Wulfstan Way — Closure from Fendon Road roundabout to Wulfstan Way

Stagecoach have posted a service update. Following contact with their Cowley Road staff, we can conform these diversionary routes:

citi 1 be using Mowbray Road (A1134), Cherry Hinton Road, Wulfstan Road and Queen Edith’s Way between Fendon Road and Cherry Hinton High Street (Robin Hood junction)
citi 2 will be using Mowbray Road (A1134) and Cherry Hinton Road between Fendon Road and Walpole Road

The map, below, should help make these diversions clearer.

Non-interactive map showing diversions as described above. — Click the image to view a larger version in a new tab

Beehive Centre Planning Update

Note that this planning application includes a number of bus service enhancement proposals.

poster text as accompanying text in this post — Click the image to download a printable PDF

Nick Vose, Director, Marengo Communication, writes:

We are pleased to provide you with an update on Railpen’s proposals for the Beehive Centre.

As you will be aware, we first submitted plans last year, including proposals for new retail, leisure, and community space, as well as laboratory, workspace, and green public space.

However, following feedback on the plans we decided to come back to you with revised designs.

The key uses proposed for the site remain the same, but we have reduced the height and massing of a number of buildings and adjusted building footprints and locations to increase separation distances between buildings and our neighbours.

A new park roughly the same size as St Matthew’s Piece has been introduced and we will plant even more trees (275 in total).

There is also a new direct cycle/pedestrian route through the site and Coldham’s Lane Roundabout will be upgraded to a four-way signalised junction, creating safer connections for pedestrians and cyclists.

Around 20 new shops and leisure facilities, including a small supermarket and gym are included on the ground floor. This is in addition to our plan to invest in Cambridge Retail Park which is also moving forward and will support the re-location of several retailers from the Beehive Centre. The development will also fund an additional 15 public buses per hour with a service extension to the train station, a new service to Milton Park & Ride, as well as new direct services to Cambourne and St Neots, Huntington and St Ives, Ely and Waterbeach. More than 4,200 cycle parking spaces will be created, and 460 car parking spaces – a third of which will provide electric vehicle (EV) charging.

Finally, in response to earlier feedback, we are also looking carefully at how our proposals can help reduce urban temperatures. We know that green spaces, trees, green roofs and vegetation are all very helpful as natural cooling measures and we are planning to replace large areas of concrete with new landscaping, 275 new trees, rain gardens, permeable surfaces and green roofs. In addition, we have committed to undertaking an Urban Greening Factor assessment to evaluate the quality and quantity of green space provided. More commonly used in London this voluntary assessment will demonstrate how green infrastructure has been integral in the design of the development. Several other design choices will also be taken, including carefully selected materials with a higher albedo, which is the metric for how much incoming sun is reflected by a material surface.

We are still listening and are now inviting residents and stakeholders to comment on these revised plans before we submit an amended planning application.

You can find out more about our updated plans on the 17, 18 and 19 July.

Wednesday 17^th July 2024, 12pm – 4pm
ScS – Unit 11 (next to Nando’s), Cambridge Retail Park, Newmarket Road, CB5 8JG

Thursday 18^th July 2024, 4pm – 7.30pm
ScS – Unit 11 (next to Nando’s), Cambridge Retail Park, Newmarket Road, CB5 8JG

Friday 19 July 2024, 12 noon
Online webinar: Register here: Beehive Centre Update – Online Webinar Registration

We are also holding a further event for adjacent neighbours on Wednesday 17 July between 6pm and 7.30pm. This event will also be held in the ScS and a separate letter has been sent via the Royal Mail.

Further details of our events are enclosed in the attached community flyer – which has been sent this week to over 6,000 local residents – and we have prepared a social media friendly graphic, also attached, which we are asking stakeholders to share via their own social media channels.

We look forward to talking you through the latest proposals.

Best regards,
Nick
For and on behalf of Railpen

Changes to 905 (2nd June) and 26 (3rd June)

Stagecoach are introducing a new timetable on service 905 (Cambridge/Bedford) with effect from Sunday 2nd June. Peak-hour departure times from Cambridge (Monday to Friday) are revised, whilst journey times on Cambridge-bound services are being reduced by 5 minutes, with departure times all along the route changed accordingly. St Neots commuters, in particular, may wish to study the new timetable with care – it’s available for download from the Stagecoach website.

There are fairly major changes on service 26 between Cambridge and Royston. The route is being taken over by A2B and a completely new timetable introduced from Monday 3rd June. Amongst the features of this timetable:

there are more services than currently operate;
~~Fowlmere is no longer served, but~~ [2 June update: a revised timetable has been issued since this post was written and a number of services will continue to serve Fowlmere]
Shepreth and Meldreth receive one daily service in both directions and a number of journeys operate via Little Shelford;
the morning commuter service into Cambridge city centre now arrives at 0745 instead of 0820;
one northbound and two southbound services terminate at/originate from Trumpington Park & Ride, reintroducing a feature that applied for a few years in the 2010s;
Two trips each day operate to/from Royston Tesco and Railway Station.

The new timetable is available here (courtesy of Hertfordshire County Council) and will be on the A2B website shortly.

Busway changes from Sunday 19th May

Stagecoach are introducing a number of changes to its Busway services from Sunday 19th May (originally planned for 2nd June, but brought forward just yesterday).

Details of the changes can be found on the Stagecoach website. What follows is a summary.

A. It was only on 14th April that the weekday service on this route reverted to running four buses per hour. Now this decision is being reversed, and there will again be only three journeys per hour along the route between St Ives and Trumpington.

B. Seven journeys a day, Monday-Friday, will operate to and from Long Road Sixth Form College.

C. This service is being withdrawn – but its trips will be covered by extended journeys on service B (see above).

Although these changes result in a 10-minute weekday daytime frequency from St Ives to Cambridge, unfortunately that statement doesn’t apply in the opposite direction, where the service has the same number of buses but at less regular intervals.

H. Again, Stagecoach are partially reversing a change implemented last month and are reintroducing a service, now “numbered” H, between Trumpington and the Biomedical Campus. This will run during morning peak hours only, Monday-Friday.

And outside the weekday morning peak, there is…

R. This new service will operate between Trumpington, the Biomedical Campus, and the Railway Station, Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Again, this is a partial replacement for the “short” journeys on the A which were withdrawn in April.

The revised Busway timetable can be found here.

Cambridge-Ely-Littleport – an update

The Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority has issued a contract to local operator A2B to operate additional journeys on the Cambridge-Ely-Littleport service 9. A recent post here had noted that Stagecoach will be cutting back on the number of journeys they operate on this route with effect from next Monday, 15 April. The Combined Authority has arranged for three additional services in both directions to be added to the timetable.

The Combined Authority announcement, which includes a complete list of departures for both operators, as well as ticketing arrangements, is available on its website.

Stagecoach changes from Sunday 14th April

Stagecoach are making changes to a significant proportion of their services in the Cambridge area from Sunday 14th April.

A booklet describing the changes is available here, and links to all of the new timetables are also available on the Stagecoach website.

A brief summary of the changes follows:

Citi 2. As previously reported, Citi 2 journeys towards Milton will additionally call at Parkside (the Busway stop). Timetable changes are also taking place – not for the first time in an attempt to improve punctuality.

Citi 3 and Citi 4. Timetable changes.

Citi 4A. This service is being withdrawn.

5. Additional stops will be served in Northstowe, as well as timetable changes introduced.

7. The number of afternoon services is being reduced, Monday to Friday, principally (but not exclusively) on services out of Cambridge. The number of afternoon/early evening trips to/from Saffron Walden remains unchanged, but they will operate at different times from the present timetable, and this impacts on Sawston/Pampisford journeys. Additional timetable changes are also being introduced.

8. The weekday service on this route is being recast, with the consequence that daytime trips will operate every 40 minutes (so 3 rather than 4 trips every 2 hours, a reduction of one quarter). This is a direct consequence of the increased journey times that are being introduced.

9/X9. As has been widely reported in the media, this service will be severely reduced – to just 3 trips in each direction on the 9, and one X9 between Littleport and Cambridge North. The Combined Authority is looking to provide additional services, but it is not certain how soon the tendering process will allow additional trips to be added to the route.

25. This service is being withdrawn.

A. The weekday service will comprise 4 trips per hour (instead of 3) between St Ives and Trumpington. However, the “shuttle” service between Trumpington and the Biomedical Campus is being withdrawn, so there’s a reduction in frequency on that section. The first journey of the day from St Ives (Monday-Saturday only) will depart at 0430.

F. This service is being withdrawn.

PR3. Two additional weekday early morning services will operate from Trumpington Park & Ride (at 0700 and 0715).

PR4. This service will see a reduction in frequency, linked to timetable changes. An additional weekday early morning service will depart Babraham Park & Ride at 0641. Sunday services are unchanged.

Haverhill services (13/13A/X13/131/131A). Barely 18 months since Haverhill services were recast there’s going to be something of an about turn. The Haverhill town services (131/131A) are being withdrawn and routes around Haverhill on the remaining services altered to cover most of the communities whom these served (as was the case before the 131/131A were introduced). The journey time between Haverhill Sainsburys to the Haverhill Bus Station is effectively doubled on most journeys although, to partly compensate for the increased overall journey times between Cambridge and Haverhill Bus Station, the number of trips on the more direct X13 is being increased. There is a full explanation, with maps, in the Stagecoach booklet.

Whippet U1 and U2 changes from 1st April

With the reopening of the southern section of the Busway in both directions, Whippet (in association with the University) are making changes to services U1 and U2, taking effect from Monday 1st April.

In the Grange Road area the routes are being switched, so that the U1 will now serve Selwyn College and Barton Road stops, whilst the U2 will revert to the original Universal route down West Road.

Service U1 will use the Busway in both directions between the Railway Station and the Biomedical Campus. Service U2 will be routed via Hills Road.

The new timetable can be downloaded from the Whippet website.

Bus Lanes – New DfT Guidance

Mark Harper, Secretary of State for Transport has recently issued new guidance on, amongst other things, bus lanes’ the hours of operation. Bus lanes, he asserts, should only operate when needed. Furthermore, ‘surplus funds’ from enforcement should be restricted, Harper believes.

Read the excerpts, quoted below (click the hyperlinks for fuller information, if you’re keen) and see if you can see a logical inconsistency…

At the moment, restrictions on bus lane use are too rigid, creating delays and causing regular fines for drivers. New guidance on bus lanes has also been issued today, to make sure they only operate when it makes sense, like when traffic is heavy enough to delay buses. This will prevent drivers being hit with unfair fines.
News story – Crackdown on anti-driver road schemes and blanket 20mph limits to put local consent first, DfT and The Rt Hon Mark Harper MP, Published 17 March 2024

While this guidance focuses on improving bus services, it is important to recognise the possible impacts on other road users. The Plan for Drivers, published in October 2023, includes a range of measures to ensure smoother journeys. This guidance delivers the commitment to strengthen guidance to make sure bus lanes help rather than hinder traffic.

As set out in the 2024 BSIP guidance, the NBS states that to increase bus use, buses must become attractive to far more people. The key to doing this is making them faster and more reliable. The NBS therefore expects plans for bus priority on roads where there is a frequent bus service, traffic congestion, and the physical space to install it. Bus lanes should be as continuous as they need to be, and have the hours of operation they need to have, to insulate buses from delays caused by traffic congestion and parked vehicles. The Plan for Drivers confirms that this means bus lanes should be provided only where they are needed and should operate only when buses are running or when traffic is heavy enough to cause delays to buses. Bus priority measures should be developed with full consideration of the impacts on other road users. [Our emphasis]
Local Transport Note 1/24: Bus User Priority, Dft, March 2024

Harper has issued, through the DfT, an Open call for evidence – Restricting the generation of surplus funds from traffic contraventions.

In theory, increasing the hours during which private motorists can use bus lanes “will prevent drivers being hit with unfair fines.”

On closer inspection the guidance on the hours of operation of bus lanes might seem somewhat illogical.

When general motor traffic is light, the existence of a parallel bus lane will make no difference to the progress of general motor traffic.
When general motor traffic is heavy, the existence of the bus lane will impede the progress of general motor traffic, but allow buses to continue on their journeys, unimpeded and speedier than a private car.
If the aim of bus lane ANPR cameras were to maximise revenue for the relevant highway/transport authority, rather than to deter misuse of the bus lane, having variable hours of operation of bus lanes, not only across the country, but within the same local authority would achieve this end.
to achieve consistency of respect for bus lanes when they are needed, 24/7 operation may be desirable. This would also achieve the aim of minimising penalty charges for infractions.

Might the ‘Law of Unintended Consequences’ come into play?

Some roads on which buses operate 24/7 might carry heavy traffic from a city centre to a motorway or an airport, day and night. Other roads may only be busy at office commuting and school-run times, whilst the peak commuting hours on some routes might overlap with shopping journeys. In some areas, Saturday and Sunday tourist visitors might cause more congestion than weekday traffic.

Imagine the close attention to the minutiae of bus lane signage, and to the clock, required of the diligent private car driver wishing to comply with the regulations and to avoid penalties around these (hypothetical) streets:

Dover Street – 24/7 operation
Folkestone Road – Mon-Fri 7am-10 am, 4pm-7pm
Newhaven Boulevard – Mon-Sat 7 am-9am
Portsmouth Road – Daily 7am-7pm
Southampton Avenue – Mon-Fri 8am-6pm; Sat 9am-7pm
Poole Road – Mon-Fri 7am-9:30am, 3:30pm-5pm; Sat 10am-6pm: Sun 10:30am-5:30pm
Plymouth Avenue – (Sign faded, try guessing)

Unfortunately, the current obsession with resisting the (non-existent) ‘war on motorists’ potentially delivers this kind of illogical nonsense.

See: The war on motorists: the secret history of a myth as old as cars themselves, Peter Walker, The Guardian, Thu 28 Sep 2023

Your comments are welcome.

Whippet changes from 1st April

Whippet are making a number of changes to their services from Monday 1st April (but note – there is a Sunday service in operation on all Whippet routes on 1st April).

X2. Journeys towards Huntingdon will be taking a different route out of the Biomedical Campus, no longer serving either Outpatients or Puddicombe Way. Journey times are being extended to try to address traffic congestion.

X3. This service is to take a different route in Cambridge on journeys from Huntingdon, and will serve Northampton Street, Bridge Street, Jesus Lane and Emmanuel Street instead of proceeding along Queen’s Road, Silver Street and Downing Street. Again, there are additional changes to the timetable to try to deliver a more punctual service.

18. The 0720 schooldays journey from St Neors will be departing at 0705 and serving Abbotsley, Great Gransden and Caxton. The 1632 from St Neots will continue to Cambridge rather than terminating at Barton. And service 18 is moving to Bay 3 at Drummer Street.

66. Again (and at the risk of sounding like a stuck vinyl record) there are minor timing changes designed to try to address punctuality. And Fenstanton gets three additional departures on Saturdays.

Full details and links to the new timetables are available from the Whippet website

Electric buses in Cambridge are quite safe, actually…

As readers might have guessed, this is not the Daily Mail headline, which read…

EXCLUSIVE Britain’s e-bus ticking timebomb: How nearly TWO THOUSAND electric buses worth £800m face urgent recall over fears they could see burst into flames

If you really wish to read the inaccurate, misleading nonsense from Darren Boyle (2 March 2024) in the Daily Mail click here.

If you’d rather check out facts, then click through to this on-line government publication: Investigation into bus fires reported to DVSA from 2020 to 2022, DVSA, 20 July 2023

RouteOne a trade publication, gave a balanced report Fix for potential BYD ADL battery-electric bus recall ‘in hand’ in which they remarked upon…

… a hysterical report in the Daily Mail claiming uncited fears that affected buses “could see [sic] burst into flames.”
…
The Mail also quoted FairFuelUK founder and Reform UK candidate for the London mayoral election Howard Cox as claiming that taxpayers will “have to fund these expensive buses being taken off the road.”
op cit, routeone Team, March 6, 2024

And the facts?

Alexander Dennis has issued a safety bulletin to operators of BYD ADL Enviro200EV and Enviro400EV battery-electric buses in relation to a potential recall issue around the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems in some of those vehicles.
…
An under-development permanent fix will be introduced to deal with the problem. DVSA’s recall listing service shows that it affects 1,758 buses produced by the BYD Alexander Dennis partnership. In the meantime, operators have been advised to ensure that the Hispacold HVAC system is switched off when those vehicles are left unattended.
ibid

So which of Cambridge’s e-buses are affected?

Not these nine…

Whippet electric bus — **No. None of the nine Mellor Sigma 12 buses serving Whippet’s U1/U2 routes**

Nor these thirty…

Stagecoach electric buses outside IWM Duxford — **No, Not the Volvo electric buses allocated to the P&R routes and the citi2**

So, which? And how many?

Just these two…

BYD ADL Enviro400EV at Stagecoach's Cowley Road depot — ***BYD ADL Enviro400EV***

Just these two. ⬆︎ The Alexander Dennis electric double deckers supplied to Stagecoach East for a project between the operator and the Greater Cambridge Partnership, supporting an improvement in air quality in the city centre of Cambridge and giving the opportunity to inform potential future investment in a zero emission bus fleet.

So, these two EXPENSIVE BUSES bought with PUBLIC MONEY are going to be off the road over fears they could burst into flames?

Err… No. Stagecoach drivers and mechanics will ensure that the Hispacold HVAC system is switched off when these vehicles are left unattended, pending a permanent fix from manufacturers ADL.

This puts us in mind of…

There was no wrecks and nobody drownded
‘Fact, nothin’ to laugh at at all!
Stanley Holloway – The Lion And Albert (George Marriott Edgar)