Great News for Cambridge Area Bus Passengers! Audiovisual Next-Stop Announcements Are Now the Law
If you’ve been travelling by bus in and around Cambridge recently, you should have noticed more buses announcing and displaying the next stop.
Under the Public Service Vehicles (Accessible Information) Regulations 2023, bus operators across Great Britain are now legally required to provide both audible and visible next-stop and route information on all local buses. This is a win for accessibility, making bus travel in the Cambridge area more reassuring for visually or hearing-impaired passengers, tourists, and everyday commuters alike.
Exemptions:
- The regulations do not apply to demand-responsive transport services, such as Tiger-On-Demand, because it is impractical when the route and stopping places are not pre-defined.
- Services operated by minibuses (vehicles designed to carry 16 or fewer passengers) are exempt from providing accessible information.
Here is Cambridge Area Bus Users‘ focus:
1. Monitoring Compliance across Cambridge
Although the law is now in full effect, equipment isn’t helpful if it’s muted, switched off, or glitching. We will be actively monitoring services across local bus operators. If you’ve travelled on a bus with faulty or inactive audiovisual announcements, please report it to the bus operator. See our Information: Operators page for contact details. Whenever possible email the operator and copy us in to the email on contact.cabu@gmail.com.
2. Pushing Beyond Basic Compliance in the Forthcoming Franchised Network
As Greater Cambridge heads toward a franchised bus network, basic next-stop announcements should only be the starting point. We want to see rich, contextual passenger information – especially at key hubs. Imagine hearing:
Next Stop: Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Interchange here for Route 13 towards Linton/Haverhill and Route 7 towards Sawston.
3. Feasibility of Real-Time Connection Screens
Why stop at static announcements? Some systems around the world are starting to adopt dynamic onboard displays that show live real-time arrival countdowns for connecting services at upcoming interchanges. (See this slideshow from Hong Kong.) We believe the Cambridge area – world renowned for its technological expertise – deserves similar forward-thinking changes as part of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s bus franchising vision.
What has been your experience with next-stop announcements on Cambridge area buses lately?
Have they been working well, or are there routes where compliance is falling short?
You are welcome to help us compile data to monitor compliance, using this email link: Bus AV Announcement Compliance. Note, however, that we cannot take up complaints on your behalf. For more information, see our Making a Complaint about Bus Services page.
