Officers at Cambridgeshire County Council said journey times had not increased to a “huge extent”, but recognised passenger numbers were down on some services.
New lower speed limits on the guided busway are making journey times longer for passengers, and leading to fewer people using some services. Temporary speed limits have been introduced by Cambridgeshire County Council as a safety measure while new fencing is installed between the bus track and shared pathway.
The £6.5million project was started after the county council was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the deaths of three people on the busway. The county council was fined £6million and has said it accepts “full responsibility for the historical failings”. It has also apologised to the loved ones of those affected.
Officers told councillors at a highways and transport committee meeting on Tuesday (December 2) that a 30mph speed limit had been put in place along the entirety of the northern section of the busway. A 20mph speed limit has been imposed on the southern section, with a 20mph limit introduced at all formal crossing points. The speed limits have now been in place for two months.
A report presented to the meeting said: “The council has been working with Stagecoach and Whippet to manage the impact of the lower speed limits on the busway timetable. The increased journey times can have an impact on the attractiveness of busway services and have resulted in operational difficulties for the bus companies.
“The Tiger T1 service run by Whippet has been able to largely maintain the previous journey frequencies, but patronage is down due to the increased journey time. Stagecoach has had challenges maintaining service frequencies as increased journey times and increased driver hours impact on the availability of both drivers and buses.
“As with Whippet, patronage is down due to the increased journey times. However, both companies are supportive of the fencing works and welcome the safety benefit it will bring.
“They understand the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act that necessitates the measures being taken to manage risk prior to the completion of the fencing works, but have expressed concern over the longer-term impact of the current works on passenger numbers.”
Councillor Peter Fane (Liberal Democrat) said the speed reductions had ‘clearly’ had an impact and questioned if an assessment had been made about whether this impacted the feasibility of the guided busway as a whole.
Officers said journey times had been increased, but said it was “not to a huge extent”, adding that the lower speed limits are important ahead of the fencing being installed. They explained that as sections of fencing are completed the speed limits will be reviewed and potentially increased again.
Councillor Alex Bulat (Labour) raised concerns about whether the impact on passenger numbers could make some services be seen as not commercially viable. She asked if the county council knew how much journey times had increased, and suggested the authority also needed to better communicate reasons for the reduced speed limit.
Officers said the impact on journey time “very much depends on the origin of the journey”. They said the 30mph limit on the northern section did “not make a massive amount of difference”, after dwelling time at stops had been factored in.
An officer said a journey from St Ives to Cambridge has had an increase of around 20 minutes, but said a journey from St Ives to Addenbrooke’s Hospital could be “quite a bit more” with a possible increase of up to 45 minutes.
They stressed that the safety works are “absolutely essential”, but said the county council wants to keep the busway open and operational as it is a “crucial transport corridor”.
Officers said it is “really important” that the county council does what it can to “maintain the attractiveness of the busway”, again adding that the speed limits would be reviewed as sections of the fencing are completed.
They said: “As we complete work we will look to revise the speed limit and every bit of work we complete the journey time will improve.”
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