Stagecoach has warned Busway services will be reduced next year as fewer passengers have been using the service since safety works began.
From 1 January 2027, peak-time services will be reduced from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes, while off-peak services will run every 30 minutes instead of every 20 minutes.
Cambridgeshire County Council is installing fencing along the 25-km route after it received a £6 million fine from the Health and Safety Executive following three deaths.
The speed limit has also been reduced to 30mph, which has significantly increased journey times for some passengers. Previously, buses could reach speeds of around 55mph along some sections.
Changes
In a statement issued over the summer, the Managing Director of Stagecoach East explained it supports the safety works – but they have led “to customers changing their travel patterns”. Darren Roe says this had resulted in “a significant loss of people travelling on the Busway”.
He said: “As such, it is impossible for us to maintain services at their current frequency, and so, from 1 January 2027, frequencies will reduce from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes at Peak times, and from every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes off-peak.
“We will continue to work with the Combined Authority and the County Council to try and mitigate the impact of these changes as best as possible for customers.”
Safety
In June, it emerged that the cost to install fencing could nearly double to £12.5 million.
A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesperson said the safety measures remained its “highest priority” and were intended to “help ensure the continued safe operation of the Busway for passengers, staff and other users”.
She said: “Decisions regarding timetables and service frequencies are a matter for Stagecoach as the operator. However, we remain committed to working closely with Stagecoach and other partners to support reliable public transport services and minimise disruption for passengers wherever possible.
“We recognise that any changes affecting service frequencies may be disappointing for passengers and we will continue to engage with Stagecoach and other operators to ensure the public’s transport needs are met safely.”
H&I County Councillor Ros Hathorn said passenger numbers varied from year to year and would be analysed at the end of September to establish how busy buses were during peak times.
If services were found to be “really full”, she said the issue would be raised with the relevant organisations.
Works update
The safety works on the Busway began in autumn of last year, and the phase between Impington and St Ives is expected to get underway this autumn.
It is hoped the works will also include the creation of a formal crossing point at Histon Orchard. Early designs were presented to the public in June, where residents were also shown samples of potential surfacing materials for the footpath upgrade.
Meanwhile, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) is due to discuss potential changes to the county’s bus network next week, including two Histon and Impington services.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service reports that the 8 and T2 could be revised “to improve reliability, provide more regular Cambridge links and support evening, weekend and peak-time travel”.
If approved on Wednesday (9 September), the changes would be introduced from February.
READ MORE: Busway fencing could almost double to £12.5 million; Drawings of Histon Busway presented to public; Preferred location for Busway crossing revealed; Fence to be installed along Busway.
Additional reporting by Joe Griffin of the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Cutting back frequency from January 2027 ties in nicely with the £2 fare cap being introduced from January 2027. Why can’t they just be honest and say they want to save costs to compensate for lost revenue?
It costs £15 to get an Uber from Cambridge North to Histon. Is that the ‘alternative’ travel being referred to? Or have people gone out and bought a car?
Nope, there should be MORE buses, not less. The buses are rammed early in the morning and around 5pm as well as 3.30 ish. People are travelling to Addenbrookes, the CRC, FE colleges, schools and Cambridge North as well as Cambridge Station. What ‘alternative’ travel are people now choosing, cars, Ubers? How does that make sense?
People should be encouraged to make MORE use of public transport. Not less. There will be many many complaints about this. Watch this space.
So frustrating! The A bus is absolutely packed with people at peak times, to the extent that it feels unsafe, and people at the HI stop sometimes have to wait for the next bus. On several occasions a wheelchair user has been forced to wait for the next bus when trying to board at Blackhall Road, it’s shameful. I was looking forward to the normal speed limits being brought back and having a reliable service every 10 minutes once the works were finished. I’m now worried that I’ll have to wait even longer.
Yes backwards logic! I have avoided using the busway for months because of all the disruption from Impington. What people need from a bus service is not considered or managed properly. Very frustrating.
The T2 runs empty in both directions, both on and off peak.
Hope that helps.
Yet another example of backwards logic! passenger numbers are down because journeys times have increased .To encourage more passengers back the services should be made more frequent and journey times improved!
I use the service a lot, and have had to endure all the diversions and delays for months on end during the “safety works”, as have all passengers. I can state quite clearly that the service is used by a large number of people, to the extent that there are certain times when the bus is full and won’t allow passengers on, or there is standing room only (not ideal for pensioners).
It’s true that very many passengers have bus passes, so the company can’t make money from them – maybe that’s the company’s motivation…
What a ludicrous sequence of events! The busway is being made so safe that people are stopping using it! If the people who live between Cambridge and St Ives were asked what they would most like to spend £12.5 million on, how many would vote for fencing the busway? If this expenditure had been identified at the start, would the busway have been built in the first place? Buses use most decent roads in Cambridgeshire (and elsewhere) so are we going to fence them all too? And if fences really are required, why are they (at least in parts of Histon) being built on the opposite side of the busway to the footpath/cycleway, so that they don’t actually stop pedestrians and cyclists straying onto the track?