Stagecoach East (Bedford, Cambridge, Huntingdon and Peterborough)

[hdennis13]

The 4 doesn't work as it is. It serves too much of Cambourne and serves none of it well. It should be separate services. Whether financials work out for that is another issue but no service which serves this many areas will do very well. In Great Cambourne for example you get on the bus there and 25 minutes later you still aren't out of Cambourne. It's really not very good.

I agree. The 4 runs twice an hour and it would make sense to serve upper cambourne hourly and lower/west cambourne hourly, which would free up the resources they require

 

[Magdalia]

While Cambridge may be losing services

I agree that Stagecoach was misleading about this and a proper consultation is needed. It's concerning how the mayor announces schemes to improve buses, yet Stagecoach is still intent on reducing services.

The elephant in the room for Cambridge bus services is availability of drivers. Stagecoach are trying to maximise profits through best use of their restricted complement of drivers.

*For the 905 they're asking for views on whether it should only run to Cambridge at peak times

*For the P&R it's curtailing the route to the railway station

*The 4 asks for "areas that we can serve or stop serving within the current resource".

*The 8 suggests a merge with the 8A and extension to Addenbrookes.

Thanks for this summary. I don't do questionnaires where it isn't possible to see all of the questions before answering question 1.

Regarding St Neots-Cambridge, is there enough traffic to justify both of Stagecoach's 905 and Whippet's 18?

For the Babraham Park and Ride, I suspect what they're looking at is missing out the railway station and going along Hills Road between Brooklands Avenue and the Botanic Gardens, like the 13 does.

I can see the attraction of running the 8/8A through to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus* but it will probably have a disastrous impact on reliability and punctuality north of the river. I remember the days when the 7 and 8 were a combined route Sawston-Cottenham: it was a nightmare then and congestion has got much worse since.

Appreciate East West rail is coming

What is coming much more quickly is Cambridge South. For the first time in history it will be possible to get from one side of Cambridge to the other in 10 minutes, just by getting on a train. This has the potential to generate transformative change in travel patterns but I'm not optimistic that either the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority** or the operators can grasp the opportunity.

 

[higthomas]

I can see the attraction of running the 8/8A through to the CBC but it will probably have a disastrous impact on reliability and punctuality north of the river. I remember the days when the 7 and 8 were a combined route Sawston-Cottenham: it was a nightmare then and congestion has got much worse since.

Yeah, it's good for me but terrible for reliability I'd expect. I'd have thought they be better leaving the 8 as is and, as I mentioned upthread, doubling the frequency of the A as far as Longstanton, and i guess having some/all of them stop on Histon road again. Then at least they can use the busway past the station which will help reliability somewhat, and gives orchard park a more consistent place to board.

Yeah, it's good for me but terrible for reliability I'd expect. I'd have thought they be better leaving the 8 as is and, as I mentioned upthread, doubling the frequency of the A as far as Longstanton to replace the 8A, and i guess having some/all of them stop on Histon road again. Then at least they can use the busway past the station which will help reliability somewhat, and gives orchard park a more consistent place to board.

 

[markymark2000]

The elephant in the room for Cambridge bus services is availability of drivers. Stagecoach are trying to maximise profits through best use of their restricted complement of drivers.

Stagecoach East MD Darren Roe did ask, at the recent market engagement, for the combined authorities views on agency drivers. Link below goes to the Combined Authoritys Youtube. The question is asked at 41:02, the link is timestamped though so hopefully that will help some people.

 

[ac6000cw]

For the Babraham Park and Ride, I suspect what they're looking at is missing out the railway station and going along Hills Road between Brooklands Avenue and the Botanic Gardens, like the 13 does.

That's not what the survey question implies:

6. If the Babraham Park & Ride route were to no longer serve Cambridge City Centre, but instead offer more frequent connections to the Biomedical Campus and Rail Station, how would this change your usage of the service?​

I can sort of understand this idea, as the P&R car park acts as satellite (and free) parking for the Addenbrookes/Biomedical Campus, and as it's the only P&R service that serves the main railway station, doubtless also serves as free parking for some rail passengers (I use it for this occasionally).

 

[RELL6L]

I can't speak for the 8 at all, for the 4 it would seem sensible to perhaps alternate which parts of Cambourne are served as it looks tortuous making some journeys.

I don't understand the 905 at all, is it a serious proposal to terminate at St Neots from the Bedford end outside the peaks? I actually did the survey here and it just said only run into Cambridge in the peaks, it didn't say where it would terminate at other times. Could it be at a P&R on the edge of the city? The Whippet 18 from St Neots isn't an alternative or competition, it takes a much longer route (30 mins more). The railway is many years off. I've always thought the 905/X5 was pretty well used. And a curtailment of the 905 won't help driver resource at Cambridge - its run entirely from Bedford.

 

[ac6000cw]

I don't understand the 905 at all, is it a serious proposal to terminate at St Neots from the Bedford end outside the peaks? I actually did the survey here and it just said only run into Cambridge in the peaks, it didn't say where it would terminate at other times. Could it be at a P&R on the edge of the city?

Madingley Road P&R is the obvious place, as there are onward services from there into the city and it's across the road from the large High Cross/West Cambridge site (from an employment point-of-view). Another thought is carrying on down the M11 from there to terminate at Trumpington P&R, which provides onward direct services to Addenbrookes/Biomedical Campus. Or skip Madingley Road P&R and run along the A14 to terminate at Cambridge North station. Or is that too much like integrated transport thinking?

 

[Magdalia]

That's not what the survey question implies:

I can sort of understand this idea, as the P&R car park acts as satellite (and free) parking for the Addenbrookes/Biomedical Campus, and as it's the only P&R service that serves the main railway station, doubtless also serves as free parking for some rail passengers (I use it for this occasionally).

Thanks. I wonder what City Centre retailers think of that.

In my experience the number of people just going between the Park and Ride and the Addenbrookes bus station is increasing.

 

[ac6000cw]

In my experience the number of people just going between the Park and Ride and the Addenbrookes bus station is increasing.

I agree - there is often a fair turnover of passengers at the Addenbrookes bus station stop.

I wonder if there are significant numbers of rail passengers using Trumpington P&R for parking and then the guided busway services to get to Cambridge station.

 

[hdennis13]

Relating to addenbrookes, when I travel on the citi 7, there is always a long queue at addenbrookes bus station for buses to cambridge rail and city centre. Which shows there is demand for the addenbrookes-rail-city centre route.

 

[Magdalia]

I wonder if there are significant numbers of rail passengers using Trumpington P&R for parking and then the guided busway services to get to Cambridge station.

Route R between Trumpington and the Rail Station via the busway (re)starting last month suggests yes.

That may change again when Cambridge South opens next year.

 

[Edvid]

A new route (LAX) between Luton bus station and the Airport is planned to start on 24 June, running hourly Mon-Sat.

Rather than compete with the Arriva A, it'll take the secondary route via Wigmore - the previous gap between the 81 & 99 pre-merge - and provide a combined 2bph frequency with the Bedford-half of the MK1. Gaps between those services are optimised for journeys from the airport as the recently-rerouted Arriva 100 adds another 2bph (3bp2h Sat) in the opposite direction only.