Cambridgeshire Bus Franchising?

[Magdalia]

this is the problem with franchising in Cambridgeshire - the root cause of the issue is traffic congestion and money should be spent first on bus priority measures.

In Cambridge most plausible bus priority measures have already happened. At least some of these new routes attempt to break from the traditional hub and spoke model to take around the outside of the city the traffic that doesn't need to be in the most congested areas in central Cambridge. It is going to be interesting to see whether there is sufficient demand to make that worthwhile.

Looks like a kid with a budget and some crayons and I suspect this will bring rural franchising into disrepute

Hopefully they won't get a much bigger budget for drawing light rail/tram lines with crayons!

 

[158756]

I'd hope they would time with trains at Manea, that would make it a much more useful service. I so wished it went to March instead though as that gets a train every 30 minutes, Manea is only served by the 2 hourly Greater Anglia service to/ from Peterborough. It is quite an uplift in bus service regardless. Hopefully the buses from March to Chatteris will gain some new journeys too.

Is there even a bus stop at Manea station, or is there some sort of hail and ride arrangement?

Considering the quality of other services in that part of Cambridgeshire this T7 seems a very questionable use of money. The direct routes between Chatteris, March and Wisbech don't have hourly services, or much in the way of evening service, or even as far as I can see any through services between Chatteris and Wisbech at all. Surely the money would be better spent on improving those routes? Most of the intermediate population on the T7 is either on the section duplicated by the 60, or in Manea which has the station.

 

[317 forever]

I even wonder whether franchising in the area is mandatory under the new Mayor, if he prefers not to proceed with it.

 

[gingerheid]

I imagine a decision will appear at some time, but his manifesto talked about doing it in such a way that it didn't cost any money, and in a way that bus companies liked. Separately he doesn't want to take any measures to cut traffic or deprioritise cars. I think there's quite a lot of inherent contradictions in all this.

As busways are too expensive and have a land requirement he also wants light rail, but on the basis of finding someone else to pay for it. There was something about writing to East West Rail to tell them that Light Rail is better that he came up with that I don't understand the intended outcome of (but at least he's not going on about self driving on street metros like the last Tory guy).

 

[Cesarcollie]

I imagine a decision will appear at some time, but his manifesto talked about doing it in such a way that it didn't cost any money, and in a way that bus companies liked. Separately he doesn't want to take any measures to cut traffic or deprioritise cars. I think there's quite a lot of inherent contradictions in all this.

As busways are too expensive and have a land requirement he also wants light rail, but on the basis of finding someone else to pay for it. There was something about writing to East West Rail to tell them that Light Rail is better that he came up with that I don't understand the intended outcome of (but at least he's not going on about self driving on street metros like the last Tory guy).

Yes. All very interesting. Not least because the study CPCA themselves commissioned into franchising vs Enhanced Partnership models, concluded that at low or zero levels of extra expenditure (which is what the new Mayor wants - he has promised to freeze the mayoral precept) - franchising makes no sense, and an EP is the more cost effective way to progress. I understand the DfT view is that the franchising decision could be reversed if that is what the new Mayor wished. So who knows……..

 

[Magdalia]

I even wonder whether franchising in the area is mandatory under the new Mayor, if he prefers not to proceed with it.

Yes. All very interesting. Not least because the study CPCA themselves commissioned into franchising vs Enhanced Partnership models, concluded that at low or zero levels of extra expenditure (which is what the new Mayor wants - he has promised to freeze the mayoral precept) - franchising makes no sense, and an EP is the more cost effective way to progress. I understand the DfT view is that the franchising decision could be reversed if that is what the new Mayor wished. So who knows……..

The mayor said yesterday that he will be proceeding with franchising, though without increasing the council tax precept, see here:

£1 bus pass, staying says Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayor

The pass allows children and young people under 25 to travel for £1 per journey.

www.bbc.co.uk

The new mayor for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough says he plans to keep the Tiger bus pass.
The pass - used on over one million journeys - allows children and young people under the age of 25 to travel for £1 per journey.
Paul Bristow, who won the area's mayoral election for the Conservatives, made the promise in an interview with the BBC's Politics East programme.
He also said he would proceed with the bus franchising agreement signed by the previous mayor, Labour's Nik Johnson.
But he said he would not increase the council tax precept, which currently subsidises some bus services and fares.

 

[Cesarcollie]

The mayor said yesterday that he will be proceeding with franchising, though without increasing the council tax precept, see here:

£1 bus pass, staying says Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayor

The pass allows children and young people under 25 to travel for £1 per journey.

www.bbc.co.uk

Interesting. So given the costs of implementing and administering, and the needs for extra resource to deal with congestion, not to mention the costs of new buses (electric, diesel, whatever), it is likely service levels will have to be reduced. That’s not a good look politically……..!

 

[class387]

First day of operation today. Does anyone know why the T2s are (according to bustimes.org) running off route? All are skipping Fen Dutton, running via the A14/A1303 instead, most are also running along Madingley Road instead of Huntingdon Road in the west.

 

[TheDavibob]

one.network suggests a road closure on Horningsea Road at the Fen Ditton crossroads which explains that one I think, but nothing obvious on Huntingdon Road or through Eddington.

 

[paulmch]

Radio silence from the operators themselves about the new routes. Have they been instructed to leave the publicity to the Mayor's office?

 

[Camb]

Radio silence from the operators themselves about the new routes. Have they been instructed to leave the publicity to the Mayor's office?

Indeed, advertisement (online at least) has been very poor, and the Stagecoach East Midlands T7 between Wisbech and Chatteris has yet to track on bustimes.org

 

[paulmch]

Indeed, advertisement (online at least) has been very poor, and the Stagecoach East Midlands T7 between Wisbech and Chatteris has yet to track on bustimes.org

The conspiracy theorist in me is tempted to think that it's a combination of Stagecoach not wanting the routes to succeed as it would challenge their hub and spoke model, plus a new mayor who doesn't want his predecessor's project to succeed. Or perhaps they're all just inept!

 

[JKP]

The conspiracy theorist in me is tempted to think that it's a combination of Stagecoach not wanting the routes to succeed as it would challenge their hub and spoke model, plus a new mayor who doesn't want his predecessor's project to succeed. Or perhaps they're all just inept!

Who is responsible for the publicity? If the fares collected are remitted to the Combined Authority then it could be them who have not got their act together.

 

[ac6000cw]

Radio silence from the operators themselves about the new routes. Have they been instructed to leave the publicity to the Mayor's office?

The conspiracy theorist in me is tempted to think that it's a combination of Stagecoach not wanting the routes to succeed as it would challenge their hub and spoke model, plus a new mayor who doesn't want his predecessor's project to succeed. Or perhaps they're all just inept!

I was musing about the lack of publicity yesterday when I saw the T3 on the departures board at Babraham Road P&R - I couldn't find anything about it in the vicinity (e.g. routes or a timetable). Also the T4 runs through the village I live in, but not noticed any local publicity about that one either.

An odd thing about the routes of both of those is that despite running within 400m of Fulbourn Tesco supermarket , which is a potentially useful destination and interchange with the 1 and 3 (and has toilets and a cafe), they don't make a minor/quick diversion to stop there...

 

[greenline712]

A2B Bus & Coach Ltd.

Getting bigger by being better. We aim to provide friendly and reliable bus services across Cambridgeshire.

www.a2bbusandcoach.com

Here are the T5 and T12 timetables . . . maybe they didn't get the memo??

 

[Camb]

At least one Stagecoach East Midlands E200 (37197) YY64GUW is in white/orange Tiger livery with branding for the T7 Wisbech to Chatteris

 

[Teds]

At least one Stagecoach East Midlands E200 (37197) YY64GUW is in white/orange Tiger livery with branding for the T7 Wisbech to Chatteris

What's happening with T7? It's disappeared from Bustimes.org. Has it been seen running? Earlier in the week, the timetable was available although the map didn't show any vehicles running. The Stagecoach website shows the timetable starting last Tuesday (27th).

 

[Camb]

What's happening with T7? It's disappeared from Bustimes.org. Has it been seen running? Earlier in the week, the timetable was available although the map didn't show any vehicles running. The Stagecoach website shows the timetable starting

A week later the T7 has finally started tracking on bustimes.org, with E200’s 36116, 37197 (branded for T7) and 37200 out today.

 

[Camb]

Roger French has written an excellent blog about his experience trying out the new Tiger routes https://busandtrainuser.com/2025/06/15/eye-of-the-cambridgeshire-tiger/

 

[overthewater]

It really does seem like alot of money is being wasted by the councils, and people wonder why deregulation happened. I do have to agree that half these routes will not last and the money would have been better spent trying to fix the traffic issues in and around Cambridge and Peterborough aka like more bus lanes kicking the cars out etc.

Maybe they need to have another rethink without the consultants?

 

[markymark2000]

Maybe they need to have another rethink without the consultants?

--deleted--

 

[Teds]

As busways are too expensive and have a land requirement he also wants light rail, but on the basis of finding someone else to pay for it. There was something about writing to East West Rail to tell them that Light Rail is better that he came up with that I don't understand the intended outcome of (but at least he's not going on about self driving on street metros like the last Tory guy).

I tend to take the view that it is just politics. This mayor may not be quite as bad as the previous Tory but he is in the same mould. The attractive promise of light rail is likely make building the busways more difficult. This is useful politically but completely useless for improving public transport because the end result will be that Cambourne will have neither the busway, light rail nor East West Rail but there will be some happy Tory voters. East West is predictably unpopular is the very affluent areas of south Cambridgeshire that it will pass through. The more direct route south of Cambourne would improve journey times and is one of the routes originally proposed but the local polititians wanted it to serve Cambourne - hence the current proposals. There is a lot of work that has been done on the route to refine it so it seems unlikely that East West will change the route now just because there is a new mayor.

 

[higthomas]

the money would have been better spent trying to fix the traffic issues in and around Cambridge and Peterborough aka like more bus lanes kicking the cars out etc.

Yes, but it's much easier politically to introduce a waste of money bus route rather than do the hard thing of fixing the thing which causes most of the bus related issues, even though in the long term it would be much cheaper and much more effective.

Remember that part of the mayors manifesto was to end the "war on motorists" so all the negatives they cause will be ignored for the next few years.

 

[Deerfold]

It really does seem like alot of money is being wasted by the councils, and people wonder why deregulation happened. I do have to agree that half these routes will not last and the money would have been better spent trying to fix the traffic issues in and around Cambridge and Peterborough aka like more bus lanes kicking the cars out etc.

I don't think people do wonder why deregulation happened.

It was policy for a long time for the Tories to deregulate and privatise many industries. The bus companies that were privatised varied widely in their efficiency.

 

[Magdalia]

the money would have been better spent trying to fix the traffic issues in and around Cambridge and Peterborough aka like more bus lanes kicking the cars out etc.

In Cambridge, I'd like to know where you propose these new bus lanes. In just about every case I can think of, roads that have room for bus lanes have them already, and they have been there for decades.

The traffic issues don't get fixed in Cambridge because, for the old City Centre, and the old main arterial routes, there is no fix. Cambridge is almost entirely single carriageway roads and demand exceeds the supply of road space. But Cambridge is no longer a single node centred on the old city. The Tiger routes around Cambridge are a first attempt to break away from the hub and spoke model, and avoid the congestion by going round the congested area not through it.

It really does seem like alot of money is being wasted by the councils, and people wonder why deregulation happened.

It isn't a lot of money, the mayor's council tax precept is small, and not all of it goes on these routes. The new mayor has committed to continuing with franchising, but not raising the mayor's precept, so there is a cap on what can be spent/wasted (delete according to preference). The Tiger routes are an experiment, and they may not work, but they are the sort of thing that can be tried with franchising that can't be tried in a deregulated bus industry.

Remember that part of the mayors manifesto was to end the "war on motorists" so all the negatives they cause will be ignored for the next few years.

All this means is no return to anything like the Sustainable Travel Zone (aka congestion charge) and a political battle to reopen Mill Road bridge.

I tend to take the view that it is just politics. This mayor may not be quite as bad as the previous Tory but he is in the same mould. The attractive promise of light rail is likely make building the busways more difficult.

Indeed, light rail is not quite as ridiculous as the autonomous metro, but equally undeliverable.

The politics will continue to be a minefield for a while yet, because of 3 very big uncertainties.

• the imminent report of the New Towns Taskforce
• the Cambridge Growth Company
• local government reorganisation, likely to be implemented in 2028

East West is predictably unpopular is the very affluent areas of south Cambridgeshire that it will pass through. The more direct route south of Cambourne would improve journey times and is one of the routes originally proposed but the local polititians wanted it to serve Cambourne - hence the current proposals. There is a lot of work that has been done on the route to refine it so it seems unlikely that East West will change the route now just because there is a new mayor.

The government is fully committed to East West Rail, and gave it £2.5bn in the recent spending review. There is only one round of statutory consultation expected before the Development Control Order application, you are right that what is happening now is refinements to the route chosen in 2023.

 

[overthewater]

In Cambridge, I'd like to know where you propose these new bus lanes. In just about every case I can think of, roads that have room for bus lanes have them already, and they have been there for decades.

The traffic issues don't get fixed in Cambridge because, for the old City Centre, and the old main arterial routes, there is no fix. Cambridge is almost entirely single carriageway roads and demand exceeds the supply of road space. But Cambridge is no longer a single node centred on the old city. The Tiger routes around Cambridge are a first attempt to break away from the hub and spoke model, and avoid the congestion by going round the congested area not through it.

Kick the cars out, make people use the park n rides if there travelling from outwith Cambridge, and enhance the city routes to operate so frequently which allows the users to have an alternative. No one want to be that brave.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Kick the cars out, make people use the park n rides if there travelling from outwith Cambridge, and enhance the city routes to operate so frequently which allows the users to have an alternative. No one want to be that brave.

In fairness, @Magdalia is right to highlight that much has already been done. Banning vehicles outright will be difficult as we've already seen with York in that you then get a backlash with blue badge holders.

Where I disagree is the multi node argument. Whilst there are obviously other major traffic generators (such as Addenbrookes), the city centre will still be the single biggest traffic objective. Running the T4 to the hospital is less than ideal IMHO.

 

[Magdalia]

Kick the cars out, make people use the park n rides if there travelling from outwith Cambridge, and enhance the city routes to operate so frequently which allows the users to have an alternative. No one want to be that brave.

This won't happen because of the location of the 4 big Old City car parks at Park Street, Grand Arcade, Grafton and Queen Anne Terrace. The council can't afford to lose the revenue from those without replacement.

you then get a backlash with blue badge holders.

And this is another good reason why cars won't be kicked out of the old city.

Where I disagree is the multi node argument. Whilst there are obviously other major traffic generators (such as Addenbrookes), the city centre will still be the single biggest traffic objective. Running the T4 to the hospital is less than ideal IMHO.

We have had this argument before, and you are wrong. The Biomedical Campus is the biggest traffic objective. Babraham Road Park and Ride is now more used for the Biomedical Campus than "going into town", and I suspect it is probably the same with Trumpington. The T4 in particular addresses a pressing issue for students at Hills Road and Long Road VI Form Colleges who get much better journeys now they don't have to suffer the congestion in Newmarket Road and Hills Road.

 

[Stan Drews]

It isn't a lot of money, the mayor's council tax precept is small, and not all of it goes on these routes. The new mayor has committed to continuing with franchising, but not raising the mayor's precept, so there is a cap on what can be spent/wasted (delete according to preference). The Tiger routes are an experiment, and they may not work, but they are the sort of thing that can be tried with franchising that can't be tried in a deregulated bus industry.

The Tiger routes certainly didn’t require franchising in order to be tried. Every local authority has had the power to support services through competitive tendering since 1986. They could specify any route and timetable they wished to introduce to supplement the commercial network, even including the fares to be charged and tickets to be accepted.

 

[Magdalia]

The Tiger routes certainly didn’t require franchising in order to be tried. Every local authority has had the power to support services through competitive tendering since 1986. They could specify any route and timetable they wished to introduce to supplement the commercial network, even including the fares to be charged and tickets to be accepted.

Yes, franchising isn't essential, but the point I was trying to make is that the new Tiger routes are an experiment that commercial operators would have been unlikely to try.

County Councils' freedom to support experimental services through competitive tendering has been more notional than real in recent years, because of financial constraints. I think that's effectively what the mayor is doing here, as franchising hasn't arrived yet, but the decision to go for franchising fostered a different environment. It is seen as being the prologue to franchising, even though, strictly speaking, it isn't the same thing.