Cambridgeshire Bus Franchising?

[bspahh]

Google Maps has an interesting route for the Zip2 bus between Witchford and Ely Tescos

It has found a route onto the farm tracks from the old RAF Witchford airfield

 

[Magdalia]

Further news on route 9 and route 31 here:

Cambridgeshire bus routes saved in interim plan, says council

Funding is given for the 9 and 31 bus services to continue from next month under new operators.

www.bbc.co.uk

Threatened bus routes will now continue with no gap in service when the operator pulls out at the end of August.

Stagecoach had announced it would stop running several services in Cambridgeshire due to a lack of passengers, including the number 31 route between Ramsey and Whittlesey and the number 9 service between Littleport and Cambridge.

A short-term continuity plan will see the 31 run by Dews and the number 9 operated by A2B from 1 September, after funding was agreed by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.

 

[IanMac]

Unfortunately there is no sign on bustimes.org or Google Maps of the new 31/32 routes which Dews are starting today.

 

[Bedford OB]

The timetable is posted on Dews web site.

 

[markymark2000]

Unfortunately there is no sign on bustimes.org or Google Maps of the new 31/32 routes which Dews are starting today.

Should be on within the next few hours. Dews only added it to open data within the past 12 hours or so.

 

[IanMac]

Thanks, it's there now. I wanted to see the full list of stops which the Dews website doesn't show. Unfortunately the first stop eastward from Whittlesey bus station is at Aldi, so people who used the Avenues loop stops to get to March on Stagecoach 33 can't handily go there any more.

 

[MikeWM]

A2B have now apparently fully taken over the 9 Cambridge-Ely(-Littleport), previously run by Stagecoach for goodness knows how many years. Not that you'd know that from A2B's website, which still has the old timetable.

The service (from bustimes) appears to be the same woefully inadequate 6 journeys a day and at the same times as before, except that the first northbound service runs later and only goes to Ely (previously Littleport).

The rather odd once-a-day early 'X9' northbound and evening southbound (starting from/terminating at Cambridge North (?)) seem to have been removed.

 

[paulmch]

A2B have now apparently fully taken over the 9 Cambridge-Ely(-Littleport), previously run by Stagecoach for goodness knows how many years. Not that you'd know that from A2B's website, which still has the old timetable.

The service (from bustimes) appears to be the same woefully inadequate 6 journeys a day and at the same times as before, except that the first northbound service runs later and only goes to Ely (previously Littleport).

The rather odd once-a-day early 'X9' northbound and evening southbound (starting from/terminating at Cambridge North (?)) seem to have been removed.

I gather that the X9 service was really just an attempt to offset the costs of running out of service between the depot at Cambridge North and the start of service at Littleport. Can't imagine there were many takers!

I had a trip from Bar Hill today and the loads on the 5 were very healthy indeed - I counted 49 on board by the time we'd reached Shire Hall!

 

[Magdalia]

Leon Daniels has been appointed chair of an "independent group" to oversee Cambridgeshire and Peterborough bus franchising see here:

Olympic transport boss to oversee Cambridgeshire bus franchising

Leon Daniels will help bring bus services under public control, the combined authority says.

www.bbc.co.uk

The man who oversaw transport infrastructure during the London 2012 Olympics will direct the implementation of bus franchising across a county.

Leon Daniels will be the independent chair of the group that will bring bus services under public control in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

 

[MikeWM]

The last (still woefully early) 9 of the day to Ely, now operated by A2B, has passed me a couple of times in Ely this week. Both times it has been a minibus (!), which is a bit of a change from the double-decker it was with Stagecoach. Doesn't seem to bode well for the future of the service.

 

[Magdalia]

Franchising now not expected until at least 2028 see here:

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough publicly-run bus services delayed

Franchised services were expected to start in late 2027 but funding issues are causing a delay.

www.bbc.co.uk

Plans to franchise local bus services have been delayed until at least 2028.
Nik Johnson, former Labour mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA), signed off on plans to take control of various routes in February.
A meeting at Peterborough City Council heard those plans were made on the basis the mayoral precept would increase, but new Conservative mayor Paul Bristow pledged to keep the precept as it was when he was elected in May.
Judith Barker, the CPCA's executive director for place and connectivity, told the council no "commercial model" could support the plans.
A review would need to take place, she said, therefore delaying the outcome.

 

[overthewater]

Well the council has now started to cut cost, since two route cost upto £100 per passengers. I thought North Yorkshire council had the worse.

Bus routes costing more than £100 a passenger are to be scrapped

"Tough choices" based on cost and use mean the services' subsidies will be cancelled.

www.bbc.co.uk

Two rural bus services that cost more than £100 to run for every passenger who used them are to be cut.
The once-weekly 15 service between Haslingfield, Cambridgeshire, and Royston, Hertfordshire, cost £48,297 to run in 2024-25, working out at a cost per passenger of £180.
Meanwhile, the 8A service offering one journey a day in each direction between March, Cambridgeshire, and Milton Park and Ride, Cambridge, cost £188,753 to run, with each passenger journey working out at just over £100.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority has agreed to stop subsidising both services, saying it had to make "tough choices" based on cost and usage.
At a meeting on Wednesday, external, the authority's board heard that the 8A route had been extended to take it to the park and ride in the hope it would improve passenger numbers.
However, a report stated there had been a "limited change" in numbers, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
Officers told the board that the loss of the 15 service would be mitigated through the expansion of the Tiger On Demand service in South Cambridgeshire. They said an agreement had been reached with South Cambridgeshire District Council to use money provided by developers to fund the expansion of this service.
Anna Bailey, the Conservative leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, said discussing bus services was an "emotive subject" but there was not enough money to support every service across the area.
She said they had to make tough choices as there was not an "endless pot of money".
Lucy Nethsingha, the Liberal Democrat leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, said it was a "controversial" decision but she would be supporting it.
Anna Smith, a Labour cabinet member at Cambridge City Council, said they needed to make sure people in rural communities did not become "trapped" when losing a bus service.
The two services will not be cut immediately as 112 days' contractual notice must be given to the traffic commissioner.

Services to be supported​

The board agreed to continue supporting a number of other bus services in Cambridgeshire, including ones that connect to neighbouring Lincolnshire and Suffolk.
The services include:

• 8, between Cambridge and Papworth Everard
• 46A, between Newmarket and Linton
• 5A, between St Ives and Bar Hill
• 27, between Stamford and Peterborough
• 61, between Eynesbury and Eaton Ford
• 68, Wisbech Town Service
• V4, between St Ives Bus Station and Boxworth

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Well the council has now started to cut cost, since two route cost upto £100 per passengers. I thought North Yorkshire council had the worse.

North Yorkshire was nowhere near as bad as that - there was the Yorbus DRT which was bad but the tendered services less so because they've been cut back so much.


Back to Cambs, it had to happen. You can't be expensively carting fresh air when you've other routes that you need to save. When you look at the 8A, it's 188000/100 = 1880 passengers p.a which is 6 per day (on 310 days p.a.)

 

[eldomtom2]

In my opinion, any bus route that runs once a day is going to have a serious uphill battle justifying its continued existence.

 

[markymark2000]

Back to Cambs, it had to happen. You can't be expensively carting fresh air when you've other routes that you need to save. When you look at the 8A, it's 188000/100 = 1880 passengers p.a which is 6 per day (on 310 days p.a.)

Merseytravel pay £1.8k per Christmas Day to run a bus which only carries 1 person per year. By comparison, Cambridgeshire looks really good value for money.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Merseytravel pay £1.8k per Christmas Day to run a bus which only carries 1 person per year. By comparison, Cambridgeshire looks really good value for money.

Two wrongs and all that!

 

[Magdalia]

An announcement on DfT funding to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority for buses is reported by BBC here:

Cambridgeshire get £31m funding for buses over next three years

A minister says confirming funding for longer than a year should mean better planning by the mayor.

www.bbc.co.uk

The government has pledged to give more than £10m per year for the next three years to improve bus services across Cambridgeshire.
Some £31m will be given to the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, which will decide how it should be spent.
The authority has previously received funding for bus services. Earlier this year it was used to extend the £2 fare cap
The £10m is part of a wider package of £309m which will be given to the East of England.
In the past, local authorities have had funding awarded each year.

 

[MikeWM]

Changes happening at the start of January for the Ely services.

https://transport.cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk/buses/bus-route-changes/

The 9 will now do Ely-Littleport hourly, with 5 trips a day extending to/from Cambridge (down from 6 currently), via Landbeach/Stretham/Little Thetford as now. Disappointingly the last bus from Cambridge continues to leave at 1735 so still isn't a good alternative for getting home if the rail service collapses.

The 9A 'Ely Circular' morphs into the new 10 service, which will now be an Ely-Little Downham-Ely loop and as such becomes an hourly service. There are earlier and later journeys than on the current 9A, so this appears to be an improvement, though as before I'm not sure how useful this is without serving the supermarkets on Lisle Lane or the railway station/Tesco.

The timetables on the combined authority website (as above link) emphasise connections between the two services, so at least some thought has gone into how this should work.

The website does mention the consequences of making this service no longer be a circular within Ely, so for various stops:

You will now need to board on the opposite side of the road when travelling into Ely.
Where there is no stop opposite, passengers should wait directly across from the current bus stop flag.

As far as I recall, most of those stops do not have a stop opposite (in at least one case, there isn't even a pavement, just some grass). I suspect this may be rather confusing for people.

 

[markymark2000]

Changes happening at the start of January for the Ely services.

Great to see some simplification FINALLY happening in Cambridgeshire, but this is merely a drop in the ocean given the much larger work that is needed on the tendered network.

 

[Teds]

Great to see some simplification FINALLY happening in Cambridgeshire, but this is merely a drop in the ocean given the much larger work that is needed on the tendered network.

I saw one of the early drafts of this this timetable. The stop at Tesco has been reinstated from that draft and the stop at Lawn Lane in Little Downham has been reinstated. This timetable is a down to the deputy mayor whose district couincil ward just happens to be Little Downham. The service there increases from 3 trips a day to 10 but each journey takes almost twice as long! It is quicker to walk from the community college stop into the town than take the bus. Meanwhile, the service to and from Cambridge is reduced and largely split. Connecting bus services are a waste of time. The first set of roadworks and all the connections fail. It is not clear why all the journeys on the 9 could not go through except to save some money on the contract by specifying a minibus for the Littleport shorts and a full size single decker for the through Cambridge services. I would have thought that the small saving will be lost in reduced useage. My not very scientific observations on the current route 9 suggset that about 30% of the passenger cross Market Street. They are completely inconvenienced by these changes. The deputy mayor niether knows nor cares. It fulfills her wish to distance herself and her district council from Cambridge.

It is a timetable to meet the wishes of the deputy mayor to demonstrate that she has improved the bus service for her ward. It is all for show - safe in the knowledge that the people who would vote for her will never the use the bus service. It is just tough on the people who do have to use the bus service and will do nothing to encourage bus travel locally.

 

[markymark2000]

It is a timetable to meet the wishes of the deputy mayor to demonstrate that she has improved the bus service for her ward. It is all for show - safe in the knowledge that the people who would vote for her will never the use the bus service. It is just tough on the people who do have to use the bus service and will do nothing to encourage bus travel locally.

Ahh, now it makes a lot more sense why there is suddenly changes.

 

[eldomtom2]

Connecting bus services are a waste of time. The first set of roadworks and all the connections fail.

Yet connecting bus services are necessary, because you cannot run a bus service for every single destination pair.

 

[bspahh]

Ahh, now it makes a lot more sense why there is suddenly changes.

I am biased, as I have an relative, living in Little Downham, who can drive at the moment, but perhaps not for much longer. However, I think the route of the new 10 is better than the old 9A. I prefer a there and back route to a one way circular route.

 

[Dwarfer1979]

Yet connecting bus services are necessary, because you cannot run a bus service for every single destination pair.

But there is a difference between a complementary and comprehensive bus network where passengers can change between services at a convenient designated point with an obvious wait time, I suspect we would all agree this should be the ultimate aim at least in the short term, and a connecting service where two routes are timed to meet and a connection is advertised (either explicitly or implicitly) which is very vulnerable to the vagaries of British road traffic. A properly connecting network is really only possible if society gets a grip on car usage and prioritising public transport to reduce the variability in running times - a long term aspiration but not really realistic in the current political/media landscape of defending the rights of car drivers over all else.

 

[IanMac]

Another change in January willl be restoration of a direct service between Ramsey (which has no rail service) and Peterborough. Between Pondersbridge and Stanground this will run direct via the B1095 which for many years has only seen service buses on diversion from sundry problems on the A605. This will run 2 hourly as X31 operated by Dews, whose current 31 between Whittlesey and Ramsey will be withdrawn.

 

[Teds]

My apologies, I see that the buses between Cambridge and Littleport have been restored as a through service. In the original draft, they were separate except for the first southbound and last northbound service. I agree, the route of the new 10 is better for those who use the service in Ely. Most stops will have a shorter times towards Market Street than they have now (and the same times away from Market Street). The service frequency is reduced but at least it is again regular and has no 'missing' services to give the driver a break. For Little Downham, the benefits are questionable because the journey time is significantly extended even though the frequency is better.
The X31 looks a great change for the bus users in Ramsey. It will provide faster journeys between Ramsey and Peterborough as well as avoiding the uncertainty of changing buses in Whittlesey.

 

[Magdalia]

The Tiger Pass £1 fare for under25s has now been extended to March 2027 see here:

Cambridgeshire under-25s £1 bus cap 'helps put food on the table'

Since the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Tiger Pass was introduced, 60,000 passes have been issued.

www.bbc.co.uk

A £1 bus fare cap for under-25s that one user said helped them "put food on our table" has been extended until March 2027.

The Tiger Pass was introduced last year across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and since then 60,000 passes have been issued.

A meeting of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority board approved extending the scheme, which one member said had "been a victim of its own success".

 

[Magdalia]

The Cambridge Independent's report on this has some interesting data on take up of the Tiger Bus Pass by eligible young people in each district council area:

South Cambs 35.5%
Cambridge 25%
Huntingdonshire 19%
Peterborough 19%
East Cambs 14%
Fenland 9.2%

 

[bspahh]

https://smartcambridge.org/transport/map/ is a nice map with the buses in and around Cambridge. It updates in real time.

 

[class387]

Interestingly the past two times I have been on the franchised T12 route it has been an 8 seat Mercedes minibus, with no destination blinds, a hinged manual front door and no prospect of wheelchair access. Reminds me almost of post-Soviet marshrutka services - hardly a recipe for success...