Cambridgeshire: Guided Busway Success

12 January 2012, 12:49 | Updated: 12 January 2012, 13:06

It's claimed the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway has reduced congestion on the A14.

One million passengers have used the busway since it opened last year.

Christine Chandler from Colne was picked as the millionth passenger as she took her father Len Burrow, the millionth and one passenger to Addenbrooke’s Hospital from St Ives Park and Ride.

Figures from Cambridgeshire County Council and operators Stagecoach and Whippet show around 50,000 trips a week are taken on the busway between Huntingdon and Cambridge.

That compares to around 24,000 trips a week taken on the bus services the busway replaced.

Andy Campbell, Managing Director of Stagecoach Cambridgeshire, said: "It's fair to assume the busway has reduced congestion on the A14, as around 500 cars are parked each day at the Longstanton and St Ives Park and Ride sites.

I believe it's also fair to assume that these people would previously have been driving up and down the A14, which they are not anymore."

The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway opened in August 2011, more than two years late and around £36 million pounds over budget.

The busway itself runs between Cambridge and St Ives, with bus journeys continuing on normal roads to Huntingdon.

There is also a short section that runs between Cambridge railway station and Addenbrooke's Hospital.

It is the longest busway in the world, an accolade taken from the O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide, Australia.