Luton Dunstable Guided Busway Test

16 May 2013, 16:00

Hearts been along to a test run of the £90 million Luton Dunstable guided busway.

Works due to be complete by the beginning of June and it should be open to the public at the end of August.

Once opened, three bus companies will use the guideway- Arriva, Centrebus and Grant Palmer

They'll run a combined total of 8 buses an hour during the day.

James Jamieson, the Leader of Central Bedfordshire Council, claims the construction will make it easier to travel around Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Luton.

He says it will reduce congestion on the roads save travel time:

"The journey from Dunstable to the train station in Luton is 15 minutes with the guided busway, I've travelled it on a good day when there's no traffic its 25 minutes or so but in rush hour its taken me over an hour"

But not everyone in Luton and Dunstable approve of the council spending £90 million on the project and have questioned how popular it will be.

But speaking to Heart, Councillor David Taylor, Portfolio Holder for Transportation at Luton Borough Council disputes claims it could become a white elephant:

"The press were labelling the Cambridge Busway as a white elephant and that exceed all expectations and there'll be a similar experience in Luton. Once the people of the conurbation see the benefits of the busway it'll be a huge success"