Scooters Invade Busway
That sounds like something out of the Zombie Handbook, but it’s a report in the Cambridge Evening News.
I’ve said before that I’m unsure about the busway. I also think that some of the decisions taken about ticketing are quite frankly bonkers.
The busway will probably open before the end of November and I shall ride it to see what it’s like, but I have this awful feeling it will not be a great success.
Bonkers Busway
This article on the Cambridge Evening News is so sad it’s funny.
It’s almost as the fare system for the new busway was designed by a Mr. M. Python.
But rather than one ticket for both services, people can only get on buses run by the operator whose name is on their ticket.
The county council, which is in charge of the system, has launched a website for passengers, explaining where the main bus stops are, and how tickets can be bought.
Passengers hopping aboard the buses when they are on normal roads can pay the driver in the usual way – but if they get on at one of the stops on the guided section, between Cambridge and St Ives, they will have to buy a ticket from a railway station-style machine, before a bus arrives.
So you’ll need to take binoculars so that you can determine which bus is coming, before buying a ticket. Or they could set up a CCTV system, so you could see what’s happening a kilometre down the track! Perhaps though, the electronic bus indicator saying how long before the next bus arrives, will say the company!
They say that they haven’t had time to develop electronic ticketing! Hmm! I was in London today and used my Oyster card, which I seem to remember has worked on buses for quite a few years now! That must have been a mirage.
But then I suspect all this doesn’t matter too much to those who’ve planned, designed and promoted this scheme, as they need won’t use it anyway! It should actually be condition of election that you have to get to council meetings by either public transport, bicycle or Shank’s pony.
As I said in an earlier post, I wish the busway well, but it does seem that it is doomed by bad planning, unthought design and late delivery.
Cambridge Guided Busway
It’s not long now before the Cambridge Guided Busway comes into operation. It will be the longest guided busway in the world and will have six services an hour between Huntingdon and Cambridge.
Cambridge Guided Busway
I took this picture where the busway goes under the A14. Note the track at the side, which will be a cycleway.
The cycleway will definitely be a success, but can that be said for the busway. After all, when it was planned, it was thought that there would be a lot more housing on the route to generate revenue, but the recession has put that into touch. So will it be a financial disaster.
But overall, I think that the busway is typical of lets-get-something-cheaper British thinking.
As an example, if you want to go to Manchester on a train from Cambridge, the route meanders through Ely and March, when the disused Huntingdon-Cambridge railway line used for the busway could have been reinstated to provide both short and long distance travel from and to Cambridge. One could argue, that this was one of the lines that should never have been removed in the first place.
I wish the busway well, but I have a feeling it could be a rather expensive and underused white elephant.
The Anonymous Widower 