Cambridge Guided bus reviewed by transport expert Robert Bond

Robert Bond is a UK transport commentator and expert. Here he takes a ride on the newly opened Cambridge Guiced bus and offers some opinions about it

[@jasonconway5433]

"The train tended to take you from where you werent to where you didnt quite want to go" Exactly.

[@JBHallamUK]

The guided bus was built along an old railway line that was only 6m wide. By being guided you can get two lanes into that space - they pass very close to each other. Building a road would have needed land to be bought, bridges to be replaced and cuttings expanded. That's the reasoning anyway.

[@Sam-hh9fr]

A nice addition to this would be adding overhead cables and turning it into a trolley bus system

[@lawrence18uk]

Although the track was indeed 'laid' to 1mm tolerances, the powers that be failed to realise that the concrete would sag in between each support by about 7mm - and that ends of each beam would gradually go off true by a few mm anyway, resulting in an increasingly bumpy ride. Not a sod has yet been turned at Northstowe, the new town: most of the new houses under development are within cycling distance of the city. But morning services are full.

[@zaidi0to1]

00:26 please don't die

[@zeeox]

I find it that people use it simply because it's there (like mountains!). Desperate commuters will take anything that's on offer. As well as the stupidly bumpy ride, it is far, far slower than a train, and the so called time savings with the on/off road convenience are undermined by the ridiculous extension of the service to Peterborough. I don't see any new dedicated busway sections along the A1 do you? And besides, the key point here is that the main 16 miles of busway was not built on virgin land, it was built on train track that could easily have been re-instated. I mean, I doubt that few people travel from Huntingdon all the way through to Trumpington just take advantage of the overall accessibility of the thing. They'll get off in the city centre (no doubt after getting stuck in traffic along the road sections). A railway would have given flexibility for freight usage as well, if linked up with other lines. It could thus have genuinely helped relieve pressure on the A14 by taking the lorries off it. I mean, they're still going ahead with the new relief/toll road aren't they? Has the busway prevented the call for a new road? No. You'd think an academically renowned city could come up with something better really. The only people that have really done well out of all of it are the contractors, BAM Nuttall.

[@osheal]

looks amazing... well done :)

[@robskyd]

Interesting stuff, we're due to get a guided bus route in 2015 from Leigh to Ellenbrook and then bus lanes on the East Lancs Road from Ellenbrook to Manchester City Centre. Its good to hear that this one is a success and people are using it.

[@robskyd]

@The secular humanist Really? Ours was a great service until you know what happened!!

[@justinmaida7469]

AdelAide Australia just extended theirs taking the longest spot again :)

[@wafi0123]

We want in Chelmsford as well thanks

[@ancharotube7658]

There are already some guided buses in Leeds city before this one.

[@ronvalente65]

obviously Mr Bond is all for the guided bus! how often do you use it Mr Bond?

[@wafi0123]

Guided bus should be hybrid diesel electric.

[@anguscopland148]

Have you ever driven one of those abominations?

[@eirugsiongriffiths8563]

They could have turned the existing rail tracks into a tram/train light rail which would carry more passengers

[@kieranpenrose3424]

After that near miss I wouldn't go on the tracks, I think it's pretty clear you can't hear it coming 😂

[@windemup5316]

They should have this for cycle lanes for commuting to work.

[@greatbritishentertainmentl5636]

Interesting, but a little boring - best part at the start with a near "Clip around the ear!"

[@RingForJoy]

Of course more redundant rail near Cambridge was turned into a radio telescope!

[@TANGARASandOSCARS]

A bus lane carries 3 times as much as a car lane. By the way the bus way was a bit cheaper than your motorway prodgets. The bus can go twice as fast a car.

[@boykotgooglification]

Guided bus is and was a shortsighted solution for Cambridge. I wished they would have came up with a proper solution. The city is at breaking point and productivity is down the drain. You can forget living in Cambridge or surrounding villages. What a shame.

[@johnpenny5638]

I don't call a reduction of 2.3% in A14 traffic to be significant enough to warrant spending nearly £200,000,000.

[@qjtvaddict]

It's called low balling

[@hstwill1]

that bus driver i saw today

[@benthejrporter]

The problem is that this precedent for control of traffic could be adapted. What if this expanded to cars, motorcycles, even pushbikes? It might lead to a situation where individual people and road users no longer have private ability to travel?

[@plankton50]

So you're saying a guided bus way could lead to an end to automobile traffic in the Uk?

[@benthejrporter]

Yes.

[@benthejrporter]

I disagree

[@rogergriffith286]

Beware the car traps if your a visitor. To restore the old railway would have been so much cheaper and interchange would do away with the problem of going to off rail destinations. Dedicated railway stock would not be needed as the trains would run on from and to the national network. Visually very intrusive and in need of around £30 million pounds worth of repairs already. What is is expected life span compared with rail?

[@plankton50]

"Railway would have been so much cheaper" I can assure you my friend, these bits of concrete taking much lighter vehicles than trains are much much less expensive than rail.

[@qjtvaddict]

Let rail be the express train and the guided bus as the local

[@kanelimburg9167]

blue guy waved at you reporter

[@riogreciangeroge2609]

Robot bond who’s robot bond?

[@C.I...]

I don't understand why this doesn't have trolley poles. Could be so much cleaner/faster.

[@CreatorPolar]

Because apparently the British government is deathly afraid of trolleybuses

[@srfurley]

If he's a transport expert shouldn't he know better than to stand very close to the guideway with his back to approaching traffic, or to actually go onto it without looking out for vehicles? Are members of the public actually allowed to step onto the guideway?

[@ed9709]

21st century.

[@barryscott7175]

This is absurd. Filthy rubber tires, short vehicle lives with more maintenance compared to rail, much less efficient than trains. Not so clever.

[@james230uk]

Someone please explain to me two things: 1) what is the point in the 'guided' part of this? If there is a driver why bother with the cost of letting the driver take his hands off the wheel? 2) If the A14 is at capacity why not just make it another road for all?

[@plankton50]

Having guideways means the lanes can be closer together and the buses can travel faster more safely. A road with the same footprint as this busway would become congested very quickly and have nowhere near the capacity of this bus lane. Imagine a bus full of people at rush hour, and now imagine every single one of them instead in a car, the line of cars would be incredibly long maybe even longer than the distance to the bus behind! This gives some indication to how buses are can carry a lot more people with a smaller footprint.