Stagecoach Busway B - Cambridge to St Ives P&R Full Journey (incl Histon Diversion)

[@christill]

When I took my Brompton bike to Cambridge last year for a cycling trip, I loved the smooth paths next to the busways. Didn’t actually ride the buses but even just for the benefit to cyclists and pedestrians it’s awesome.

[@HDTransport]

Yeah it's great, being a "maintenance road" as well it's nice and wide.

[@johnbowyer6902]

Incredible. I never knew these guided Bus systems existed. Thankyou.

[@ekvedrek]

There's one in Greater Manchester called the Leigh Guided Busway what the V1 and V2 buses go on.

[@markthomas7279]

They need to extend further into the city to create real benefit. Creating routes through countryside is not really addressing the issue in the places were transit is slowest.

[@macstyle2012]

15:20. You would think that as a bus approaches the lights would turn red to stop the traffic and let the bus carry on through at speed rather than slow down.

[@OnkelJajusBahn]

Really interresting system. Thanks for uploading the journey.

[@HDTransport]

It is indeed. Thanks for watching.

[@easygo1477]

I took a ride on this busway yesterday and it is such an amazing journey to be on

[@HDTransport]

It is, especially as deckers are back on Busway B

[@easygo1477]

@@HDTransport I had the tri axel Volvo bodied E400d they’re so lush

[@still_guns]

Ahhhh Histon. My grandparents used to live there. No longer, sadly.

[@lqtian5612]

a nice video! thank you for sharing!

[@HDTransport]

Thanks

[@GuyArab]

That’s some busway.. I have been on the short, urban one in Leeds, but it does not hold a candle to this one in Cambridgeshire.

[@HDTransport]

This isn't even the full busway either. Definitely overdue to record an updated video

[@busestransporta-z781]

Great full journey!

[@HDTransport]

Thanks!

[@CityOfTinyLines]

They should fix the lights to stop the cars so the buses don't need to slow down.

[@stevekamala]

nice , thanks uploader , very cool video

[@HDTransport]

Thank You!

[@lmlmd2714]

Comparing this to the much, much older Adelaide O Bahn system, this has some serious flaws drawn from penny pinching engineering, which is a shame, as it's otherwise a very promising project. At grade intersections, where there is abundant space to build in proper grade segregation, and not even any fencing or meaningful barrier between the cycleway/footpath and the running alignment. Furthermore, the stop which not all services are stopping at have no passing loops so express services could easily be disrupted by stopping services should they have a lot of passengers to load or unload, or have to board a wheelchair or pushchair etc. Finally, as a fairly new system I'm disappointed this wasn't built as an electrified system to charge electric buses en-route and let them run on batteries in the city centre.

[@HDTransport]

Whilst there is enough space to build bridges and/or tunnels, it really isn't necessary to build these for the roads that the busway crosses, and would also have substantially increased costs for something which already went way over-budget. Though I can't deny there have been accidents at these crossing including one in 2019 that resulted in the car and subsequently the bus catching fire. On Cambridge's busway there are no stopping or express services, all services stop at all the stops they pass BUT your point about the boarding of wheelchairs is definitely correct along with multiple people buying tickets. Your final point I agree with, this would been a good opportunity to run trolleybuses or 'in-motion charging' but sadly the UK seems to have a fear of modern trolleybus systems, with people more conscious of the environment than ever before I don't understand why. Thanks for watching and taking the time to write this comment, it is interesting to read what people think about the busway and what improvements could be made.

[@TOMS-ux4zp]

What country was this taken in ? As I don't think its in Britain?

[@TOMS-ux4zp]

They ought to have this in the UK!. I like it!

[@HDTransport]

It is in Britain

[@GNTel313]

It's in Cambridgeshire. Operated by Stagecoach and runs between Huntingdon, St Ives, Cambridge & Trumpington.

[@Iskandar64]

I do not understand the traffic lights on the guided busway. Surely the bus should be prioritised, and the road traffic automatically stopped as the bus approaches the junction?

[@HDTransport]

The buses do have priority. All the junctions have sensors which detect the bus and change the lights for it. Though sometimes the lights don’t change straight away

[@Iskandar64]

@@HDTransport I thought for a moment the car centric cohort got it's way again.

[@andreasmoser6365]

If busses want to be trains, why don't they go to train school?

[@IDontModWTFz]

But, how does this work?!

[@HDTransport]

Two additional, much smaller, wheels infront of the front wheels that go against the kerbs of the track which makes it guided

[@amedeunuabona]

The closest the UK will every get to a double decker train

[@HDTransport]

Indeed, sadly the UK was never built for double deck trains so wouldn't fit under some sections of overhead electric wires or in many tunnels

[@markylon]

nonsense we had double decker trains already. Not anymore but we did have them. LOOK IT UP

[@Southerntrainspotter315]

Look up southern cLass 4DD and there you go

[@KrazyJake88]

pacers

[@StagecoachMANALX300]

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! Do you know if the different colouring for P&R will remain when the logo and livery change?

[@HDTransport]

Thanks, took forever to upload. This was something I thought about, and having them all in the same livery would completely defect the point of the colours since that’s how they’re meant to be easily identified.

[@danf7402]

HD Transport Funnily enough they’re making the stagecoach gold into the new livery and logo which I’m actually wondering how they’re going to do it without it looking shit... 😬😬

[@HDTransport]

Stagecoach Gold is being phased out since the “selling points” of gold are on all the new buses

[@danf7402]

HD Transport Ohhh that’s why they were changing it into the new livery.

[@HDTransport]

@@danf7402 Yea they're trying to remove all route branding because apparently that's "easier" for the public

[@amedeunuabona]

Sounds like being onboard a HST but nowhere near as fast lol

[@HDTransport]

A fair bit slower yes

[@Southerntrainspotter315]

How many peaple do you think have driven there cars down the bus way thing 🤣

[@HDTransport]

Way too many, though 99% of them don't make it past the car traps.

[@IDontModWTFz]

​@@HDTransportbet where's my wood at

[@grachoderunwiderstehlichen]

fantastico 😂 ...our company reduce the miles at spurbus due to it's lenkzeit no privileg ( Holly , Paige Y , Emiliy , Emma-Louise , Elena and hundrets more " i like your university cambridge !" ) i feel free to reapeat our ex-chancelor Dr.H. Kohl ... you can say you to me 😅

[@Banglish123]

You'd think they would upgrade the transmission with some sort of overdrive or extra gears instead of red lining it.

[@HDTransport]

I don't think there are any gearboxes like that available for this sort of bus. The latest deckers (the large three axle ones) are speed limited below redline.

[@markillingworth1972]

What is the point of a guided busway ?

[@HDTransport]

Can't be used by other vehicles (in most cases physically), is narrower than a normal road (excluding the maintenance track/path) and allows buses to travel much faster.

[@markillingworth1972]

@@HDTransport I get your point , it’s going a fair clip so it’s safe then and no risk of an accident ? Like the bus mounting ?

[@Fonziedaz1]

The start of covid-19 😷

[@HDTransport]

Yeah though at that point in the UK it was just something that appeared in newspapers. People didn’t think about it becoming what it has become.

[@khalidjaved2504]

❤️

[@eiruggriffiths8491]

They tore up a good railway which could have been converted into light rail,and built this bus way costing millions.

[@HDTransport]

There’s 15 years between the last train and the busway’s start of construction (in 2007), and 37 years between the last passenger train and the busway’s start of construction. The railway would have needed to be completely torn up and redone anyway. Add electrification, modern stations, signalling, etc, light rail would have costed millions aswell.

[@CreatorPolar]

Just a reminder that Cambridge is too small to support a light rail system let alone get the necessary funding+trying to squeeze trams onto the already narrow streets of Cambridge

[@HDTransport]

That’s correct. Therefore meaning it would either terminate at the Science Park (as Cambridge North didn’t exist in 2011) or be a tram train to Cambridge Station. Neither are in the city centre so doesn’t really connect as well. Chances are this was a major major deciding factor when choosing what to build on the railway alignment.

[@MarineAqua45]

Fast-track bus-systems are lot cheaper than light-rail systems. This is why trolly-buses were cheaper to run than trams in London:many,decades ago.

[@richardhunt1384]

12:40 Blimey the driver likes sitting on top of those cyclists don't they!!!!!

[@HDTransport]

Yes, should really have held back

[@gtsonev1988]

I wish they have built such in Norwich 😀

[@HDTransport]

It's a good system but was very controversial during construction and start of operation.

[@tomwhetlor6201]

Useless bus system

[@Avocado_Squad45]

💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

[@kentcyclist]

Should be made into a road 😢

[@zenojai10]

A normal road? geez

[@edannelson8471]

So. Slow.

[@HDTransport]

Probably more so down to the perspective. Bus is probably doing about 50-55mph for most of the route.