Stop unnecessary roadworks for better buses

We call on the County Council to do everything in it’s power as quickly as possible to reduce peak time congestion from road works so we can get better bus services. 

Roadworks impact anyone who travels to work and school in the city of Cambridge including thousands of people from outside the city who travel in every day.

Bus companies have targets tied to reliability, contracts are contingent on meeting these targets. It is difficult to make the business case for more frequent services and hence more opportunity to be penalised due to the uncertainly caused by roadworks. 

Bus companies have said that they wont increase frequency on current popular routes into the city until the issues of increasing road works is addressed

Currently there is no limit on time to digging up key arterial roads by utilities companies causing delays and traffic for both private and public transport. This effects businesses, school pupils and employees. Gridlock caused across the city lengthens journeys and slows our already stretched bus routes making them less reliable.

There is lane rental legislation that can be brought into place that would force utility companies to think smarter. If a charge was brought in to dig up the  road in peak hours, they would be motivated to work off peak / during the night, work as quickly as possible and carry out the work once and properly so as they don’t have to return.

Lane rental schemes are in operation in the following four local authorities and  have been used to protect the most critical parts of their highway network :

• Transport for London (TfL), which has been operating lane rental successfully on parts of their road network since 2012 and 2013
• Kent County Council, which has been operating lane rental successfully on parts of their road network since 2012 and 2013
• Surrey County Council, which began operating in 2021 and 2022
• West Sussex County Council, which began operating in 2021 and 2022

Stagecoach have promised to revisit bus frequency on services such as the number 8 (Rampton, Cottenham, Histon & Impington, Cambridge) if lane pricing is introduced and have identified the area just north of Cambridge as a priority growth area. 

We are asking the local authorities to act now and act as quickly as possible to work together to bring this under control.