Anthony Browne MPis asking everyone to complete the Survey on the future of our transport services. It deals with congestion charging and future bus services. At the end of this article giving information on their proposals/suggestions is a link to the survey. Please, fill it in now!

GCP Making Connections 2022Making Connections 2022 survey

Making Connections 2022 survey

This consultation is seeking feedback on a proposed package of measures to improve how people travel in Greater Cambridge. Full details of the proposals can be found in the consultation brochure. The proposals involve:

1. A transformed bus network, offering cheaper fares, new routes, and faster, more frequent and reliable services between 5am and 1am
2. Lower traffic levels enabling improvements to cycling and walking infrastructure and supporting public realm enhancements
3. Funding these improvements through a Sustainable Travel Zone. Vehicles would pay to drive in the Zone at certain times. This would also reduce traffic, tackle pollution, emissions and climate change and support improved access to opportunity and health in our communities.    

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Bus Improvements

We are proposing to transform the bus network to offer cheaper fares, new routes, and faster, more frequent and more reliable services with longer operating hours.

In developing these proposals we have taken into account your feedback from our last consultation in autumn 2021. We want your further input to shape the improvements and make sure buses offer you an attractive choice for more of your journeys, whether the whole journey or part of it.

You can view our detailed proposals for bus improvements in our consultation brochure, and they can be summarised as follows:

• Cheaper fares – a £1 flat single fare for the city and immediate surrounding area (broadly equivalent to the current Stagecoach Cambridge zone) and a £2 flat single fare for the wider travel to work area. Fare caps would mean lower daily and weekly charges, and special tickets for families, children and others would be introduced. 
• More routes – with direct routes between residential areas, towns and villages and growing employment areas, education, key services including health services and leisure opportunities.
• Fast, high frequency services – up to 8 buses/hour on key routes in the city, up to 6 buses/hour from larger villages and market towns, and hourly rural services. Waiting times would be much shorter, buses would run faster and more reliably with lower traffic levels, and new express services would offer even faster journeys on key routes.
• Longer operating hours – from 5am-1am Monday-Saturday, and 5am-midnight on Sundays, supporting our evening and night-time economy and shift workers. Additional buses may run outside of these times to support shift workers.
• A huge increase in rural services – providing frequent connections to market towns, train stations and the core bus network. This will include scheduled services as well as Demand Responsive Transport (bookable buses), meaning every village would have access to a bus service.
• Simpler ticketing – a tap-on tap-off system like in London would mean fares and caps were automatically calculated.
• Zero emission buses – cleaner buses, meeting local ambitions for the whole fleet to be zero emission by 2030.

These improvements would start immediately following a decision to go ahead with the overall package, and ramp up over the next 4-5 years.

The improvements would be funded initially by GCP, and then by the proposed Sustainable Travel Zone charge – so bus services and cheaper fares would be in place well before any charge for driving. 

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Are there any additional improvements to bus services that would be needed for you to use bus services for more of your journeys? If so, what are they? Or if you are a non-bus user, what would encourage you to use the bus?

A London-style bus network 

The London bus network is the most comprehensive in the UK. It is publicly managed or “franchised”, accountable to the Mayor, with bus services, routes, timetables and fares specified by Transport for London. To the passenger this has led to a simple, integrated approach with an easy to use, comprehensive network of bus services. Lower fares and simple multi-operator ticketing have supported growing patronage of the network and a fleet of electric vehicles have improved air quality and the local environment. Other areas such as Greater Manchester are looking to adopt this approach. 

The Mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority is exploring the potential to franchise the bus network across our region, to deliver a similar low-fare, high quality bus network.

GCP Making Connections 2022 | Consult Cambridgeshire (engagementhq.com)

Below is page takien from the Cambridgeshire County Council website on the Highway Events affecting our area in the coming 12 months. Useful if you anticipating planning any event. 

Right click on the shortcut below to bring up the map for the area, with the ability to select date ranges.

https://portal-gb.one.network/prd-portal-one-network/embed/?options=%7B%22googleAPIKey%22%3A%22AIzaSyBob-YsFNqlM8KiQ6a1JwZJnIWKzdb4RLQ%22%2C%22organisationID%22%3A1018%2C%22embedded%22%3Atrue%2C%22data%22%3A%7B%22layersActive%22%3A%5B%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_CYCLING_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_FOOTBALL_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_HORSE_RACING_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_MOTOR_SPORT_EVENT_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_RUGBY_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_RUNNING_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_SPORT_EVENT_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_CARNIVAL_PARADE_STREET_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_AGRICULTURAL_SHOW_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_AIR_SHOW_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_REMEMBRANCE_PARADE_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_CHRISTMAS_EVENT_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_ENTERTAINMENT_EVENT_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_FESTIVAL_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_MARKET_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_CRUISE_SHIP_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_FUNERAL_LIVE%22%2C%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_OTHER_PUBLIC_EVENTS_LIVE%22%5D%7D%2C%22embedID%22%3A%22QSVYJHN3Y3%22%2C%22system%22%3A%7B%22delayedLoad%22%3Afalse%2C%22historicWorksEnabled%22%3Afalse%2C%22tileServer%22%3A%22%24%7Bregion%7D-prd-gs%24%7Brandomizer%7D.one.network%22%7D%2C%22layer%22%3A%7B%22hideLayerGroups%22%3A%5B20%2C21%2C22%2C23%2C24%2C42%2C18%2C14%2C25%5D%2C%22hideLayers%22%3A%5B%22TM_LAYER_ENTITY_POLLING_STATION_LIVE%22%5D%7D%2C%22map%22%3A%7B%22swLat%22%3A52.19026235277995%2C%22swLng%22%3A0.09125041290305003%2C%22neLat%22%3A52.21967646887727%2C%22neLng%22%3A0.15991496368430003%7D%2C%22dateRange%22%3A%22twelvemonths%22%7D

Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs) for special events

Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs) are legal documents that enable us as the local highway authority to temporarily prohibit, restrict or reduce road traffic. The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 enables us to put in place restrictions to:

• Facilitate the holding of a relevant event
• Enable members of the public to watch a relevant event
• Reduce the disruption to traffic likely caused by a relevant event

Bulk TTROs

We produce bulk TTROs for events of national significance, such as Remembrance Day events, and for events permitted to occur more than once in a calendar year. A bulk TTRO covers multiple events in multiple locations.

REMEMBRANCE BULK 2022416KB–pdf

Size: 416KBFile format: pdfRequest an accessible format.

Notifying us of your event

You must notify us if you are planning an event that has the potential to cause disruption to any part of the public highway. This includes any event which may:

• Require you to apply for a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO)
• Affect the safety of pedestrians and other highway users
• Wish to apply for permission to place temporary event signage
• Increase on-street parking
• Cause an increase in traffic flow in an area

For events that require a TTRO, at least 12 weeks’ notice is required, except for Street Parties and Playing Out Events, which require at least 8 weeks’ notice.

To notify us of any event, please use the appropriate process below:

Street Parties

Street parties are small events that require a TTRO to close the road. They take place on quiet residential streets and do not impact on the wider road network. They are non-commercial and organised by residents for residents.

Visit our Organising a Street Party Event page to read the full guidance and complete the application.

Playing Out Events

Playing Out Events are organised for the purpose of children’s play. They require a TTRO to close the road. They take place in quiet residential streets with no impact on the wider road network. One application can cover multiple events within a 12 month period.

Visit our Organising a Playing Out Event page to read the full guidance and complete the application.

Motor Vehicle Trials

Event organisers wishing to apply for authorisation of a motor vehicle trial under section 33 Road Traffic Act 1988 should complete the Highways Events Application form. Add that a section 33 order is required in the description of the event and state they require a special events TTRO when prompted.

Highway events

For all other types of event, visit our Organising an event that impacts the public highway page to read the full guidance and complete the application.

Filming on the public highway

Small crewed productions (ie one camera filming a presenter) where minimal disruption to the public highway is expected should read our filming on the highway guidance page and then email the Highway Events team with a description of their activity, risk assessment and map of location(s) where they wish to film.

All other productions must visit our filming on the highway guidance page to read the full guidance and complete the application.

Contact

If you need further information about any event shown, or wish to discuss an event you are planning to hold, please contact:

Highway Events Team
Email: highway.events@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.

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DETAILS RELEASED OF BUS OPERATORS AND TIMETABLES FOR WITHDRAWN STAGECOACH ROUTES FROM OCTOBER 30

The names of bus operators and new timetables for the services withdrawn by Stagecoach East from October 30 can now be released.

On September 20, Stagecoach East announced they were pulling out of 18 bus services completely and reducing a further 5 significantly. The Combined Authority went out to urgent tender the following day with the aim of finding operators to continue as many of those services as possible. The outcomes of that tendering process have been approved by the Combined Authority Board and new contracts with bus operators will come into effect from October 30 to run until the end of March 2023.

Below is a table of services and the new bus operators.

The detailed new timetables for those services can be read via the following link: New timetables from October 30 2022 v2. They may be different to the timetables operated by Stagecoach, including times and stops, so passengers are advised to check before they travel.

17 of the 18 services cut by Stagecoach, along with all of the five reduced services, will all be covered following the tender process. The remaining route, service 39, has been covered apart from the section between Chatteris and March. The Combined Authority continues to be in discussions with operators about this service.

For legal reasons around the tendering process, the Combined Authority was not able to confirm bus operators or the timetables until today. This was due to a standstill period lasting 10 days which was a legal requirement attached to the tendering process.

The routes will require some of the £1.7m set aside by the Combined Authority for subsidies to operators to keep them running. Currently, the total cost is expected to be about £1.25m.

As well as working to ensure vital bus services continue between October and the end of March, the Combined Authority is working to put in place a sustainable and affordable bus network from April 2023 onwards. That will start with a refreshed Bus Strategy for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The Strategy will help to define an ambitious bus network that communities across the region want and need. All funding options will be explored in parallel, starting with fresh representations to Government to go beyond short-term Bus Recovery Grants and put in place a long term funding solution from April 2023, that enables a reliable, sustainable and high quality bus network for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The draft Bus Strategy is due to be presented to the Combined Authority’s Transport & Infrastructure Committee in November alongside a refreshed and ambitious Bus Service Improvement Plan and case for Government investment. Work is also continuing to further develop the business case for a franchised bus network in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Mayor Dr Nik Johnson said: “With 18 bus routes cut at short notice by Stagecoach and five more scaled back significantly, the Combined Authority has been faced with a major challenge to get services back running again, and with very little time to do it in.

“Buses are a lifeline for so many of our residents and communities. So getting services back on almost all of those routes is a huge achievement. But we know our work on retaining an effective bus network is far from over. People will now rightly be looking closely at the new timetables as they plan journeys from next Sunday onwards, 30^th October. We have been working continuously with operators to try to get a level of service which will meet as much of the need and journey connectivity as possible.

“We will be monitoring the detail of how these new services are working, and will consider further issues raised by bus users, whether they are offering what people need. If we can continue to tweak things and make improvements, we will do. “But this is a sharp reminder of the reality of the current deregulated bus system, and the problems caused by 60 per cent of bidding authorities in England, including us, receiving nothing in the lottery of Government funding via Bus Service Improvement Plans. If a further route gets withdrawn or timetable unfairly reduced by local operators, we will again have to look at whether we can pick up the pieces for that too.

“That’s not a sustainable model across Britain for a vital public service that our local employees, students, hospital-goers, shoppers and people without cars so badly need. That’s why we’re looking beyond these immediate challenges for a better future for buses. We will continue to make the case to Government for fair funding for our bus system, including seeking the united all-important support of the county’s many MPs. Working with neighbours including Suffolk and all areas who will have no national support from 2023. And the Combined Authority is preparing a refreshed Bus Strategy to bring much-needed change to the whole network. We will think closely about protecting and improving bus services in 2023 and 2024, not just holding the fort through the winter.”

For passengers who may have questions about bus services, they can email passenger.transport@cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk. Given the volume of interest, the Combined Authority may not be able to respond individually, however all feedback will be reviewed as work continues to try to improve the retendered bus services.