Bus users in H&I are set to benefit from a new scheme designed to enable bus travel without barriers.
Acknowledging that not all personal needs or disabilities are visible or immediately apparent, Stagecoach – which runs the number 8 bus route as well as the guided busway and park and ride buses – is introducing a new Journey Assistance Card that passengers can show to seek assistance on their journey.
The scheme is free for all Cambridgeshire residents who may need extra or specific help and support to travel on the bus. Stagecoach’s Journey Assistance Card will give the driver additional information and enable them to make sure the customer gets any extra assistance that they need. The range of cards read:
Please be patient I am visually impaired
Please give me time to sit in case I fall down
Please speak slowly and face me to help me hear better
Please count my change for me
Please be patient, I am deaf
Please tell me when we reach my stop
Please speak slowly, I am hard of hearing
Please be patient, I have a hidden disability
Please be patient, I have difficulty speaking
Please scan my pass for me
Please help me find a seat
Please let me know when we get to…
The bus operator is encouraging residents who may know of a bus passenger who would benefit from an Assistance Card to order them online here.
Ross Barton, Operations Director of Stagecoach East, said: “Our drivers pride themselves on offering the best possible service, but we know that sometimes our customers can be nervous to explain what they need, so our Journey Assistance Cards can really help to make the journey that bit easier”.
To apply for, renew, or replace a concessionary bus pass visit here.
The Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has signed-off plans for bus services that “put communities first”. The move will be the biggest overhaul of the bus network in 40 years.
Dr Nik Johnson, who leads the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, has officially announced he will franchise the bus system. Officials say this will bring local services under greater public control and create a more reliable, affordable and passenger-focused network.
‘It’s high time for change’
The Combined Authority will set fares, routes, timetables and service standards. It will work with contracted private bus operators to ensure services are implemented and work effectively. The first publicly-funded routes are expected to launch by late 2027.
Mayor Dr Nik Johnson said: “This is one of the most significant moments for local public transport in decades.
“For too long, private control of buses has meant ever-dwindling, unreliable services which don’t meet passenger need, are less and less affordable and often require millions in public subsidy just to keep key routes going. It is high time for change.”
Franchising ‘puts communities first’
A three-month public consultation was held last year and found 63% of the 1,600 respondents were in favour of franchising. The alternative option put forward was an Enhanced Partnership model, which allows closer collaboration with operators – but left key decisions on the bus network, like service levels, in private hands.
Dr Johnson added: “Bus franchising puts communities first. It gives us the power to design a network that works for the people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, with better routes, more frequent services, and a focus on connectivity, not just what’s profitable for operators.
“This won’t happen overnight – franchising is a long-term project, and we have 40 years of poorly-regulated dysfunction to undo. But this decision is a major step towards a properly joined-up, high-quality public transport system that delivers faster, more reliable, and convenient journeys.”
Changes to how the bus network is managed have moved forward another step.
Bus franchising across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has been recommended to Mayor Dr Nik Johnson now the findings of a public consultation have been reviewed.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) transport committee met last Friday (January 24) to discuss the analysis from the consultation, which concluded in November last year. Over 1,600 stakeholders responded, including councils, bus companies, community groups and bus users.
The consultation proposed two potential approaches for running the bus network: an enhanced partnership model and, a more favoured model of franchising. The committee unanimously voted to recommend that the Mayor chooses franchising as the best way to reform the region’s bus network. He is due to make a final decision early next month.
Judith Barker, executive director of place and connectivity at CPCA, told the meeting: “We had to look at each case and all the representations and concluded that, to deliver the strategic objectives and to deliver value for money within the funding envelope, the best way forward was to recommend franchising.”
Current system
Currently, our bus services are mainly run by private operators which have control over the routes, timetables, ticket options, fares and frequency of buses.
Dr Nik Johnson, the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Under the proposed franchising model, the CPCA would gain control over these areas and private operators would no longer be able to independently decide to withdraw services.
Instead, operators would bid to run services under franchise contracts, with the CPCA overseeing the process and monitoring operations based on travel needs rather than profits. It also means an integrated ticketing can be introduced, where the same ticket can be used across the network.
A report put before the CPCA’s transport committee meeting revealed that 1,468 participants in the consultation provided an answer to whether they supported or opposed the bus franchising proposals.
A total of 42 per cent of responses strongly supported franchising, with a further 21 per cent tending to support, putting 63 per cent of participants in favour of the new model.
The report revealed that 18 per cent of responses neither supported nor opposed, while seven percent tended to oppose and a further seven percent strongly opposed.
Rural services ‘woefully inadequate’
South Cambridgeshire District Council responded to the consultation, saying “in principle” it supports the proposed franchising scheme.
The Council said it “wants the franchising decision to drive economic growth in new settlements” but also consider current transport needs and economic growth objectives. It particularly highlighted that “a key consideration” should be getting children and students to places of education and training.
The Busway. Photo: Guy Richardson
It also shared firm words about the current situation with the consultation, saying: “The Council expects to see better bus services within South Cambridgeshire, and improved connections with other destinations such as Cambridge.
“Buses should be affordable and reliable. This is especially important for those most reliant on public transport. As a rural district, our residents have long suffered woefully inadequate bus services, and we expect these to improve significantly under a franchising arrangement.”
South Cambs added it “expects the CPCA to ensure it has the funding, capacity and capability to manage the transition and service” and is “keen to see” a transition to a net zero fleet and accessibility prioritised.
Councillor Peter McDonald, South Cambridgeshire District Council’s lead cabinet member for economic development, described the franchising scheme as “an opportunity for step change” at Friday’s CPCA committee meeting
He told officers: “We fully support the work that has been done… but please keep rural connectivity in mind, especially for those areas where there isn’t a rail connection. Then, the whole principle of franchising and having to control that bus network is increasingly important.”
Further discussions
Bus franchising will be discussed in detail at further meetings before the Mayor makes a final decision. According to a Combined Authority report, the total operational costs for franchising would be £9.65 million.
The franchising option would require the Combined Authority to acquire bus depots. The capital costs of depots in the outline business case is £31 million, funded by £5 million non-ringfenced capital grant, £4 million ringfenced capital and £22 million borrowing.
Reporting by Joe Griffin, Local Democracy Reporting Service. Additional words from HI HUB.
