Bus drivers have called for more to be done to relieve the traffic gridlock on Cambridgeshire roads and say they worry this is causing delays for passengers. Speaking after the Busway between St Ives and Cambridge became particularly impacted on Thursday evening, one Stagecoach East driver said: “I cannot tell you how bad St Ives traffic was last night. 35 mins to get from out depot to the other side of the A1307!
“On top of all the road works in Cambridge, the Busway service was basically non-existent last night. Drivers out of hours. Buses had to be left in Cambridge City centre with the drivers traveling back on a service bus. I think that’s the worst I have ever seen it.
“Addenbrookes is congested, Station Road has 4-way temporary lights. Hills Road and the city are congested. There are temporary lights at the top of Castle Hill. Harrison Way in St Ives has a water leak, which I understand, but the hole they dug and left wasn’t even in the road, so why are there 4-way lights on the only road in and out of St Ives? Every main road in St Ives was at a standstill.”
Ross Barton, Operations Director of Stagecoach East, said: “We can only express our sincere apologies to our loyal customers, along with our immense frustration, that congestion continues to be a curse across the region. We are proud to serve communities across one of the most dynamic, progressive, and exciting parts of the country; Cambridge and Peterborough are two of the fastest growing cities in the UK, but we are being let down by congestion on our roads.
Ross Barton, Operations Director of Stagecoach East
“Whether it is working on better parking enforcement or bus priority, or everyone involved in roadworks being certain how they will impact traffic and local buses, and then working to relieve disruption, the issue of congestion needs more focus from both local elected officials and other road users.”