Misguided & Bust - the unfolding story of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway

Cambridgeshire's Guided Busway finally opened on the the announced opening day, August 7th 2011.

It is built on the former track bed of the Cambridge-St Ives railway that principal objector CAST.IRON wanted to reinstate.

The record breaking, budget-busting busway has generated vigorous disagreement between the proponent Cambridgeshire County Council and numerous objectors.

Buses are finally running, but council tax payers have been taken for one hell of a ride for years.

The build cost is hugely over-budget, and a protracted legal fight is imminent between Council and contractor BAM Nuttall.

This website is an archive of the media coverage from 2003 to the present, with our own take on the events.

  Busway view.  Picture courtesy Jamie's blog

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Links to years:  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013    Contact us     Subscribe to our news feed:

Guided Bus Broken promises

GB Leaflet from 2004
Hinchingbrooke Hospital was promised as destination

BBC website from 2008
No answer to "What local services will be axed?"

Our comparison chart shows Guidedbus is slower than rail was in 1849
 

We're now on Twitter, bringing you the bad news fast!

 

Latest media reports

2014


April 30 - Rethink guided busway extension idea
Cambridge residents tell county council

April 04 - Serious guideway faults found
Cracking busway Grommit!

2013


Feb 23rd - Guided bus legal battle bill nearly £5m. No end in sight
Things can only get better?

Feb 21st - Investigation launched after crash
But in-house - no involvement of HSE?

Feb 20th - Flooded-out cyclists put lives on line
Either they drown, or get run over. Nice

15th Feb - Buses collide on guided busway
Not the first crash, nor the last

Feb 11th - Wrong turn leaves car stranded on busway
Not an uncommon event

Jan 15th - How 18 cars got stuck at one busway junction
Motorists trying it on?

Jan 9th - Police close file on guided busway accident
Brakes apparently optional on buses

Jan 7th - Wheel comes off busway jibes aimed at council
Mysteriously Atkins gets off lightly

2012


Dec 29th - Man injured as guided bus pulls away at stop
I'm surprised more incidents like this aren't reported

Dec 24th - Car gets stuck on guided busway
Nice, just in time for Christmas

Dec 21st - Man seriously injured in guided busway collision
Fail to understand why bus failed to stop

Dec 6th - What you don't like on buses
High prices?

Dec 4th - 105 gripes on guided bus sent in to council
'I wish to make a complaint'

New awards success for guided busway
Leather seats and Wi-Fi apparently well worth the wait

Sept 6th - £100m bill facing taxpayers if council loses busway fight
It'll end in tears for council tax payers, while lawyers laugh on the Busway trip to the bank

April 10th - Busway sparks new fight for school bus
Maintenance track deemed to dangerous to use as school route for children

April 10th - Guided bus court case won't start until 2014
Day of reckoning also delayed by 2 years?

Jan 5th 2012 - Guided busway was sheer folly
Letter from Tim Phillips

Dec 6th - Car driver stuck on busway says 'sun was in my eyes'
Trapped driver looks down in the dumps

Aug 25th - Extra busway services confirmed
Wait until the schools go back.

Aug 8th - Cambridgeshire's Guided Busway opens to passengers
It's Railly here

Aug 8th - Cambridgeshire's guided bus finally opens - after years of waiting
Beware Gushing Video!

Aug 7th - Latest updates on guided busway opening
Finally it's open. We at NoGuidedBus.com can hardly believe it.

Aug 6th - Exclusive! CAST.IRON journey times comparison shows Busway is next to useless at speeding journeys
£180 million later, and we find despite their promises, it's a White Elephant. Quelle surprise!

Aug 5th - Radio 4 you and Yours tackles the busway
Not exactly a glowing report on the MGB. features Bunker Bob, Tim Phillips & Julian Huppert

Busway ready to welcome first passengers
Provincial Press Pumps out Press Releases

Aug 5th - Guided bus 'will not deliver any benefits' campaigners claim
Stating the obvious - it's a slow hard road to Cambridge City Centre. Only denizens of the Science Park living in St Ives may be pleased.

Aug 4th - A look at the guided bus's sisters around the world
"Hoards of enthusiasts expected to jump on board in Cambridgeshire". Really? Curious maybe, enthusiatic, well...

Aug 4th - Longest Guided Busway in the world set to open this weekend
Finally Gareth gets to write some good news as Bunker Bob gets ready to show off his busway

Aug 4th - Bunker Bob pops up with Wonderbus Tabloid
Glossy Stuff

Aug 4th - Guided busway bosses prepared for terrorist attack
Pity they're not prepared for passengers - the interchange at main rail station is unfinished

August 3rd - Busway scheme hit by cash hole
Councils get out their begging bowls and polish them

Aug 3rd - Guided busway timetables - see full schedule here
The comments aren't exactly complimentary :)

Aug 2nd - 'Settle £64m guided bus legal battle out of court'
Beardie speaks in favour of pragmatism

July 27th - BBC 5 Live tackles the busway
Tim Phillips puts the boot in over build cost of busway

August 1st - Smartcard ticket launched in time for busway opening
Just squeaked this in before the opening day

July 31st - butterflies, birds and buses on the move
Why did the butterfly flutter by? Because it spied the busway greening itself

July 29th - Council goes to court to get guided busway money back
Brown trousers now standard issue at Council

Emergency teams reach sick cyclist via guided busway
What was that bump in the track?

July 22nd - Take seat in guided bus
Busway now powered by PR Puff

July 20th - Not long to wait for phone app on bus movements
There's an App for that

July 19th - Rush to end repairs to guided bus car park
Council borrowing from the future to fix the busway

July 18th - A cyclist hit by a guided bus suffered serious injuries
Safety concerns apparent over design of busway

Win ticket to ride as VIP in first trip on guided bus
Councillor Bates brandishes a bunch of Jiffy Bags for The 'News

July 12th - All-green guided busway building
Council offers Pats on Backs all round. Gets Brickbats from residents.

July 10th - a crocodile, a whale and 133 birds
Lesser spotted bus may have been detected on busway. Not a "wow" moment though.

July 8th - Video: Guided bus is ready to go
Only 'claimed' to be ready?? Cambridge News unusually skeptical.

July 7th - 'Risk' that council may miss £50m cuts target
Core services at risk as budget for Busway tramples funding for other council services?

June 30th - Firefighters start training on guided busway
Cllr Bates: "...a huge number of people will be very pleased when buses begin to run" - Tory County Councillors presumably

June 28th - Video: Thousands of tiny toads killed on the guided busway
The curse of the Guided Bus visited on peripatetic pond dwellers

June 22nd - Video: Guided bus breakdown 'no problem'
Another scintillating video not showing a recovery truck reversing for miles to reach a busted bus.

June 20th - Other busways still on course despite blunders
Every little (bit of vaguely good news) helps?

Guided busway timetables unveiled - see full schedule here
Apparently is faster than a cart and horse on mogadon

June 16th - Guided busway legal battle 'could cost £6.5 million'
Battle of Buses paid for by Council tax payers presumably, while councillors go on to better things elsewhere

June 13th - £40,000 bus shelters will be built - even though there are no buses
Handy for street party BBQ's ?

June 12th - 'Pay us back the cost of guided busway delays'
Busway is a dog, says Whippet boss.

June 10th - City residents given extra guided busway boost
Whippet say they'll actually pick up city passengers, unlike Stagecoach a rival operator

June 10th - Opening date fails to lift gloom over guided busway
The Guilty Men line up for a mugshot as readers condemn their project

June 9th - August 7 opening date announced
Launch date of Apollo 13  Titanic  Poll tax  Old Labour   free money  euthenasia for 50+  busway announced

June 6th - 'Billennium Path' jibe for troubled route's cycleway
Nellie = Elephant's Trunk Route

May 20th - Busway defect repairs could result in August opening
We've been talkin' 'bout Jackson, ever since the fire went out.. (with BAM)

April 28th - Guided bus cost 'may hit £187m'
What goes up, must ........ go up

April 23rd - Busway handover welcomed but there is more work to do (on PR)
'Perennial delays which have dogged the busway cannot go on indefinitely any more'. Definitely not, indefinitely no more, not not not.

April 20th - New kid on block says job is right up his street
Cllr Clarke guzzles from poisoned chalice passed to him by predecessors. How long will he last before being run over by a guided bus?

April 11th - Why are staff employed on guided bus?
But actually doing other stuff. Never mind, BAM will pay for them.

April 7th - County bids for transport funds
"So that will end up as £10 for a new cats eye on the A14, £4,499,990 for cycling facilities and half a million quid for the councillors consultant mates"

April 7th - £590k plan for real-time bus information approved
It's real time information: NO GUIDED BUSES

Guided busway 'progress report' sparks laughter from public gallery
Observer of Emperor cries out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!

April 21st - Guided Bus finally handed over
Yes, you heard it right. Should we stop the dosh-clock now?

April 20th - New busway safety checks needed after blunder
Oh, it all makes work for the working man to do..

April 20th - BAM NUTTALL BLUNDER REQUIRES FURTHER SAFETY CRITICAL CHECKS
Councillor Pregram

Why are staff employed on guided bus?
Painting railings say LibDems. Oh, is there an election coming?

April 7th - County bids for transport funds
What - another Gilded bus stop? Sustainable transport funding, my a***

April 6th - Guided busway paperwork 'could be finished by Friday'
It wasn't of course.

April 5th - Guided busway 'progress report' sparks laughter from public gallery
Why are we waiting, etc

April 5th - Look, we'll have the bl**dy thing anyway, we don't care if it isn't finished
Desperate 'Pragmatic' solution proposed

April 1st - Bus services cut - but £590,000 spent on new signs
Real time bus information: = NO BUSES =

April 1st - You could waste away waiting for guided bus
April 1st generates a limp joke

March 15th - Council anger over further busway delays
More posing by Council

March 13th - Villagers say bus cuts will isolate the elderly
S'alright, they'll stay stuck at home and won't vote.

March 4th - Busway delays cost contractors £10 million
It's all BAM's fault so there!

March 4th - BAM NUTTALL BUSWAY DELAYS COST CONTRACTOR £10 MILLION
Press office get out their calculator

Feb 22nd - BUSWAY CONTRACTOR DATES "TAKEN WITH A PINCH OF SALT"
Says CCoC press office. Salt shortages imminent then, better stockpile?

Feb 25th - St Ives-Cambridge guided busway delayed yet again
As expected, another delay

Feb 23rd - Builders of busway 'may be obstructing progress'
Heave-Ho BAM Nuttall?

Feb 22nd - Rail could be Cambs A14 option
Has sense dawned at last?

Feb 10th - Hand over final guided busway paperwork, council tells contractor
The charade continues

Feb 3rd - Loony plan for rubber bus line stretching to Jersey
"Even the Official Monster raving Loony Party couldn't have thought of the guided bus. It is the biggest joke going".

Jan 18th - One in 10 busway track joints could be 'faulty'
Spreading out the bad news? Two years on, blunderbus bosses finally notice that concrete beam gaps are too small.

Jan 14th - Motorists see red as lights for guided bus stop the traffic
Faulty sensors blamed. Or is it censors?

Jan 11th - Guided bus may start running this summer
Maybe May, or Maybe not

2011


Dec 17th - Guided bus: your views
"I imagine it will take a lot of promotion to get people to use it after its reputation" - Who pays for that?

Dec 16th - Cambridge guided busway checked amid row over delays
Guided buses get green lights at junctions.

Dec 14th - BAM NUTTALL FAIL TO DELIVER ON CHRISTMAS PLEDGE
Says CCoC press office

Dec 14th - Busway contractors fined for Christmas break
Bunker Bob's little elves get fined for taking time off over Xmas

Dec 9th - Buses Set To Run On Busway For Final Traffic Signal Checks
Says CCoC press office

Shortage of bus kill due to Toad Tunnels threatens new restaurant's menu
Back to the old Rabbit & Partridge pies then?

Report to cabinet on Dec 14th: List of defects to be fixed by Council's framework contractor
Popular cycleway sections liable to flooding will be closed off with gates to deter users.

Dec 6th - Council Confirm Plans To Correct Contractor's Defects On Busway
Says CCoC press office

Dec 7th - Cambridge's guided bus report: latest on the project
If you don't fix it, we will!  But there's nothing wrong with it!  Yes there is!  No there isn't!  Is  Is!  Isn't!  Isn't!

Dec 7th - Busway bosses ready to ditch BAM Nuttall
DAMN BAM:BAM!

Dec 6th - Tunnels to be dug underneath guided busway
Toad in hole served up for animal lovers hopping mad over "corridor of death"

Dec 3rd - Hester Bluemental to open new Wild Meat Restaurant in Cambridge
He's game for a laugh - The Fat Toad is a sure hit with foodies.

Dec 2nd - Guided bus: Highlights of the BBC Cambridgeshire debate
BBC edited highlights - add your comments at the end...

Dec 2nd - Cost of guided busway climbs to £181 million
Staggering! Where will it end? (Answer: in court)

Dec 2nd - No buses? Just walk this way
Wot no bus? Snow sculpture verdict on MGB

Dec 1st - BBC Cambridgeshire's Andie Harper interviews Shona Johnstone
She's still right of course, but less strident

Nov 30th - Guided bus fleet is gathering dust
A mothballed bus gathers no profit dust . Stagecoach in contract renewal gambit.

Nov 30th - Operator Stagecoach 'may pull out of Cambridge busway'
Campbell has an attack of The Glums

Nov 18th - In our fuss-about-nothing section: 'Concerns over 'too low' busway bridges are rebuffed'
Councillor Williams's offending blog post

Nov 15th - Cambridge guided bus completes first trial run through Trumpington Cutting
'Still work for BAM Nuttall to complete before the route can be handed over' Now where have I heard that before?

Nov 11th - Guided busway overspend tops £50m
So far that is...

Nov 11th - The stop zone where kissing can start
Advise don't get a ride with Bunker Bob and his mates...

Report to cabinet on 16/11/10: This is a defect. No it isn't! Yes it is! No it isn't!
Sellout last year's Christmas Panto is still running

Cambridge busway debacle
Christian Wolmar tells the tale: "It seemed a good idea at the time".

Oct 29th - Council Tax Payers warned of potential extra £60 million bill if Cambs lose guided bus arguments
Or is it 50m ? What's 10m between friends enemies?

Oct 28th - Operators concerned over spiralling costs
The wheels on the bus have come off

Oct 28th - Guided busway could have opened a year ago - contractor
Council is outfoxed

Oct 27th - Graham Hughes from Cambridgshire County Council interviewed on BBC Cambridgeshire
Construction defects must be attended to before opening

Oct 27th - Stephen Fox from BAM Nuttall interviewed on BBC Cambridgeshire
Doesn't accept that mistakes have been made in construction, busway could be running now

Oct 27th - The guided busway contractor BAM Nuttall speaks out
Fox finally bites the hand that feeds it

Oct 27th - Southern busway just ‘days away’ from being ready
Could take vehicles, err, but won't just yet

Oct 26th - "Please disclose all correspondence between BAM Nuttall and Cambridgeshire County Council relating to the proposed handover and opening of the guided busway in November 2009"
Dirt thanks to Councillor Rupert Moss-Eccardt

Oct 26th - Shortcut bid for guided bus ‘unacceptable’
Oh, Mr Pegram, what shall we do, our contract is rubbish, and the project's turned to poo

Oct 16th - Bus interchange go-ahead means work will start soon
Soon means when?  It's inadequately designed as expected, with no long distance coaches or drop-off points

Report to County Council Cabinet 26th October on progress of busway
Unhappy reading for busway fans

Oct 15th - No progress means more waiting for Cambs Guided Bus
Bob can we fix it? No we can't!

Oct 12th - Decisive business thumbs-down for Leigh busway. Public doesn't want it despite plans
Busway would just add to traffic congestion.

Oct 11th - Low-carbon building boost for Cambridge busway
Greenwash dosh?

Oct 11th - Busway stops for Christmas break
Yeah, yeah, predictable moaning about BAM:BAM holidays in December... just like last year.

Oct 7th - Final beams laid
Yes, it's 'finished' again, this time the southern guideway. But Champagne is still in Bob's fridge.

Oct 5th - Final beam is laid on guided busway
The final beam of the final guideway

Sept 29th - Legal action inevitable over St Ives-Cambridge guided busway
Letter from Cllr Pegram

Sept 29th - '£2m improvements to transport go on hold'
Projects that could have been saved if the authority had not sunk so much cash into the guided busway?

Sept 29th - 'More problems could emerge for guided bus'
Another day in the continuing busway disaster story

Sept 28th - Blogger Jamie gets on his bike & reports on the state of the guideway
Thanks for taking such lovely pics!

Sept 28th - 'Council starts own guided busway inspections'
BAM:BAM? no thank you m'am!

Sept 28th - County Council Cabinet meeting to discuss progress of busway
Briefing document (Word)

Sept 27th - 'Cabinet will decide on £2 million savings that must be made on county’s transport budget'
Well everything else cut, except the bl**dy guided bus costs

Sept 23rd - 'St Ives-Cambridge guided busway: independent inquiry promised as further delay revealed'
Bus lurches twixt farce and fiasco.

Sept 21st - 'Independent review of guided busway announced'
...after the ‘inevitable’ court action over the contractor’s overspend

Sept 21st - Independent review of guided busway announced
To consider the conduct of bosses behind the much-delayed scheme, engineering firm BAM Nuttall, and the standard contract being used

Sept 21st - County Council announces independent public review as BAM Nuttall again fail to deliver
But they don't give a start date, it could be years away after the legal wrangling is finished

Sept 15th - Letter: What an odd contract! - "...recovery could be years away, if anything is recovered at all"
Oh dear...

Sept 15th Letter - St Ives-Cambridge guided busway - what is Plan B on cost overrun?
Well, Councillor Pegram?

Sept 14th - Luton is third worst in green travel league
But the £90 million scheme is safe says Gubmnt.

Sept 14th - 96% say no to Busway' says LibDem survey of Luton residents
It's not popular but they won't can't stop it. Why?

Sept 9th - Now it’s south section of guided busway in trouble
Won't be finished by Christmas then?

Sept 7th - Exasperated Cambs councillors face new guided busway delay
Inspector Pegram: "I hate you Nuttall"

Sept 3rd - Guided busway: Cambs v Manchester - Prof Knowles: "I have concerns following my visit to Cambridgeshire."
Bunker Bob busy updating his C.V.

Sept 2nd: Huppert "not surprised" guided busway on hold
Are we surprised either?

Sept 1st: BBC interview Manchester's Prof Knowles about his visit to Cambridgeshire
Bet he's glad to go home (by train)

Sept 1st - St Ives to Cambridge guided bus firm faces £45m bill
See you in court Mr Nuttall?

Sept 1st - Manchester busway may be ditched after Cambridge visit
Cambridge News picks up on the story

August 30th - Busway to open in the spring of 2011?
 

Aug 31st - Manchester's Leigh busway project has been put on hold after a councillor visited the budget-busting Cambridge Busway
 

Aug 28th - 'Mr Busway’ hopes he’s on track for by-election victory
No chance! Rug pulled from under Matt

August 27th - 'Council will finish off work on guided busway'
So who pays for that?

August 24th - 'Mr Busway’ hopes he’s on track for by-election victory'
BradneyVision™ to make a comeback? Use your vote wisely...

Aug 11th - Guided Bus work going well...but just not on St Ives stretch
Nowhere near completed it says

August 8th - Key part of long-overdue busway is finished early
A key part, or a forgotten part?

August 6th - Luton Dunstable Busway contract to be kept secret
Political Commercial secret?

July 31st - Busway bosses plan for emergency vehicles to use track
But it has to be used, as the maintenance track floods!

July 28 - MP brands busway ‘a white elephant’
City MP Julian Huppert shows his colours

July 27th - City M.P. Julian Huppert speaks in parliamentary debate on transport issues
Moving speech

July 25th - NoGuidedBus.com gets 'On The Buses'
Fame at last!

July 20th - Tim Phillips interviewed on BBC Cambridgeshire about Cast.Iron's Milton Road Station proposal
Making them an offer they can't refuse

July 20th - Poor condition of cycle track shown in blog photos
And this is in Summer!

July 19th - Bus companies are in an unhappy position
The constant whining noise is not coming from the axle.  Thanks to Brynley

July 15th - Beleaguered busway opens its first branch line - Council jokes: "we've already logged the issue"
No injuries were reported

July 9th - Busway may open in December
Just in time for Christmas maybe?

July 7th - Cambridgeshire's guided busway contractors warned
Complete the entire project by December 2010, or hand over control

July 6th - Phew an article at last: 'Council could be forced to finish guided busway work'
Bunker Bob to get his shovel out?

July 5th - County Council in press release famine shock horror void.  Worrying lack of news since last week
Phew!

July 2nd - Revenue and patronage worries surface. Stagecoach say build problems should have been fixed by now
Council moots 'new deals' to raise more income from the guideway.  Whatever do they mean?

July 01 - Growing fears that guided buses won’t run until 2011
Another day, another gloomy headline for the Blunderbus

June 30th - Bendy Bus system in Bristol is out of shape as everything stops for a tea break
Bananas

June 22 - Guided bus experts’ fee tops £5.5m
Some 'experts' they have proved to be

June 19th - Could rubber have erased guided busway problems?
Rubber man says coat the busway in the stuff as the silly season starts early

June 18 - Still no defect work completed on Guided Bus
I thought the whole thing was defective from the start?

June 18 - The Busway update: County publishes list of defects
Archived here

June 16th - 'Hard times prompt fears of bus interchange being axed' - "Nothing is certain in this economic climate" says Pegram
Death, taxes, ineptitude of CCoC

June 16 - Council slam ‘inept’ guided bus contractors
Now it's SLAM:BAM:BAM

June 09 - Busway overspend blamed for cuts. Pain and no gain, but only 1million overspend we are led to believe
So, council taxpayers not subsidising the guided bus project was a lie  mistake wishful thinking?

June 02 - Hot weather tests on Cambridge to St Ives busway track
Hotted up bus

June 02 - Farewell Edinburgh’s busway but BRT lives on
Another one bites the dust

May 29 - Local M.P. calls for guided bus enquiry
Julian won't be invited for coffee and sandwiches anymore at Shire hall. Pity, the sandwiches are pretty good.

May 26th - Latest broadside fired at busway contractorBAM:BAM -> BAM:BAM
BAM:BAM -> BAM:BAM  I'll get you Nuttall!

May 20 - Probe into guided bus is rejected
Ow, that hurts!

May 18 - No opening date for guided bus until "at least July"
They can't help shooting themselves in foot giving us non-opening dates!

May 13 - Guided Bus good headline shock horror - Cambridge Station area has been finished
Pity the bus doesn't run to there from St Ives

May 13 - Long wait for bus gets even longer as deadlines pass
County says "it's not our fault Gov"

May 6th - St Ives to Cambridge guided busway defects checklist update
Your updates will be updated

May 6 - Cycleway to be narrowed and elevated to stop flooding
Maintenance track Cycleway

May 5th - Delayed guided busway step closer
Should it be rolls slowly forward?

May 5 - Cambridge guided busway's track base to be checked
The Answer lies in the soil - BAM:BAM to do a bit of digging

May 5 - Photo archive of busway by 'Frachon'
 

April 28 - More guided busway delays
I love deadlines, it's the whooshing sound they make as they fly by

April 23 - Problem jobs on busway ‘to be finished by mid-June’
Spin progress news wishful thinking comes thick and fast...

April 22 - "CCoC ...is confident its contractor will get cracking"
Like the concrete beams you mean?

April 21 - Transport bosses miss deadline to name opening date
This is news?

April 16 - 'Dr B Ching' publishes critique of MGB in Private Eye magazine
Lord Gnome investigates

April 15 - CAST.IRON submits a proposal for a Milton Road station to DfT
Station to Station

April 02 - We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to ban the building of busways on disused railway lines
The usual suspects

April 01 - Busway progress after talks
A good day to bury good news? No no, really, it isn't an April Fool article!

April 01 - Special announcement from NoGuidedBus.com

March 31st - Letter fron Tim Phillips: Direct route is beside the A14
Fundamentally flawed

March 25th - County is obstructive and coughs up old defects document in response to an FOI request by Ian Jackson
Apparently "defects" are not the same as "snags", so he has had to make a new request

March 15th - Edinburgh council in "bitter row with their German contractor" over tramworks
Have appointed tough guy to defend themselves

March 10th - Cambridgeshire council wants busway defects fixed

Feb (09) - Edinburgh tram contractors have tried get more money
"Critics paint a picture of a scheme in chaos, with project managers lacking experience and out of their depth"

March 19th - DfT releases funds for Luton guided busway
So do you still believe government when they say "lessons will be learned" ?

March 19th - St Ives-Cambridge: Breakthrough on guided bus stalemate
No wellies will now be required by cyclists

March 18th - Guided Busway is a transport disaster by Mike Mason:
pdf document Page 1   pdf document Page 2   pdf document Page 3   pdf document Page 4   pdf document Reformatted version

March 17th - Bam:Bam to give talk on how to build busway
Unlikely to say that they took a radical approach: 50% overbudget!

March 16th - Date for opening expected after busway 'progress'
 

March 11th - Cambridge News article - Losing track of the start date for bus?
 

March 10th: Transport minister announces £80 million funding for Luton busway (Video)
Mad

March 10th - Tim Phillips interviewed on Look East
 

Tim Phillips interviewed on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
 

Cambridge News extensive coverage of The Blunderbus
 

Contractor attacks council over guided bus criticism
Bam! Bam! Maxwell's silver hammer came down upon his head..

Dismay over paralysed busway
 

From our 'you couldn't make it up guv, department' - Luton busway to get gov funding!
 

The forgotten Southern section of the Guided Busway, photos taken early January 2010
Concrete pads     The route to the Trumpington P&R site  

March 10th - BAM Nuttall unhappy that CCoC have released their critical report. Brian Smith interviewed
 

March 9th - Desperate Busway Team has made public a critical report to cabinet
 

March 9th - Council blames contractor for guided bus delay
 

March 3rd - Let's have REAL rail says Norman
 

Flooding problems - here is a culvert and maintenance track in dry conditions Here it is badly flooded. Will amphibious vehicles be used on the maintenance track?  Bob investigates

Pictures courtesy of The Cambridge Busway blog

27th Feb - Biggest shambles' verdict for busway
And the longest

24th Feb - £161million - true cost of busway finally revealed (?)
 

23rd Feb - Cllr Mike Mason and Brian Smith interviewed on Radio Cambs Andie Harper show
County Council having to borrow to finish off the works

23rd Feb - Transport bosses take out loans to pay for guideway, total cost balloons to £161million
40 million smackers

Councillor Mike Mason's documentation on the busway problems
 

19th Feb - Bus slogan drives home anger over guideway delays
 

Letter: Hardly suprising according to Cllr Mike Mason
 

18th Feb - Letter: Pregnant lady hit by bus - you ain't seen nuthin' yet
 

17th Feb - Cambridge to St Ives guided busway stand-off continues
 

15th Feb - Bus slogan displays operators's frustration over unopened busway
 

10th Feb - South East Cambs Lib Dem says budgets will be raided for £5 million MGB legal costs
 

9th Feb - Guided bus delays spark anger
At last!

6th Feb - Bob Menzies 'Head of Delivery' delivers himself to conference. Let's hope he's on time!
 

BBC Cambridgeshire interview with Brian Smith of CCoC - there are £14,000 per day penalties (!)
 

2nd Feb - Bus operators 'hit out' at costly hold-ups to guided busway
Busway robbery

Feb - Cambridge to St Ives guided bus disagreements will affect council's cash flow
 

Jan 29th - £1m of our tax cash may be spent on bus
 

Jan 22nd - Guided bus delay will affect Cambridgeshire County Council's cash flow says audit chief
 

Jan 13th - Fears for Cambridgeshire's £116m guided bus scheme

Letter: Misguided in many ways
 

Angry response to massive cuts
"There are bits to finance the guided bus..."

Jan 7th - Guided busway path hit by freezing floods
 

Jan 4th - No deadline set for Cambridge guided busway completion
 

Letter: Wrong time for bus opposition - Julian Huppert wades in
 

Millions at stake after latest busway wrangle
Local taxpayers may subsidise costs by £1 million extra a year for ...how long?

2010


Dec 5th - Millions at stake after latest busway wrangle
 

Dec 4th - County press release: No worries mate!
 

Letter: Monorail makes long-term sense
No wheels on my wagon, and I'm still trolling along

Guided bus 'millions of pounds over budget'
Surprise? Court battle looms, after busway is finished...

Well, at least someone is using the busway - Parkour/Free-running video
 

Dec 2nd - 'Bunker' Bob Menzies interviewed on 209Radio Drive show
 

Lit up like a Christmas Tree, but no-one's at home
Bungalow Bill is alive and well

Bunker Bob's little Elves 'too busy' to work over Christmas break
 

Letter: Dangers of the busway - wet feet and worse
No chance though of getting run over by a bus..

Letter: Passengers still suffering
Labour councillor forgets the facts

Letter: Environmental benefit negated - CO2 emissions mean the "concrete gutter" is not green, it's grey
 

Letter: No-one held to account - "so many promises made to the public enquiry have been broken"
 

Coleridge Conservatives - reviewing restating the case for the guided bus
Find foot, aim, fire!

Photo Gallery of the cycleway from cycle perspective
 

Letter: Well done for speaking out, says Tim Philips
Poll: Are you looking forward to the opening of the guided bus? 81.5% said no.

Video - Busway delays explained starring 'Bunker' Bob (video)
 

Nov 19th - Delay in other bus changes wins a warm welcome
 

Nov 17th - Former Cambridge Conservatives spokesman says rail was 'never a viable alternative' and makes "Flat Earth" jibe against Cast.Iron, but Tim Phillips gets the last word
 

Letter - £116m+ price tag for a 'Dumbed down' service
 

Nov 18th - Where will the bus go from here?
 

Pictures from The Anonymous Widower blog
 

Busway pictures from Big Nick
 

Delay may be delayed by up to 6 months
 

Nov 17th - Guided bus hit by yet another delay
 

BBC Cambridgeshire interview with Brian Smith of CCoC - GB is not overbudget and enjoys public support (!)
 

BBC Cambridgeshire Drivetime Show - Frank from Royston says the GB is a pack of lies
 

Nov 16th - BBC Cambridgeshire Drivetime Show, Tim Phillips calls for Cllr Pegram to apologise, then resign
 

Guided bus facing new delay
 

Now the busway won't open in November, it will be January 2010 (probably) say councillors
'Finishing works'

Nov 16th - Cambs council confirms yet another delay to St Ives-Cambridge guided bus link
 

Nov 13th - Cambridgeshire County Council wins 'Transport Authority of the Year' award at UK Bus Awards
In our 'you couldn't make it up' category

Nov 13th - Will guided busway be ready in time?
Well that's an easy one. No!

Nov 12th - Another Deadline Missed & concrete blocks at entrances
 

Nov 6th - Cast.Iron slams system as "Misguided and Bust"
 

November 09 - Cambridge County Council release 'The Busway' video on YouTube
There should be competition to spot all the dubious 'facts' offered to the viewer..On second thoughts that's just too easy  Err, just when did you say it was opening?  

What! Even their video won't open on time??!!!
 

Sept 11th - St Ives to Cambridge guided bus ticketing delay
Bus managers annoyed - "We hate you Pegram"

September 3rd - Schools Information Pack published
Good example? Pictures of Essen busway (now closed) given in the pack

September 1st - Busway gritter featured
 

Aug 22nd - Cambridge-St Ives Guided Bus: Track 'cracks are not a problem
Ok, a feature then?

Aug 11th - Cow breaks onto guided bus
A moo threat to busway?

Aug 10th - Fresh delay for guided bus route
 

Aug 7th - Shona Johnstone blogs "..I am glad that at last, the end appears to be in sight."
Good old Shona, she's good for a laff!

July 24th - Shona Johnstone blogs "...we should threaten to abandon Northstowe". So why do we need the busway?
Why do we?

June 16th - Final section of track for guided busway laid as opening nears
So they thought

June 8th - CAMBS: Lib Dems believe unseated Tory high flyer may have paid the price for guided bus
Matt Bradney sacked by disgruntled votors

May 18th - High winds delay off peak piling work on underpass under Hills Road Bridge
Baked beans now off menu

April 16th - BBC News: Busway drivers start training
 

April 09 - BBC News - One mile left for longest track
 

April 2nd - Cambs Guided Buses on Track
On track, but not on the track

18th Feb - Guided bus pair put on rack over key meeting
 

2009


The (December 2008) Busway Carol. Better late than never, and still apt in November 2009!
 

Dec 12th - Letter - Is the busway viable?
Without Northstowe..

Dec 9th - Fears guided bus £6 million over budget
 

Dec - Busway in financial difficulties?
 

Dec - Busway in financial difficulties?
Predicted

Nov - Guided Busway - your questions answered
Bunker Bob comes out with the usual answers

Oct 28th - Guided busway to use 1.8million tyres
Plus the ones the wheels on the bus use...

May 1st - It's cracking up already! Cracks have been found in concrete beams. Don't worry it's supposed to (?)
'Bunker' Bob M. said he enjoyed a cup of tea on the bus. Smooth as or smoother than a train he says

May 1st - Tim Phillips discusses the damage to the concrete beams. Faults will jolt the steering.
Busway is a strategic failure.

April 14th - Stagecoach Cambridge selects Scania buses to operate prestige service
Ten biofuel-powered, Scania double-deckers have been selected by Stagecoach for its 'flagship' routes

March 14th - BBC News - Busway trials are run (video)
Opening Spring 2009 apparently

2008


Aug 7th - Viaduct down for busway project
 

March 5th - Work begins on 25km guided busway
 

Feb 19th - Justification for Cambridgeshire Guided Bus is built on sand
CAST.IRON reveals crucial failures in appraisal and modelling

2007


Aug 30th - Letter: Last-ditch bid to ban the bus
CAST.IRON's last try

July 4th - Contractor for £116m busway plan
Awarded to Edmund Nuttall

2006


Busway given go-ahead - Tim Phillips interviewed
 

Dec 21st - Busway go-ahead given. Initial reactions
 

July 12th - Inquiry inspectors report finally published
The one wot he re-wrote

Article by Guided Bus inventor Arthur Henderson - why GB is unsuitable for Cambridge-StIves
They did not listen, they did not know how, perhaps they’ll listen now?

2005


Sept - Procurement document announces busway will be delivered in 2007
 

Sept 1st - Cambridge Huntingdon Rapid Transit - the misguided bus?
Article by Julian Huppert

July 1st - Guided Bus plans supported in leaked SRA letter. Tim Phillips and Cclr Johnstone almost trade blows
Tim Phillips speaks

Cllr Shona Johnstone speaks
 

May 19th - Letter: Let train take the strain
 

April 2nd - Tim Phillips in discussion with Steve Riches, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire Part 1
 

April 2nd - Tim Phillips in discussion with Steve Riches, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire Part 2
 

April 1st - Star 107 News Report: CAST.IRON misled the public!
News bulletin

March 13th - Letter: Get on the right track
 

March 12th - MC Shona Presents: The Wheels On The Bus
The People on the Bus would rather have a Train

Feb 21st - TWA plans "very detailed" according to Cllr Johnstone.
"One bit that sticks in my mind was a line from the environmental assessment part of it which said 'A small mammal was heard eating'...a ham sandwich??"

Feb 13th - Shona Johnstone and Tim Phillips head to head BBC Radio studio debate:

mp3 audioPart 1 (6MB)   mp3 audioPart 2 (8MB)   mp3 audioNews Report    mp3 audioPart 3 (10MB)  

 
Feb 13th - Bedfordshire Translink Abandoned (sorry no link)
 

 
Bedfordshire CC Press Release (N/A)
 

Jan 27th - Translink £90m 'an obscene amount for a white elephant'
 

Feb 11th - £32.5 million must be borrowed by the council from the Government
Councillors finally admitted

Feb 11th - Follow up news reports and news bulletins on Star 107 (Long)
The public want a rail link, interview with Jerry Alderson

Feb 11th - Follow up news reports and news bulletins on Star 107 (Short)
Rail scheme is not viable, interview with Cllr Shona Johnstone

Feb 10th - Guided Bus Approved by County Councillors
BBC news report 4

Feb 10th - Guided Bus Approved by County Councillors
BBC news report 3

Feb 10th - Guided Bus Approved by County Councillors
BBC news report 2

Feb 10th - Guided Bus Approved by County Councillors
BBC news report 1 (confused)

Cllr Johnstone's reposte "Absolute Rubbish"
 

Feb 9th - CAST.IRON's budget bombshell - Government grant for guided bus is not £65m but £32.5m
Read the small print!

Tim Phillips answers BBC Cambridgeshire listeners questions
 

BBC report by Stuart Ratcliffe
Councillors vote to apply for TWA order

Jan 5th - CAST.IRON release "Railway or Guided Bus" info sheet
 

2004


Dec 18th - Government Funding pledge £65m announced for busway. BBC interviews Tony McNulty & Cllr Johnstone
McNulty damns busway with faint praise.  Shona is naturally delighted.

July 31st - CHRT - a report by Director of Operational Services in Hunts District Council minutes
 

2003


Reality check - what did the County Council originally say in their Guided Bus Newsletters?
Well here they are in all their glory, take a look:

   One pdf document       Two pdf document       Three pdf document

Feb 07 pdf document    April 07 pdf document    June 07 pdf document    Sept 07 pdf document    Nov 07 pdf document    Dec 07 pdf document

Feb 08 pdf document    April 08 pdf document    Aug 08 pdf document

Mar 09 pdf document    June 09 pdf document    Dec 09 pdf document

Various links:
CAST.IRONWebsite    CAST.IRONPress Releases    pdf documentStatement of Case    pdf documentInfo Sheet    Wikipedia websiteWikipedia

Station Road - The story of the railway in Swavesey