Minutes of Meeting held 2nd February 2023: Fast Bus Route

On the 2^nd February 2023, representatives from the Parish Councils of Fordham, Burwell, Reach, Swaffham Prior, Swaffham Bulbeck, Bottisham, Lode, Gt. Wilbraham, and Stow Cum Quy along with District and County Councillors met to explore the A to B1102 Group’s proposal for a Fast Bus Route concept along the B1102 corridor.

As the presentation explains, this concept has been developed by the A to B1102 Group in response to the emerging likelihood that over the coming years, it will become more and more difficult to access Cambridge City by private vehicle (as the Greater Cambridge Partnership supported by Cambridge City politicians work to reduce traffic congestion in the City) and the fact that the B1102 corridor is experiencing year-on-year growth in number of vehicles using the B1102 leading to increasing congestion with all its associated impacts in our communities. Given these realities, the A to B1102 Group has identified that a fast, efficient, reliable and enjoyable public transport solution is essential which actually encourages people to leave their cars at home rather than being forced / priced out through road charging. There was clear support for such a concept subject to a business case being developed and it was agreed to build an outline project plan to secure initial funding to commence data collection to understand our communities’ travel needs.

Read a summary here:

Please note:

• The presentation represents a set of initial ideas / evolving concepts and is purely for consultation purposes at this time
• The A to B1102 Group is seeking views from all our communities along the B1102
• The information has been presented to Parish Councils, District and County Councillors
• Where sites are referred to in the presentation for the locations of travel hubs etc., these are indicative only to indicate the ideal geographical area of such a facility – no contact has been made with any landowners regarding the concepts / ideas
• It is not a ‘done deal’ but we are hoping to save our bus service by proposing a commercially viable  solution that works for the many
• The next stage is to gather wider feedback and then seek funding to create a feasibility study including data collection to understand our communities transport needs
• This is not an anti-car proposal, rather us taking control of our situation when faced with public transport (ie. the bus) being the only solution to gain long term access to Cambridge
• We also are proposing to create a cyclepath/footpath improvement plan to tie with these proposals. This will follow later
• Please see the presentation for more information / context.