Cambridge Guided Busway - My First Experience

From time to time I enter competitions, generally ones that pop up when I am browsing the Internet or my email. I probably enter a maximum of ten a year and because of the self-selecting nature of the competitions they can be somewhat random. This year I have won a 3G data dongle a couple of years ago I won VIP entry to a Formula 1 race at Silverstone. My friend who went with me has the dubious honour of nearly being mown down by Michael Schumacher as we walked through the Ferrari garage just before the start of the race! Last week I entered an email "lottery" to have a go on the Cambridge Guided Busway being built to solve some of the transport problems here in the flatlands.

I was one of the "lucky" 500 hundred who got to go on a run both on and off the guideway before it starts up for real in the Summer. I cycle for a variety of reasons, predominantly because I enjoy it, but also because I do believe that we all need to change our behaviour to, at least, mitigate the effects of global warming. Improving the nation's health would not be a bad thing either. So I am interested in initiatives such as the Cambridge Guided Busway and what they can offer.

I must admit that I was somewhat sceptical about the plans to run buses along the route of an old railway line, indeed I would have preferred to see the trackbed restored and trains run, but I do not pretend to understand all the economic and social issues around the problem and when two choices are close in terms of cost/benefit it is generally better to make any decision rather than make no decision and not strive for any improvement.

The project is an ambitious one and apparently will be the world's longest, with just over 25Km (15miles) of track and an overall length of 40Km (25miles). It will also have a maintenance track alongside that will be suitable for cyclists/walkers and in parts horse-riders. Further information can be found here: Bus way map and here: Guided Busway Home page.

My first impressions, well look at the next picture, surprise, surprise it is a bus and from this shot appears to have few modifications, although these have been modified to run biodiesel to strengthen their green credentials.

When running on road the bus steers as normal, when running on the guideway then two small, horizontal wheels either side of the front wheels actually steer the bus. The benefit is that the bus follows a set track and so it requires less road surface - two tracks under the wheels and the overall width of the two-way busway can be smaller as the buses can pass by each other much closer than would be allowed on the road. Another benefit apparently is that cars/lorries just won't drive on the busway and so it saves on the expense of signage and monitoring infrastructure to stop illegal use of the busway. Certainly in Cambridge it is a common sight to see cars drive along the bus lanes. Here is a picture of one of the guide wheels, in fact the driver helpfully turned the wheels to allow a better picture. It probably does not protrude any further than the wing mirrors but something to be wary of when cycling.

Here is the helpful driver - apparently the drivers adapt pretty quickly. They still have to use the brake and accelerator on the busway, the additional skill they have to learn is when transitioning from road to busway to ensure the bus is properly lined up. Apparently this driver is their number one driver, because our route was a demonstration route he had to perform several reversing around corner manoeuvres and made it look easy he would have put most car drivers to shame.

Inside it was pretty much a bus, although they had specified leather seats and the buses are to be equipped with WiFi to allow passengers to work on the bus. There are also power sockets to allow users to charge their laptops. I was seated at the back unfortunately as I would normally go upstairs but hey, it was a free ride.

The seating was not too bad although at the back the seats were facing each other and had pretty limited leg room.

Here is a picture of the track just after we had turned off. The ride was smooth with a rhythmic bumping noise as the wheels ran over the joins in the concrete. The areas where the busway has to transition to the road used metal guides. The traffic lights will be automatic, sensing the bus further down the track and allowing it to have priority over the road traffic. At these junctions the driver will need to grab the steering wheel and guide the bus into the track the other side.

Here is where the driver would normally be heading on the track we were on. However the busway is still being constructed.

My overall impression when on the track was favourable. The buses are limited to 55mph although the track has been rated for 70mph and a bus has been run on this track, without passengers at 64mph. It is a little strange at first, I did wonder if the bus might start weaving a little and so become unstable but after a few miles I began to believe that it does work. The worst part of my journey was the noise. The next clip is a video of the bus making its way along ordinary road (Kings Hedges) to the Guided Busway. The noise at the back of the bus was pretty terrible, it would make working pretty unpleasant and conversation would also be a challenge. Indeed I would have had to play an MP3 player at ear-splitting levels if I were to listen to music.

The other reason for showing that clip and the next one is to demonstrate how despite the road being clearly marked with a cycle lane motorists; from the Police to Van drivers find it very easy to ignore. Here is the guidance offered by the Highway Code

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Cycle lanes. These are shown by road markings and signs. You MUST NOT drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a solid white line during its times of operation. Do not drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a broken white line unless it is unavoidable. You MUST NOT park in any cycle lane whilst waiting restrictions apply.

Over a distance of less than half a mile there were three cars and two vans parked in the cycle lane. The highway code recommends that depending upon the cyclists level of skill that cycle lanes be used. The implication is that less able/confident cyclists need to use cycle lanes so we have a situation where "weaker" cyclists' safety is compromised without a thought by motorists. Yet one can imagine that many parents advise their offspring to stay in the cycles lanes!

Finally (in terms of video clips) here is a short clip shot from the bus as we run along the busway. The noise of the engine changing up through the gears can be clearly heard, but the actual drive is very smooth. The tracks are pretty close together and have gaps in the middle which improves drainage.

At the end of the journey I had a chat with one of the organisers. They had considered making provision for bicycles on the bus but had decided against it. Their view was that cyclists would choose the two-bike model with a bicycle at either end of the route. Although from a cycling perspective I feel that it is short-sighted I do understand the approach. It is a shame they did not fit out the buses with racks. The problem that arises is that it significantly increase the cycle parking requirements at either end. He seemed reasonably positive to the suggestion that folding bikes would be allowed, although with the usual caveat that if too many turn up they would have to re-consider the issue.

Yesterday I had to catch the train into London. I arrived at Cambridge station at around 1.30pm it was impossible to find a legitimate cycle space and I had to lock my bike next to a car park barrier, which, to add insult to injury, was clearly marked prohibiting bicycles - but when you are a schedule there is little choice. What annoyed me even more was that there were a number of empty car parking spaces. Apparently, because the Station area is due to be re-developed there is little political will to tackle the problem until then. At the Milton Road park and Ride, where I caught the GB (Guided Bus) there is some prominent and central cycle parking, it will be interesting to see whether it is sufficient.

I also discussed the cycle way, one bone of contention is that it will not be completed until after the main work has been completed. It will also not be lit. My main query was more practical, most cyclists will have encountered the situation on a windy day when with the wind blowing across the road a passing lorry can create quite a bow-wave of turbulence. I would consider myself an experienced cyclist but I sometimes find it quite unnerving, it is far worse at night. It does seem that they have planned for problems and have maintenance access should problems occur with a bus on the busway. They also will use a special de-icer which will run along the track and only put ice on the actual tracks, cheaper and environmentally better.

The cycleway will not be lit at night, which on balance I feel is the right thing to do, but I would hope the any junctions are illuminated and that the bus drivers are instructed to drive on the busway with dipped headlights. Another bugbear of mine is that shared cycle lane/pavements bring a cyclist into closer alignment with the path of oncoming traffic even with powerful lights undipped headlights can be dazzling which on a narrow pavement can be pretty intimidating.

In many ways the benefit offered by the busway is that it should be able to offer a reliable journey especially during rush hour when the A14 (the road route) can be very slow. by offering on-board WiFi passengers will be able to do some work such as checking and responding to emails. There are no tables though so it might be a little tricky. I did try to connect to the Internet (using my WiFi phone) I was able to connect with the bus, but it did not seem to have an external connection. The staff at Milton Road P&R were not sure about the status of the WiFi, but I would assume that they will not want to pay for an uplink until the buses are in service.

Overall my impressions were favourable, but I believe that in order to attract people away from cars in a significant way the "class" of the alternate offering has to be perceived as acceptable. I know people who disdain buses as beneath them. So I believe that here is an opportunity to raise the perceived status of the Bus. However I feel that there needs to be better sound insulation on the bus, I wonder if it is within acceptable limits at the moment. Also it is a pity that the bus does not offer air-conditioning, both amentities are routinely offered in cars and that is the competition. It will pass through some intersting scenery on its way to St Ives though. Here is a picture I took in January of RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes through which the busway passes.