Stricter parking enforcement and a harder line with roadworks by utilities companies are two areas that must be acted on if the congestion that increasingly hinders bus services is to be mitigated, Stagecoach East Business Development Director David Boden (pictured) has said.
Mr Boden was speaking as Chair of the recently formed CP Bus Alliance, which represents operators in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. He says that congestion hurts bus services regardless of whether they are delivered commercially or under a franchised environment and adds that tackling it is “of supreme importance” to the region.
Acknowledging that local authorities (LAs) “are working hard” to do so, Mr Boden has called for better parking enforcement to sit alongside a requirement for utilities companies to more thoroughly consider bus services when planning roadworks.
“There is a way forward, whereby utility companies would need to demonstrate in writing what they have done to understand the bus services they are impacting and the measures, with evidence, that they have taken before they can get a permit to work,” says Mr Boden.
He has previously criticised utilities companies for the impact that their works have on bus routes. In September 2023, Mr Boden called upon them to engage with the industry “in a meaningful and productive way” over the scheduling and coordination of projects, even if resulting mitigatory measures cost the utility company more.
Congestion is a longstanding problem in Cambridge. In January, Ed Cameron, Commercial Manager of fellow operator and CP Bus Alliance member Whippet, noted that a long-term solution must be found to ensure the future viability of bus networks.
Mr Boden and Mr Cameron agree that LAs on respective patches do their best with congestion, but Mr Boden adds that if no real progress is made, “it puts at risk all the hard work we are doing and will do nothing to attract new customers to use bus services.”
He adds that congestion has a “devastating impact” on reliability, citing a recent Stagecoach afternoon peak journey in Cambridge that took well over double its scheduled time and another that is planned for 52 minutes but took over an hour and a half.
“Congestion also forces us to make the very reluctant decision to cancel journeys in order to get buses back on time, which challenges the confidence that loyal customers have in our collective efforts: Elected officials, council officers, and bus operators.”
Mr Boden concludes by noting that while success in bus operation is achievable where operators and LAs work together, that collaboration must sit alongside “public policies that are designed to promote, encourage and support bus use.”
