New digital system set to control speeds on guided busway

The busway in Cambridgeshire links St Ives with Cambridge and Addenbrooke's Hospital

New speed control technology has been rolled out on a guided busway for the first time.

The digital feature - known as Intelligent Speed Assistance - has been installed on buses using the guided system in Cambridgeshire.

It is designed to automatically reduce bus speed as vehicles enter restricted safety zones along the route.

It is the first time it has been used in this way on UK buses - and guided buses globally, Stagecoach East said.

The system has the flexibility to cope with numerous and different speed safety zones, improve road safety and reduce the risk of accidents, the company added.

The Cambridge guided busway, owned by Cambridgeshire County Council, opened in 2011 at a cost of £181m after a series of delays and financial setbacks.

It remains the longest busway in the world - stretching for 16 miles (325km) between Huntingdon, St Ives and Cambridge, towards Addenbrooke's Hospital - and includes two guided sections.

The Cambridgeshire guided busway under construction in 2008

The speed control technology was developed by Volvo Bus and Stagecoach East over 18 months and was installed in local services in April.

It limits engine power, preventing the vehicle from accelerating past the current speed limit.

An investigation by BBC Radio Cambridgeshire in February showed buses were regularly speeding on the stretch of busway between Cambridge railway station and Addenbrooke's Hospital.

Two people have died in crashes along the stretch in the last five years.

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A safety audit, released in June 2022, lowered the speed limit from 56mph (90km/h) to 30 mph (48km/h) on the southern section of the busway.

The speed limit on the busway was reduced to 30mph (48km/h) in June 2022

Terry Absalom, engineering director for Stagecoach East, said the "number one priority is the safety of local people".

"We have provided extensive training for our drivers," he said.

"We will continue to embrace new technologies and invest in innovative systems to ensure the safety of our passengers, drivers and other road users."

Domenico Bondi, managing director of Volvo Bus UK & Ireland, said the new digital system would "help to considerably improve road safety".