Stagecoach cancels buses over Cambridge roadworks

Stagecoach said its bus services had been negatively impacted by the extensive roadworks in Cambridge

A bus company has said "unprecedented" amounts of roadworks in a city are forcing it to cancel services.

Stagecoach told a council meeting the volume of interruptions was making services "extremely late" and forced some to be cancelled.

The firm has called for utility companies to minimise impact and said there was no "cohesive planning".

Cambridge County Council, responsible for the roads, said it was working with Stagecoach to "agree a way forward".

David Boden, business development director for the firm, said it was "a bad state of affairs when a bus service had to be cut purely because of roadworks".

Mr Boden told a north area committee meeting of Cambridge City Council on Monday that Stagecoach was providing 98 to 99 per cent of planned services and was "truly sorry" when it had to make cancellations.

The council has a map showing all the works in the city

He said: "We have faced an unprecedented amount of utilities and roadworks that appear on our routes, sometimes with little or no notice."

Mr Boden said congestion and the roadworks had also "forced the company to cut the frequency of the Citi 1 service".

He said it was the busiest bus route in Cambridge, with around 150,000 people travelling on it each month.

The firm was challenged about its decision to cancel A-bus services at most stops along Histon Road.

One parent asked for more services to be put on during peak hours after their son, who is a student at Long Road College, was refused boarding for three buses on Histon Road due to them all being full.

Mr Boden added the decision to remove the bus stops had not been taken lightly and said he was "truly sorry for the impact it was having on people".

The county council is working with Stagecoach to agree a way forward

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire County Council, which is responsible for the city's roads, said: "Many of the roadworks in the city are the result of essential work by the utility companies.

"But it is vital that they work with public transport providers and the county council to minimise disruption and inconvenience to the many residents of Cambridge who rely on public transport.

"We had a productive meeting with Stagecoach earlier this week to agree a way forward."