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Buses
A good public transport system is vital in a city like Cambridge. It must be reliable, comprehensive and affordable. In Cambridge we are struggling with all these issues at present.
However, I am delighted that there is more help on the way to make bus travel more affordable as the Chancellor announced in the Budget proposals to provide free off-peak local bus travel from next year. This will benefit 80% of pensioners in England, who currently only qualify for half-price fares and is a step towards a nationwide scheme that would allow pensioners to travel free from one end of the country to the other.
I have been campaigning to get a reliable and comprehensive service for our city, since the summer 2004, when Stagecoach announced the withdrawal of the Citi 4 and 5 without consultation with local residents. This decision has left many residents stranded, and is of particular concern to those who are unable to walk further to catch a bus.
Since this announcement, I have taken a number of steps to try to get Stagecoach and the County Council to reverse their decisions.
I held a public meeting in King's Hedges in July which was attended by Stagecoach managers and 150 local residents. A similar meeting was organised in Cherry Hinton in September. I have been liasing with Dial-a-Ride to investigate ways to subsidise alternative routes, and extend the taxicard scheme. I have also met with the Traffic Commissioner to express my dissatisfaction with the way that Stagecoach is running bus services in Cambridge.
I organised a consultation across the whole of Cambridge so that we could provide Stagecoach and the Council with evidence of the difficulties that people were facing with the new services. This has been presented to the County Council, Stagecoach and Charlotte Atkins MP, who has responsibility at the Department for Transport for local authority public transport. She came to Cambridge to see the situation for herself, at my invitation.
I met Brian Souter, Chairman of the Stagecoach Group plc at the Houses of Parliament in March. After months of campaigning, I am delighted to let you know that there are plans to provide a replacement service for the No 7 bus to East Chesterton, Kings Hedges and Arbury.
I organised a Bus Action Meeting on 30 March in Arbury Community Centre. Residents and campaigners discussed improvements to the bus services and met Stagecoach representatives to hear their latest plans.
I still have more work to do - access to Coldhams Lane is still very difficult. However, I think we are making progress on areas in the north of the city.
You may also find it useful to contact Bus Users UK.