Home   News   Article

Subscribe Now

£6m fine for Cambridgeshire County Council after decade of safety failings led to three deaths on guided busway




A £6million fine has been issued to Cambridgeshire County Council after it operated the guided busway for more than a decade without basic safety measures, which led to the deaths of three adults and serious injuries for two children.

The council pleaded guilty to the serious safety failings following a long investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), during which incidents continued to happen even after enforcement action from the regulator.

Kathleen Pitts, who was struck by a bus on the busway in October 2021
Kathleen Pitts, who was struck by a bus on the busway in October 2021

The HSE said the council even “chose to appeal enforcement action instead of acting on concerns” during this time.

Jennifer Taylor, 81, died in darkness at an unlit crossing at Fen Drayton Lakes after getting off a bus on 17 November, 2015.

Then on 13 September 2018, family man Steve Moir, 50, was killed after his bike struck a kerb amid heavy cyclist and pedestrian traffic, which caused him to fall into the path of an oncoming bus near Clare College’s sports ground.

Kathleen Pitts, 52, lost her life on 26 October, 2021, when she was struck by a bus while walking on the pathway beside the southern section of the guided busway, just a few hundred metres from where Mr Moir had died.

Two young people also suffered serious injuries in other separate incidents on the St Ives-Cambridge busway, a purpose-built track exclusively for buses that opened in 2011.

Astonishingly, the council did not conduct its first risk assessment on the busway until August 2016 - five years after it opened, and months after the first fatality.

The HSE found basic safety measures were missing, including:

- lighting of some crossing points

- appropriate speed limits for buses

- sufficient measures to separate pedestrians and other users including cyclists from passing buses; and

- adequate signage warning of dangers.

Mrs Taylor’s family said in a statement following the hearing at Cambridge Crown Court: “Jenny was deeply loved by all of us, and we dearly miss her.

“As a family we would like to thank the HSE for their tireless efforts in bringing this case to court. We hope that the lessons learned will lead to sustained safety improvements and help avoid tragedy, injury and suffering in the future.”

The guided busway in Cambridge Picture: Richard Marsham
The guided busway in Cambridge Picture: Richard Marsham

Cyclist Mr Moir, who coached local youth football and served as a school governor, was thrown over his handlebars into the path of a bus travelling at 56mph after losing control on the narrow maintenance path running beside the busway near Clare College’s sports ground.

“The loss of Steve has left us devastated and there is now a big hole in our lives that cannot be filled,” his family said.

“Steve was a loving, caring family man with a great sense of humour and a zest for life who brought laughter and joy to our lives every day and his presence is deeply missed by us all.”

The council cut the speed limit to 30mph in the area in question after his death, but that failed to prevent the death of pedestrian Kathleen Pitts three years later. The bus that struck her was travelling at the new speed limit.

Her son, Liam, told the court in a statement read out by the prosecutor: “I believe my mother would still be here if it wasn’t for the inherent risk built into the guided busway in Cambridge.”

Three weeks after her death, after dark on 9 November, 2021, a 16-year-old cyclist suffered life-changing injuries at a designated crossing point at Buchan Street.

The cyclist was the second young person to be injured. On 1 May 2019, a 12-year-old cyclist had sustained injuries and needed hospital treatment after being struck by a bus while attempting to cross the busway between Ring Fort Road and King’s Hedges Road.

HSE principal inspector Graham Tompkins said after the hearing: “This is a truly tragic case where three people lost their lives and others suffered serious injuries in incidents that were completely preventable.

“Had Cambridgeshire County Council properly assessed and managed the risks on the guided busway from the outset, these deaths simply would not have happened.

“Even after the first fatality in 2015, the council failed to take adequate action to protect the public. They chose to appeal our enforcement action instead of acting on our concerns and incidents continued to happen.

“Simple measures could have saved lives and life-changing injuries. Instead, the council operated this major transport system for almost a decade without many of the basic safety measures we see in every village, town and city being in place.

“The families of those who died have shown remarkable courage throughout this process, and I hope this prosecution brings some measure of closure for them, though nothing can make up for the loss of their loved ones.”

The court heard there was an “entrenched mismanagement of safety” at the council.

By law, employers must protect their employees and others from harm, including undertaking risk assessments. Guidance for designers and operators of guided busways is available from Britpave (the British In-Situ Concrete Paving Association) in the guided busway Design Handbook (https://www.britpave.org.uk/Publications/Bus-and-Rail/).

Mr Tompkins continued: “Our risk assessment guidance may be more commonly used for workplaces such as factories and construction sites, but the same principles apply for busy spaces such as major transport infrastructure. The possible risks to people and the movement of passengers, pedestrians and others needs to be thought through.”

The county council pleaded guilty to two offences under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The charges related to failing to protect the public both at crossing points and while travelling alongside the busway.

The council will also face legal costs, in addition to the £6million fine.

Dr Stephen Moir, chief executive of Cambridgeshire County Council since 2022
Dr Stephen Moir, chief executive of Cambridgeshire County Council since 2022

Following the hearing, the council’s chief executive, Dr Stephen Moir, said: “In providing the guided busway, Cambridgeshire County Council has a clear duty and responsibility to uphold the highest standards of health and safety at work.

“As chief executive, since 2022, I fully accept that during the historical operation of the guided busway, the council has fallen far short of meeting these standards. I am not only truly sorry for these failures, but I am also deeply disappointed that the council has found itself in this position. This should never have happened.

“More importantly, I’d like to offer my full and unreserved apologies to the families and friends of all those impacted by our actions or lack of action resulting from the failings we have fully accepted in court. They have my sincere condolences and are the people uppermost in my thoughts and those of the council today.

“So, I speak directly to those families and friends now and say that whilst I know we can’t put right what has happened, I promise that the failings the court has considered during this hearing will not be repeated.

“This council, under my leadership, is committed to ensuring the safe operation of the guided busway and we have already taken action to address the historical failings as well as ensuring risks are robustly managed in the future.

“Our safety regime for the busway now includes thorough and frequent inspections, a rolling programme of risk assessments and strengthened incident recording, reporting and investigations. We now have a dedicated busway operations safety team in place, and we have also installed bespoke fencing on the southern section of the busway, reduced speed limits and are reviewing all the signs and lining along the route.

“We will continue to work constructively and proactively with the Health and Safety Executive and will also support the development of national busway guidance so that the lessons we have learned here in Cambridgeshire are shared more widely.

“The safety of people accessing the guided busway is of paramount importance to the county council and to the bus operators that use our infrastructure.

“I’d like to reassure all those who use the guided busway, that we have learnt our lessons the hard way and changed our approach for the future. The busway is and remains an important, accessible and safe public transport system for all the people who live in, work in, travel through or visit Cambridgeshire.”

The HSE investigation identified safety management failings at the council for the operation of the busway for a period of just over 10 years.

These failures related to two distinct risks: members of the public seeking to cross the busway at designated crossing points and risks to members of the public when they were merely in its vicinity, or seeking to travel alongside it.

The HSE issued two improvement notices during its investigation but said the council “failed to adequately manage safety” on the busway until late 2021.

The risk assessment that the council undertook in 2016 had not properly assessed the risk to members of the public crossing or alongside the busway, the HSE found.

In crowded spots, or where the access pathway beside the busway was narrow, it should have realised congestion was more likely leading to people being jostled or unknowingly moving into the path of a bus since in some sections there was no separation from grass verges, physical barriers or fences.

The HSE said during this time the council also failed to consider other measures to reduce the risk to members of the public, such as speed limits and the provision of lighting and suitable signage.

Joggers, cyclists and a mother with a pram come close to edge of busway to avoid flood
Joggers, cyclists and a mother with a pram come close to edge of busway to avoid flood

Recently, the Cambridge Independent has highlighted how pedestrians, runners, cyclists and parents with prams have been seen very close to the busway track as they sought to avoid a section that often floods near Swavesey. The council has put a sign on a metal gate advising users the section of the pathway is closed.

The Greater Cambridge Partnership is working on plans forthree further busways around Cambridge.



Comments | 5
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More