Bus operators in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough form alliance to help improve services
Bus operators in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough form alliance to help improve services
Bus operators in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have formed a new association aimed at giving people in the region an improved transport network.
The CP Bus Alliance brings together key bus operators: A2B, Delaine Buses, Dews Coaches, Stagecoach East, Stephenson’s, Vectare and Whippet, who are pledging a “pan-network approach to maintain competition and work together to improve the bus network for passengers”.
The alliance says it is “very supportive” of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayor Dr Nik Johnson’s vision to improve the bus network, by adding more buses, improving communication and reliability and offering better value - but has also called for progress on relieving congestion and co-ordinating roadworks to help them deliver a better service.
David Boden, director of business development at Stagecoach East, has been elected as the first chairman of the CP Bus Alliance.
He said: “By working together with the mayor, we can work through the detail needed to deliver on those priorities and, most importantly, start to deliver results for the people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. We intend to ensure that Cambridgeshire and Peterborough residents can see something real and tangible in terms of change.
“This partnership, though, does need, on the part of the mayor, CPCA and other local authorities, support in delivering a road network on which we can deliver punctual services. We are ready, willing, and able to be held accountable for the aspect of reliability we can control – providing a bus and a driver when we say we will.
“But, let me be clear: once the bus leaves the depot early in a morning, its performance throughout the rest of the day is overwhelmingly dictated by issues like congestion, parking enforcement and roadworks, none of which are in bus operators’ power to change.
“We all know that these issues cause daily problems for our customers with delayed and cancelled services, and are also a significant barrier to encouraging more people to travel by bus.
“From our perspective, we will work to clearly understand the wants and needs of our customers, local officials and the mayor and his team, so we can deliver real tangible results which people can see soon. By working together, in the spirit of co-operation, we can get Cambridgeshire and Peterborough moving.”
