Councillors support busway safety improvements
It follows the deaths of three people who had been hit by buses on the busway.
Last updated 18th Jun 2025
A new fence is set to be installed along the length of the guided busway in order to improve safety.
Further measures are also planned to deal with flooding issues that Cambridgeshire County Council said also creates a safety risk.
The county council was fined £6million after it was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following “serious safety failings” on the busway.
HSE launched an investigation after the deaths of three people who had been hit by buses on the busway.
Jennifer Taylor, 81, died at an unlit crossing in November 2015, Steve Moir, 50, died three years later after his bike struck a kerb, causing him to fall into the path of an oncoming bus, and Kathleen Pitts, 52, died in October 2021.
Frank Jordan, executive director for place and sustainability at the county council, said the authority “continues to express condolences to the families impacted and has apologised unreservedly for its failings”.
He told a highways and transport committee meeting this week (June 17) that the county council had pleaded guilty as it had failed its duty to manage risk on the busway, but said since 2021 measures had been taken to improve safety.
Mr Jordan also presented councillors with a report setting out further plans to improve safety.
New fencing is proposed to be installed along the length of the guided busway to try and reduce the risk of people falling onto, or stepping onto the guided busway track.
The report said it is estimated it could cost £4.7million to install new fencing and barriers.
A permanent fence has already been installed by the county council along a southern section of the busway last year following safety concerns.
Measures are also proposed to address flooding issues along parts of the busway, which the report said could cost around £7million, including a contingency budget.
The report suggested pontooned walkways could be used on flooded sections, but said further work will need to be done to look at this.
The county council is also planning to invest £9.76million into a planned maintenance programme for the busway over the next 10 years.
Mr Jordan explained that officers had looked at the possibility of widening parts of the maintenance track alongside the busway, but said this is not recommended.
The maintenance track which runs beside the guided busway track is used as a shared pathway, used by pedestrians, cyclists, and people on scooters.
Mr Jordan said rather than reducing risks, having changing widths of the path along the busway would increase risk, as he said it would create pinch points.
Members of the public spoke at the meeting to welcome the safety improvements, but highlighted that some of them had spent years asking for changes to be made.
In a statement read out to the meeting, John Morris, the leader of Hunt Walking and Cycling Group, said the flooding issues had been raised repeatedly over the last 14 years since the busway opened in 2011.
He said the last two years had seen sections of the pathway beside the busway flooded for around six months.
He explained that this had led to people using the grass verge instead and getting “dangerously close” to the busway track.
Mr Morris said he was pleased investment is now proposed to tackle the issue and asked what timescales the design and implementation of the work could take.
Mr Jordan said the authority hoped to start work on the busway this year, but added that this would depend on the completion of design work.
He also offered his commitment that there will be “meaningful engagement” with people going forward.
Nick Kirby, managing director at Cambridge Biomedical Campus Ltd, a non-profit organisation including the different groups from the campus, said he “strongly supported” the safety measures proposed.
He asked if a risk based approach would be used to decide which parts of the new fence is installed first.
Mr Jordan confirmed this would be the case and said the authority will consider how many people use certain sections, and the current safety risk when working out where fences will be put in first.
Councillors on the committee unanimously agreed to support the new safety measures.
Councillor Alex Beckett (Liberal Democrat), chair of the committee, said the authority needed to do whatever it could to prevent further deaths on the busway.
Councillor Lorna Dupré (Liberal Democrat) echoed this and said the county council had to make sure “there are no more fatalities and serious injuries on the guided busway”.
Councillor Ros Hathorn (Liberal Democrat) said the safety measures proposed are important, but added that there are some public concerns.
She said the lack of detail at this stage about the design of the fence had led people to fear the “worst case scenario” of a possible eight foot fence that would cut off different areas.
Cllr Hathorn asked for more information to be shared about the plans with the public when it is available.
Councillor Alex Bulat (Labour) said she welcomed the improvements planned to tackle the flooding issue, which she said impacted people’s ability to walk and cycle to where they want to go.
She added that the county council did need to recognise that people may ask why these safety measures were not considered and put in place before.
Cllr Bulat also asked if the authority could consider education methods to warn people about the dangers, after sharing an example of a parent being seen with their child picking flowers in between the busway tracks.
Mr Jordan highlighted plans to have signs installed at entrances to the busway to help people “understand the level of risk”.
Councillor Des Watt (Reform UK) asked if the buses had anti-collision technology installed and if not whether this had been considered.
Officers said software had been installed to limit the speed of buses on the busway, and said they do look at what other technology could be introduced.
Councillor Matthew Morgan (Liberal Democrat) highlighted that there can also be collisions between pedestrians, cyclists, and people on scooters.
He said he had seen a number of “close calls” on the section of pathway under the Long Road bridge, and asked if the county council is also considering how it can try and prevent these types of collisions.
Mr Jordan said the authority can review areas and consider extra measures like new signage or new markings on the pathway to try and reduce that risk.