Guided Busway improvements frequently asked questions

The busway is subject to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The busway is treated as a workplace and is managed and regulated as such. Section three of the Health and Safety at Work Act places a duty on the council to protect the public who could be exposed to risks on the busway. The County Council must act promptly to manage and reduce the Guided Busway’s health and safety risks.

The council was clear that following the sentence received, lessons had been learned, the busway safety regime had changed and there would be further improvements going forward. We are delivering a programme of works to enhance safety along the busway. These additional safety measures will benefit those who use the busway and those who walk, cycle and run alongside it – this is for everyone. The speed reduction is a temporary measure until the fencing is in place.

We’d like to remind people they must not trespass on the busway, and they must keep to the maintenance track or formal crossing points for their own safety.

A section of the maintenance track between St Ives Park and Ride and Holywell regularly floods during the winter months. At these times the track gates are closed with signs in place to advise that the path is closed. For your own safety, please seek alternative routes and do not walk along the busway.

We have carried out feasibility work to address the flooding in this area of the busway. Various solutions are being looked at, including a pontooned walkway. Detailed ecological and design work is needed alongside stakeholder liaison and public engagement before any works.

We'll be doing further design work in the spring and aim to have measures in place for winter next year. Work to address the flooding of the maintenance track are likely to take place in 2026.

We’d like to apologise this footpath has been dug up, we've looked into this further and it was a mistake on our behalf. We are going to work with the landowner to put this right.

Our team of busway safety inspectors regularly check the condition of lighting along the busway. A targeted lighting survey was completed in November 2025 to identify the necessary repairs on lighting columns along the busway.

We recently added lighting at the Holywell crossing and new lighting will be introduced at four other rural crossing points: Lairstall, Middle Fen, St Audreys and Second Drove, in January 2026.

Works will be carried out overnight to minimise disruption to Busway users.

If you spot any issues with our lighting, please visit Report a highways fault.

We will share details for future public meetings once these are confirmed. 

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The speed limit is temporary until the permanent fencing and barriers have been installed across the whole Guided Busway. It is in place for safety reasons to stop people from accidentally going onto the busway and because we know pedestrians are crossing the busway at unofficial crossing points.

The speed limit will be revised as each section of fencing is completed.

We have been engaging with the bus operators throughout the introduction of further measures. We reached an agreement with them about the planned speed reduction before it was announced.

We calculated for a speed reduction of 20mph for 16 miles of busway to be about 20mins, but we appreciate there will be hold-ups in terms of traffic flows off the busway. People can access real time information on the app.

We will continue to engage with the bus operators on a weekly basis, and we appreciate all of their work to keep services running for our residents and visitors.

The busway is not considered a road and isn’t covered by the same laws. It is treated as a workplace and subject to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The busway is completely different – it is off-road and on guide rails.

We’ve been working closely with an ecologist as we prepare for, and carry out, works on the Busway. We’re also working with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) on our plans for fencing, particularly in areas close to their reserves.  

Before starting each stage of our work, we will be checking for newts, toads and other reptile and amphibian species in the area. We plan to clear out the toad tunnels along the Busway whilst it’s closed for fencing works. This work must be done at a certain time of year to avoid disturbing the animals during hibernation season. It will be completed by hand under the supervision of an ecologist.  

We are creating gaps in the bottom of the fencing between the maintenance track and the Busway around every 9m to create paths for small animals like badgers, foxes and hedgehogs. We are also keeping in mind the needs of larger mammals like deer which may need to jump over the fence or find a safe exit route with the design and placement of the separation fencing. 

We’re in discussions with the Greater Cambridge Partnership about their busway plan and safety remains a paramount consideration for the proposed new busways

The fence is to help prevent people from intentionally or unintentionally trespassing on the busway. The gates are for emergency access.

We’re looking at two types of fencing for the southern section. The picture below is the fencing which is already on parts of the southern section and will be used on the remaining parts. It is going onto the busway to separate the busway and the path.

We’re using a green perimeter fencing to block off informal crossing points which are being used. 

No, these additional measures build on the County Council’s commitment to health and safety on the Guided Busway and to future proof the safety of this important piece of infrastructure

We have got £13.58m to deliver our fencing and flood mitigation works across the whole 16 miles of the Guided Busway. However, costs are subject to detailed design and procurement processes.

We’ve said until the end of next year, 2026. We’ve started work on the fence on the southern section between Trumpington and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

We have 16 miles to complete across both the southern and northern sections.

In June, the Highways and Transport Committee agreed to further safety improvements on the Guided Busway.

This work is separate and is to improve safety along the busway.

We have £59m of capital funding we spend on highway maintenance, and we have allocated more than £73m for highways maintenance in 2025/26.

These works were identified earlier this year. At the public meeting we highlighted that we would be blocking off access points and must report back to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as people have been observed routinely using informal crossing points.

In August, we announced the lower speed limit on the Guided Busway at Histon. As part of this, we said the speed limit reduction would enable potential risks we have identified with pedestrians crossing to be further reduced. In advance of the new fencing being installed along the whole of the Guided Busway, we will be closing off some undesignated crossing points which are being used.

This was explained to residents at a public meeting. We understand people’s frustrations about the fencing, but people must keep to the formal crossing points for their own safety.

There are 34 formal crossing points on the busway including road crossings. We are aware of 23 informal crossing points, which are being closed off. We will create a map and add this to the website when available.

We are committed to engaging with local communities as we review formal crossing points and we will be recommending to the Highways and Transport Committee that funding is allocated to install new safe crossing points.