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.

We’re working with our contractors to get a map to show the programme of work. This information will be available on our main Guided Busway improvements webpage.

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 is due to start 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 are inviting residents of Histon and Impington to attend a further drop-in event on Tuesday, 25 November, from 5.30-8.30pm, at Histon Baptist Church.

This will be the third public meeting in Histon and Impington about the safety improvements we’re undertaking along the busway. 

Residents are invited to come along and hear about the planned installation of separation fencing and to share their views about proposals for a new crossing point. We are committed to engaging on the review of formal crossing points and we shall be recommending to the Highways and Transport Committee that funding is allocated to install safe crossing points.  

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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.

The new fencing between the busway and the path, which runs alongside the busway, is being designed to consider the potential impact on wildlife. Where required, the fence will be made with openings to allow small mammals to pass through. We are working with an ecologist to get specialist advice.

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.