Cambridge 'guided busway' crash leaves three injured

[fgwrich]

Looks like there's been another accident on the Cambridgeshire 'Misguided' Busway, this time more down to Driver Error than the previous 'derbusment'.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-21479277 'guided busway' crash leaves three injured An eyewitness said a bus crashed into the back of another

Three people have been injured after two buses crashed on a guided busway in Cambridgeshire.

The collision at 15:50 GMT at Swavesey was between two buses heading in the direction of St Ives, Andy Campbell from Stagecoach said.

Three people were treated at the scene for minor injuries, the East of England Ambulance Service confirmed.

Passenger Michaela Murray said the bus she was on slowed down for horses and another bus hit it from behind.

"Glass smashed into the bus. No-one knew what had happened. The driver got up and asked if everyone was all right," she said.

Ms Murray said she saw people who looked like they had broken their noses and she took herself to the doctors after having neck pains.

Second crash

Diversions were put in place while the buses were recovered.

The 16-mile concrete-tracked busway opened last year and runs services between Huntingdon and Trumpington, south of Cambridge.

It is the second crash on the busway in three months.

In November a bus came off its tracks, with the driver treated for shock. No defect was found in the vehicle, an investigation found

Sorry, correct link now included. Also looks like the battle over the costs are still continuing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-21042467

16 January 2013 Last updated at 17:31 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page

Cambridgeshire guided bus court battle 'costing £2m annually' Cambridgeshire's guided busway opened two years late in August 2011.

A legal battle between a council and the constructor of Cambridgeshire's guided busway is costing residents £2m per year, it has been claimed.

The Conservative-led county council took BAM Nuttall to court after costs overran by about £62m.

Council taxpayers were funding the annual interest bill on the overspend, Liberal Democrat councillors said.

A council spokesman said the £2m was built into the budget and there was no impact on frontline services.

The busway route, which links Huntingdon with Cambridge and Addenbrooke's Hospital, was opened two years late, in August 2011.

BAM Nuttall's costs rose from about £87m agreed with the council, to more than £150m.

Battle 'fiasco'

The company was unable to complete the work to the council's satisfaction and another firm was contracted to finish the project.

An ongoing court case to recover the money from BAM Nuttall is expected to continue until early 2014

Kilian Bourke, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said the battle had so far accrued more than £6m in interest charges.

He described it as a "fiasco" and added: "This is money that could be being used to protect vital frontline services."

The council spokesman said the costs were built into the base budget calculations and had no impact on the provision of council services.

Councillor Ian Bates, cabinet member for growth and planning, said: "The contract is a standard form and the payment mechanism is intended to encourage partnership working.

"It is unfortunate that BAM Nuttall has chosen not to honour the terms of the contract and the council has been left with no option but to take legal action to recover the money that is due.

"We remain confident that we will recover the costs of the construction of the busway from BAM Nuttall, including the cost of any interest charges.

A spokesperson for BAM Nuttall said it was unable to make a comment due to contractual reasons.

 

[MCR247]

Link doesn't work
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-21479277

 

[overthewater]

who allowed both buses to leave at the same time?

 

[snail]

Looks like there's been another accident on the Cambridgeshire 'Misguided' Busway

Nice to see an unbiased report.

Just out of interest, how many accidents have there been on the adjoining A roads in the same period?

 

[bb21]

who allowed both buses to leave at the same time?

Did I miss something?

Maybe the second bus's brakes failed.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

There was a reference to horses in the first posting on this thread. Can anyone shed any light on this matter and where these horses were at the time, causing the bus driver to take the action that he did.

 

[WatcherZero]

Theres a bridleway that runs along the guided busway in parts, from the sound of events its like this:

* First bus driver sees horses, slows down to avoid spooking them
* Second bus driver rear ends first bus driver

 

[jopsuk]

there's a couple of locations with horse-specific crossings.
With the frequent service, it isn't uncommon (as on "normal" routes) for a little traffic disruption to lead to having one bus following another. The buses run on the streets through the city, and the Stagecoach A/Whippet C take a different route (up Milton Road) to the Stagecoach B (Histon Road). The B's route especially at the moment is disrupted due to the Jesus Lane roadworks.

The buses are of course supposed to be no closer than safe braking distance. I'd lay money on a combination of following too close and inattention on the part of the driver of the rear bus- aka something that would be just as much of a problem on a public road

 

[Shrimper]

From my observations of the busway as a bus driver myself, I can see why it would be easy to be complacent - you're on a nice, segregated bit of road which you'd expect to be free of significant obstructions. Combined with the fact all you need to do is sit with no hands on the steering wheel it must be very easy to relax a bit too much and/or become complacent.