Path upgrade: Meldreth Station to Melbourn
Susan van de Ven
Liberal Democrat Councillor for Bassingbourn, Litlington, Melbourn, Meldreth and Whaddon Learn more
26 bus service: new Meldreth & Shepreth stops from June 3rd
Community Newsletter
Path upgrade: Meldreth Station to Melbourn
26 bus service: new Meldreth & Shepreth stops from June 3rd
Community Newsletter
26 bus service: new Meldreth & Shepreth stops from June 3rd
by Susan van de Ven on 30 May, 2024
Following a conversation with the new operator and publication of a new timetable, here’s an update:
The Melbourn-based operator A2B will be running the Royston-Cambridge service commercially, aiming to build on strengths and expand where possible to provide a wider service.
Core service runs through Melbourn, Foxton/Fowlmere, Harston and Trumpington Park and Ride, with Drummer Street Bus Station Cambridge the final destination.
Great news for Meldreth and Shepreth, where the 26 will divert once a day (late morning) via the High Streets to Drummer Street, returning mid-afternoon – bringing back a service to Cambridge that has been dormant since 2017.
Fowlmere services are retained, a critical point of concern and where bus ridership has gone from strength to strength.
Timings have been tweaked but all will be kept under review, and your councillors will be keeping in touch with the operator at the service beds in.
In addition to stops on the published timetable, historic stops will continue to be served – so if there’s a bus flag, bus shelter or an unflagged stop place you have used in the past, please hail the bus as it approaches.
Several additional modern buses will be added to the fleet over the course of the next few weeks.
The A2B free phone number 0800 001 6255 should be back in order by June 3rd.
Your councillors and the Cam Vale Bus User Group will be happy to forward any concerns directly to the operator. A2B have said that they welcome all feedback, as this gives them the best way of getting things right.
Please tell me why you seem to be pleased with yourselves that you are providing a bus service for the likes of Shepreth and Foxton when you have removed the service from stopping in Harston !!! Those villages have a train station to get into Cambridge but if you live in Harston we have nothing. This makes no sense when the A10 which is a major route into Cambridge doesn’t have a bus service.
This is simply reporting on a new service that is provided by a private operator. I agree, a good bus service along the length of the A10 is badly needed.
This service is very poor in the modern day context.
No app to inform people if the service is running late and the last bus leaving Royston at 16.50, just no wat to catch it from if finishing at 17.00.
You just have to stand there and hope it turns up!!!
Would be nice for a later bus from Royston considering two arrive at 18.38 and 19.20 to Royston bus station.
Also some form of App for information, as was supplied by both stagecoach and Citybus.
Apologies to be such a doom and gloom merchant but this is very poor replacement for what went before.
Thank and best regards.
Gerry
Thanks for this – I’ve forwarded earlier concerns about the bus not turning up on time, to the operator. Yes, good communication is critical. Bus services are the domain of commercial, private operators; only where there is no service does the local authority come in to consider whether it can make some provision to meet need – but this is often very minimal, as in Meldreth which has a once-per-day service to Melbourn and Royston only. The Combined Authority is now considering a form of bus ‘franchising’ which could see some helpful changes in terms of control and management but will take time.