First major revision for Cambridge City's buses in 40 years
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• The first major revision in 40 years to Cambridge City bus services was allowed by the Eastern Traffic Commissioners last week.
Eastern Counties Bus Company, represented by its assistant traffic manager, Mr Peter Lutman, was granted applications for nine new licences. Similar major reviews have recently been carried out in Norwich, Peterborough and Bury St Edmunds.
Objections to two applications were made on representation by members of the public whose spokesman, university lecturer Dr John Gittens, was allowed to call four witnesses.
Basing his objections on the proposed withdrawal from a residential area of one bus route, Dr Gittens said this would cause hardship to about 2000 people. He produced the result of a ballot indicating that of 208 respondents I 97 wished the present service to be retained.
Another doctor, Dr Keith Miller, a resident of the affected area, described the effect of the withdrawal on his family. His wife, he said, would be faced with a long walk to reach the nearest point of service by a bus to the city centre. More important, he said, was the fact that his three teenaged daughters would now be faced with a walk through an area where recently "muggings" had occurred if they wished to go to the city by bus.
For the bus company Mr Lutman said it had become very necessary to review the services in Cambridge. Higher operating costs meant that his company had to make economies where it was considered they would not seriously inconvenience the public.
The alternative, he said, was to leave matters as they were but this would mean substantially higher fares and a possible reduction in services before long. The volume of traffic from the area under review was such that the new arrangements were reasonable.
Granting the applications, the chairman, Mr H. E. Robson, said he had to consider the Cambridge scheme as a whole. He did not consider the withdrawal would seriously affect passengers and experience had shown that people quickly adapted to new arrangements.
Mr Robson referred to the Government's phase two plan and said the bus company would be unable to raise fares. In the face of increasing operating costs they either had to make adjustments of this nature or risk a deterioration of services in due course.
The bus company was asked to review the operation of the proposed changes in six months' time.