About us

Between January and July 2009 an independent panel called the Cambridgeshire Transport Commission carried out an investigation of the transport and congestion challenges in and around Cambridge. The independent Commission was set up by Cambridgeshire County Council in light of the mixed response to its own consultation held in 2008 regarding a proposed bid to Government for £500m to improve public transport, walking, cycling and roads through a Transport Innovation Fund bid which would include a possible congestion charge.

The Commission's investigation was conducted initially through an online survey of local residents, in total over 1000 people responded. The Commission then invited a wide range of individuals, groups, councils, organisations, businesses and experts to give evidence directly at 15 public hearings held across the County. In total 119 witnesses appeared to give their views.

All the evidence gathered was considered by the Commission who then made their final recommendations to the County Council.

 

 

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Welcome to Cambridgeshire's Transport Commission website

CAMBRIDGESHIRE DESERVES AND NEEDS TRANSPORT IMPROVEMENTS

Cambridgeshire deserves and needs hundreds of millions pounds of investment in transport to tackle congestion - that is the final verdict of the Cambridgeshire Transport Commission. 

Click here to view the Commission's Final Report to Cambridgeshire County Council

Click here to view the Executive Summary

The Commissioners would like to thank everyone who gave evidence and had their say on this challenging issue.

Sir Brian Briscoe, Chairman of the Commmission said "Tony Travers and I have listened, asked tough questions and now considered carefully the wealth of information put in front of us. It has been obvious from the start how important the transport issue is to local people. As a result, the quality of submissions has been impressive.

Cambridge and Cambridgeshire have a near-unique opportunity within Britain to have a future that is both economically successful and environmentally responsible. We hope the public, businesses and the councils can, in the light of our report, now work together to deliver this result."

What happens next?

The independent Transport Commission has now completed its investigation and has submitted its final report and recommendations to Cambridgeshire County Council. It will be for county councillors to decide how best to take the issue forward. It is due to be discussed at a County Council cabinet meeting on the 29th of September 2009. 

What has the Commission Recommended? 

The Commission recommend Cambridgeshire County Council submit a TiF bid to Government for funds to improve cycling, walking, public transport and the roads. It states that a congestion charge may be needed in the future but no earlier than 2017 and should only be considered after the £500m TiF improvements are in place and working, and crucially only when congestion reaches a level - to be agreed with the Government - where nothing else will help.  The report puts the decision in the hands of the public, business and councils within Cambridgeshire to agree a ‘trigger point' where congestion is so bad that it may be necessary to bring a charge in.

The report praises the transport improvements, such as Park and Ride, that have already been introduced but says bus ticketing and information should be significantly improved.

It also says that the County Council should ensure that improvements benefit the whole of the County and rural areas, not just Cambridge.

The Commission also calls for a formal, powerful, Partnership for Transport to be created that would drive forward a clear vision of what transport improvements are needed and help to encourage the public to use more environmentally friendly forms of transport. The partnership should include the Greater Cambridge Partnership, Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council as well as the County Council.

 The full report can be viewed using the links at the top of this page.

See the County Council's Original Proposals

The Transport Commission investigated Cambridgeshire County Council's original proposal for a bid to the Government's Transport Innovation Fund (TIF). These proposals and the outline TIF bid can be accessed by following the link below to the County Council's website and clicking on the 'outline proposal for funding' on the right hand side of the page.

http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/transport/strategies/tacklingcongestion
/ourproposals/bid.htm 

Brief description of sections and what you will find in them:

Home - you are currently on the Home page.

Background - background information on the Cambridgeshire Transport Commission and what we aimed to achieve.

Who's who - read about Sir Brian Briscoe and Professor Tony Travers and their roles as Chairman and Technical Advisor of the Cambridgeshire Transport Commission.

FAQs - frequently asked questions and answers about Cambridgeshire's Transport Commission.

Your views - this is where you can see the opinion about proposed solutions to improve congestion in and around Cambridge made by members of the public through the online survey

Public meetings - The evidence presented to the Commission at the public meetings can be found here.

News releases - latest news to update you about the Transport Commission can be found here.

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Feedback

The Cambridgeshire Transport Commission has now concluded its investigation and has made its final recommendations to the County Council. If you have any questions or comments regarding transport and congestion issues or the work of the Commission then these should now be directed to the appropriate County Council officers at the following address

transport.plan@
cambridgeshire.gov.uk

Cambridgeshire County Council
Transport Policy and Strategy
Box No. CC1211
Shire Hall
Castle Hill
Cambridge
CB3 0AP 

 

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