Henry Smyth and Mick Capper will the stagecoach drivers for the new guided busway

CAMBRIDGE’S much-awaited guided bus route is “no comparison with A14”, the lead driver for Stagecoach has said.

CAMBRIDGE’S much-awaited guided bus route is “no comparison with A14”, the lead driver for Stagecoach has said.

The guided busway, the longest in the world of its kind, will be opening its doors to passengers on August 7.

Mike Capper, lead driver for Stagecoach, who has worked for the bus operator for 27 years, said: “It’s a fantastically smooth ride now compared to when I started driving all those years ago.

“It’s amazing. The A14 or this? There is no comparison.”

Mr Capper will be one of the trainers who will demonstrate to fifty Stagecoach drivers how to drive on and off the track.

Bob Menzies, head of delivery for the guided busway, said the project, which will connect Cambridge to Huntingdon, Somersham and St Ives, despite mixed feelings in the city has sparked global interest.

He said: “There has been a huge amount of technical interest around the world in places like America and Japan.

“I am sure people who come to the area will ride the busway. People from Cambridge may come and visit St Ives now.”

Final tweaks to the project are being carried out by Jackson Civil engineering and Cambridgeshire Highways following original contractors BAM Nuttall handing the route back to the county council.

The council are engaged in a legal dispute with BAM Nuttall over outstanding defects on the busway, and its late and over-cost delivery.

Bus company Whippet will also be running services on the track but each operator will have their own ticketing system.

The busway will run seven days a week with trips to Huntingdon running every 20 minutes during the day and an hourly service in the evening.

Passengers from Cambridge to St Ives can catch a bus every 10 minutes from Monday to Saturday.

Full details of the bus timetable can be found by visiting www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/transport/around/thebusway/timetables.