THE continued high passenger demand for services on the St Ives to Cambridge guided busway has seen operators continue to use extra buses along the route.

Cambridgeshire County Council said on Monday that during the first seven days 55,895 trips had been made on the busway - and extra buses had been used to cope with passenger levels.

However, CCC stressed that although it was pleased with the initial passenger numbers, it warned that it will take a number of months before the real benefits can be assessed as hundreds of extra commuters “will begin using the busway next month after summer breaks”.

Andy Campbell, managing director for Stagecoach in Cambridge, said: “The summer holiday period is generally a little quieter on local bus services, but we have been pleasantly surprised with the demand so far. We are continuing to put on extra buses to keep up with demand and as the system beds in we are confident the service on our luxury buses will go from strength to strength.”

Peter Lee, director of Whippet Coaches, added: “Even with lighter traffic on the A14 we are still seeing a good number of passengers using the route. Queues on the A14 are a big problem for buses as well as people in their cars and it is great to have a reliable alternative for our customers.”