A new bus service connecting Papworth Everard, Cambourne and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus is to launch in April.

The ‘H’ service will be jointly financially supported by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the Greater Cambridge Partnership to help staff, patients and members of the public get to the campus.

There will be three services early in the day, starting at 5.48am and three return journeys from 5.20pm running from Monday to Friday.

The route will begin in Ermine Street, Papworth Everard, and end at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, stopping at Cambourne and Madingley Park & Ride along the way. The journey time is estimated as being 50-70 minutes depending on the time of day.

Malcolm Lowe-Lauri, executive director at Cambridge University Health Partners on behalf of the campus, said: “This new H bus service aims to bring passengers from Papworth Everard and Cambourne directly to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in time for early morning shifts and morning hospital appointments. The return journeys will then make sure people are home for whatever they had planned for the evening. This will be a vital service for anyone working on the campus and living to the west of Cambridge, who have long waited for effective public transport to meet their needs.

“As a campus, we are keenly aware of the many people who come to the site every day. There are over 17,000 staff working here already and with the opening of Royal Papworth Hospital, Abcam and the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, we will see these numbers grow further. The introduction of services such as the H bus shows how determined organisations on the campus are to reducing congestion on the roads and continuing our excellent record of getting people to the campus via sustainable means.

“Many of our staff already walk, cycle, car share or get the bus to the site every day – this is a great achievement but we are not complacent, we know we have an important role to play in helping people get to and from the site is as easily as possible. We hope the ‘H’ bus will prove to be a very popular service and ensure its viability for future passengers.”

The service was awarded to Stagecoach following a competitive tender process and will run initially for a year. More specific details on the service will be released in due course.

For more information about the Cambridge Biomedical Campus visit www.cambridge-biomedical.com.