People in Cambridgeshire are still facing a minimum of a three year wait before they could see publicly owned bus services begin running.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority is pursuing bus franchising, which would give it the ability to set bus routes in the area.

The authority has said that if all goes to plan with its hopes the first services could be running by September 2027.

An update on progress was provided to members at a meeting of the transport and infrastructure committee meeting this week (July 22).

Currently the bus network in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is deregulated with the majority of services run by private companies.

Officers at the Combined Authority said this created “challenges” and services were “not as integrated as they could be”.

While the authority currently subsidises a number of bus routes in the area, it had limited control over most of the network.

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The Combined Authority is hoping that bus franchising will allow it to specify bus routes, procure services and monitor the network.

Plans for bus franchising are due to continue to be developed and the public will be consulted on the proposals.

Ultimately will be a decision for the Mayor as to whether the Combined Authority begins bus franchising or not.

Councillor Tom Sanderson, representative from Huntingdonshire District Council, said he welcomed the plans moving forward.

He said some “critical routes” that people relied upon in his area had been withdrawn for commercial reasons.

Councillor Mohammed Jamil, representative from Peterborough City Council, said the opportunity to move forward with bus franchising was something the Combined Authority should be “grasping”.

He said: “In Peterborough the city centre is well looked after, but I have to consider people living in rural Peterborough as well who have not been looked after.

“This paper gives up the opportunity to take back control that we lost all those years ago. I for one will be supporting bus franchising.”

Councillor Alan Sharp, representative from East Cambridgeshire District Council, said he had some concerns about how it will all be funded, but said he was in favour of improving bus services.