Royston to Cambridge will run every 10 minutes in city bus plan
Congestion charging and a high-frequency bus link to Royston are just two Greater Cambridge Partnership plans to tackle pollution - Credit: PA Archive and Will Durrant/Archant
Royston could benefit from a bus to Cambridge every 10 minutes as part of a pollution-busting plan for the city.
The Greater Cambridge Partnership wants to cut congestion and promote a greener, healthier transport system from 2023.
The partnership's Making Connections report includes a plan for an ambitious bus network across the Hertfordshire-Cambridgeshire border.
Drivers who want to use their car in Cambridge city centre could also be asked to pay new fees to help promote bus, walking and cycling schemes.
Emissions charging or congestion fees similar to those in London could be introduced in Cambridge city centre - Credit: PA
The partnership warns that without a scheme, the number of car journeys in the region could jump by 26,000 every day by 2031.
More than 100 people who live near the city die prematurely each year from illnesses related to air pollution, the report notes.
The Making Connections report reads: "Greater Cambridge has one of the highest levels of employment in the country, with new jobs offering more people the opportunity to get on in life.
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"But poor public transport and increasing traffic jams make journeys to work longer and harder.
"Cambridge's success has led to increased housing costs, which means more people who work in the city are travelling further.
"This disproportionately affects those on lower incomes, especially essential workers.
"We will connect our towns and villages with new, faster and more frequent bus services so more people can get to the opportunities the area has to offer."
Royston's new "bus corridor" could feature a bus every 10 minutes to Cambridge via the biomedical campus, with a new Travel Hub proposed en route at Foxton railway station.
Barley could "plug into" the main network with an hourly service to Hauxton and Great Shelford.
Saffron Walden and Royston's proposed "bus corridor" with Cambridge - Credit: Greater Cambridge Partnership
An hourly rural service could be introduced between Guilden Morden and Royston to link with the 10-minute routes, along with an hourly Melbourn to Sawston connector.
Plans further afield include a new A11 Park-and-Ride and guided busway at Fourwentways, near the eastern end of the A505.
A Cambridge South railway station has been proposed near Addenbrooke's Hospital.
The Greater Cambridge Partnership is asking residents for their views online before December 20: http://www.greatercambridge.org.uk/making-connections-2021
