PATRICIA Parkinson sings the praises of the Cambridge guided busway but what she failed to point out in her letter in the Journal was that it took four years to build and, by the time it was completed, the cost was nearly three times the original estimate.

Several times during construction the opening times had to be put back and, more than once, concerns were raised about the rising cost.

By December 2010 the contractors had amassed fines of up to £9 million for delayed completion, running at £14,000 per day.

The quote that the project was ‘a white elephant’ was an actual quote by Cambridge MP Julian Huppert during a review of the project in September 2010, following concern at rising costs, by which time the busway still had not been completed after having begun more than three years earlier.

Five months after it opened the busway had its millionth passenger, but whether or not it has covered its costs, or exceeded passenger forecasts, we don’t know.

Another difference with the guided busway here is it has one operator on it while the Cambridge busway has more than one.

The Leigh to Manchester busway should have opened about a year ago but, like its Cambridge counterpart, there were delays and, no doubt, extra costs.

The path to Cambridge’s busway was far from smooth.

Steven Shaw

Primrose Street South

Tyldesley