The Department for Transport has agreed to give £92.5M to build the Cambridgeshire guided busway, despite a 34% rise in its cost in two years. The line, which would link Cambridge and St Ives, was finally given the funding go-ahead after months of talks between Cambridgeshire County Council and DfT officials. It is the biggest transport project ever attempted by the county council and, when built, the 25km line will be the longest guided busway in the world. The DfT’s agreement to provide funding comes after former transport secretary, Alistair Darling, agreed with an inspector that the busway would increase public transport use in the A14 corridor by 24% by 2016. Almost 30% of passengers are expected to switch from cars, relieving the severely-congested main road. The total cost of the scheme is £116.2M, up from the £86M pricetag in 2004 because of significant increases in local land values and the continuing high rate of inflation in the construction industry. The council plans to fund the £23.7M shortfall using contributions from developers proposing new homes along the route. Stops include sites earmarked for development. Cambridgeshire’s head of guided busway, Bob Menzies, said the £23.7M estimate was a ‘worse case scenario’. He said: ‘We hope to be able to complete the project with £18.6M of contributions from developers, by making savings of up to £10M from the overall budget.’ A meeting of the council on 18 July will consider the final funding package and appoint a contractor to construct the scheme. Environment cabinet member, Cllr John Reynolds, said: ‘The ball is now very much in the county council’s court. I sincerely hope its members approve the package so we can get on and deliver this scheme.’ The busway would give daily commuters, shoppers and those accessing the Cambridgeshire countryside a high-quality alternative to taking their car on to the A14, according to officers. Edmund Nuttall is preferred bidder for the scheme, selected following the company’s success on Crawley’s fastway guided busway, which currently carries 41% more passengers than predicted when it opened in 2003.