Cambridgeshire County Council has been fined £6m over deaths that took place on the 16-mile busway that links Cambridge, St Ives, and Huntingdon. It must pay the fine over three years.

Between 2015 and 2021 Jenifer Taylor, Kathleen Pitts, and Steve Moir died as a result of collisions with Cambridge buses. The county council previously admitted to two charges under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The most recent victim, Pitts, was hit by a bus while walking near Clare College sports ground. This incident took place after a reduction in bus speed limits from 56mph to 30mph.

Others have sustained injuries from collisions that took place on this busway. Leon Leeson suffered memory loss, a torn liver, a broken collarbone and partial loss of hearing as a result of an accident.

Over the 14 years of the busway’s operation, a number of changes have taken place, such as fencing sections of the busway. Dr Stephen Moir, the council’s chief executive, promised further safety measures, including more fencing, reducing speed limits and reviewing all signage.

“The busway is and remains an important, accessible and safe public transport system for all the people who live in, work in, travel through or visit Cambridgeshire,” he said.

He added that the accidents “should never have happened” and that he was “truly sorry for these failures”.

Speaking after the verdict, Ms Taylor’s family said that “We would like to thank the HSE [Health and Safety Executive] for their tireless efforts in bringing this case to court”.

“Jenny was deeply loved by all of us, and we dearly miss her,” they added.

Cambridgeshire County Council was also criticised for their response to safety concerns surrounding poor signage, insufficient lighting and dangerous crossings. When the health and safety watchdog issued an improvement notice in 2018, the authority appealed the notice, claiming that it was “unwarranted and unlawful”.

Judge Mark Bishop further criticised the council for not having a risk assessment until five years after the busway opened, which he described as “particularly shocking”.

The council’s defence lawyer, Ben Compton KC, requested that the fine be charged over six years, saying: “It’s a council – these are hard times”. This was rejected by Judge Bishop, who said that the council has more than £18m in reserves for legal risks.

Outside the courthouse, Stephen Moir’s brother, Rob Moir, said that “There are no winners here. It’s taxpayers’ money at the end of the day”.

“Hopefully it will be sufficient to make sure that not just this county council but other people, other councils, wake up and make sure they apply the due diligence that they should to health and safety,” he continued.