How we can help in Cambridge
Vehicle recovery in Cambridge
Camera-enforced bus gates run 24 hours a day on Regent Street, Emmanuel Road, Bridge Street, Station Road, Brookgate and Silver Street. The one on the Mill Road bridge came into force in December 2024, with fines from March 2025. Worts Causeway has a westbound gate on weekday mornings. Emergency vehicles, buses, taxis and cyclists can pass. A recovery truck can't. If you've broken down near one, tell us which side of it you're on. The driver will plan a route that reaches you without going through, which may mean coming in from the far side of the city.
The M11 approaches from the south. Junction 11 is the A10 and the A1309 into Cambridge; the access road built for the Cambridge Biomedical Campus brings traffic from the M11 to Addenbrooke's Hospital at the end of Hills Road. Junction 12 is the A603 at Barton, Junction 13 the A1303 Madingley Road (no access southbound), and Junction 14 is the Girton Interchange, where the M11 ends and the A14 begins. The A14 to Huntingdon was rebuilt with three lanes each way, and four at Girton. If you stop on either road, get everyone out on the verge side and behind the barrier. If the car is in a running lane and you can't get out, stay belted in and call 999.
The city council runs five multi-storeys. Grand Arcade on Corn Exchange Street has 951 spaces and a height limit of 1.98 metres; Queen Anne Terrace on Gonville Place allows 2.1 metres. A flatbed truck can't get into either, so a jump start or a battery fitted in the bay is the usual fix there. Addenbrooke's has a visitor multi-storey with over 1,000 spaces. Park and ride sites at Babraham Road, Madingley Road, Milton, Newmarket Road and Trumpington hold over 4,500 cars between them, and plenty of flat batteries get found there after a long day in town.
A recovered car can go to a garage in the city, home, or to a dealer further away, priced before dispatch.
Roads & areas we cover around Cambridge
Why Cambridge drivers choose BlueLine
Recovering something other than a car
Different vehicles need different trucks and different handling. These explain how each one is done.
Cambridge recovery & roadside FAQs
My car has broken down on the other side of the Mill Road bus gate. Can you still reach me?
Yes, but the truck can't drive through the gate, so tell us if you're on the Romsey side (east of the railway bridge) or the Petersfield side (west). The driver will come in from that side. The same goes for Bridge Street, Silver Street, Regent Street and the other central gates.
My car is in the Grand Arcade car park and won't start.
The height limit there is 1.98 metres, so a recovery truck can't get in. A jump start or a new battery fitted in the bay is almost always the answer. Tell us the level and bay, and the make and model. If the car genuinely has to be towed, it would need moving out of the car park first, and we'll plan that with you.
I've broken down on the A14 near Girton. What should I do?
Get out on the verge side and wait behind the barrier. Tell us your direction and the last junction you passed, and which road it is: the A14 itself, the M11 or one of the Girton slip roads. If you're stuck in a live lane and can't get out safely, call 999 first.
Can you collect a car from a park and ride site?
Yes. Tell us which one (Babraham Road, Madingley Road, Milton, Newmarket Road or Trumpington) and roughly where in the car park. These are open car parks, so a truck can usually get right to the car if it needs towing.
Can you take a car from Cambridge to a garage in another town?
Yes. Give us the address and the quote covers the full journey. The truck will use the ring road and main routes rather than the restricted centre.
How much is a recovery in Cambridge?
It's worked out from where the car is, what it is, whether it rolls and steers, and where it's going, and you get one figure before we dispatch. Bus gate routing is part of our planning, not an extra.