Working with local bus operators, KCC has arranged alternative services for routes serving residents in East Malling, East Peckham, Kingswood, Boughton Monchelsea and Grafty Green, helping to make sure people can continue to access schools, jobs, healthcare and other essential services.
The Council has prioritised routes where communities risked being left without a bus service or where school pupils could have been left without a practical way to travel.
Assisted by Government Bus Grant Funding, KCC already invests around £13 million every year supporting around 150 bus services across Kent that would not otherwise run. While bus companies decide which commercial services they operate, KCC works to protect important local connections where it can and has moved quickly to secure replacement arrangements where the impact on residents would be greatest.
The replacement services in place are as follows:
- The Brookline-operated 4A service between East Malling and East Peckham, which currently runs on schooldays, is being withdrawn. KCC has secured a replacement service, which will be operated by Nu-Venture from September as part of its service 4 operation.
- Nu-Venture will also operate a replacement 575 service, ensuring there is enough capacity for students who previously travelled on the Arriva service.
- A new service, numbered 75, will replace part of the withdrawn Arriva network and maintain a bus link for residents of Clare Park in East Malling. The service will run between East Malling and Maidstone Town Centre via Maidstone Hospital.
- Nu-Venture will also provide a replacement 559 service following the withdrawal of Arriva services 59 and 89. This will help pupils from Grafty Green, Boughton Monchelsea and Kingswood continue to travel to schools in Maidstone through connections at Parkwood.
KCC is continuing to work on solutions for communities affected by service withdrawals in Thanet. Further details will be announced as soon as arrangements have been finalised.
“We've been able to secure replacement services in a number of areas and, most importantly, make sure children can still get to school and communities stay connected.”
Spencer Dixon, KCC Deputy Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: "We've acted quickly to make sure people are not left without the bus services they rely on.
"KCC already supports around 150 bus services across Kent because we know how important they are to local communities. When we became aware that some areas could lose their only bus links, we got straight to work with operators to find practical solutions.
"We've been able to secure replacement services in a number of areas and, most importantly, make sure children can still get to school and communities stay connected.
"We can't replace every service that a commercial operator chooses to withdraw, but where the impact on residents is greatest, we'll always look at what can be done and work hard to find a solution."
