There is anger and confusion for many parents today after a huge number of school bus routes were cancelled in North Kent.
A public bus briefing note from Kent County Council has indicated that bus use in Kent, as with rest of the UK has only partially recovered since the pandemic. KCC say that local use of buses stands at around 80% of pre-pandemic levels, with the use in the off-peak being much less than this.
At the same time, bus operators are facing other financial and operational pressures notably in respect of increasing fuel and driver costs and a shortage of skilled drivers and engineering staff.
Many services are only being sustained because of financial support being provided by
Government and from KCC through protected levels of reimbursement on the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme.
Current Government support is in the form of a Local Transport Fund (LTF) which is paid to Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) and to operators directly. This funding ceases at the end of September and Government have made clear that there is to be no extension
or replacement financial support.
Therefore, all LTAs have been tasked by the DfT with working with operators to re-base the bus network to a sustainable level post funding taking account of revised patterns of use and the other cost and operational factors that
need to be considered.
There is no legal duty to provide transport for children who are likely going to have to make their own arrangements
KCC’s budget for the support of public bus services is being reduced by £2.2m demanding that consideration is given to the withdrawal of 48 service contracts from October. The Council is not therefore in a position to intervene and subsidise the continuation of any
of the services being impacted.
KCC has been given an indicative allocation of £35m of DfT funding to support the National Bus Strategy agenda. Whilst this funding is not yet certain, we are confident that from October we can use this to start to build back from this more negative re-basing exercise.
However, it should be noted that the majority of funding is in the form of Capital for things like highway measures and other restrictions also mean that we are unlikely to be able to use this fund to reinstate services directly.
KCC say that children who have a legal entitlement to free transport to school will be provided with alternative transport solutions. There is no legal duty to provide transport for other children who are likely going to have to make their own arrangements.
In respect of schools transport, it should also be expected that such significant changes to the network will fundamentally alter travel patterns and whilst Public Transport Officers will seek to mitigate impacts as far as possible, it is likely that we will experience a particularly challenging period on the return to school in September as children migrate to other modes and services which could then be prone to overload.
So whilst KCC continue to provide money and care to migrants arriving in Dover, our own children will now be forced to make their own way to school via ‘other modes and services!’
- Pending route changes linked to LTF network review
Arriva 477 Dartford-Swanley-Orpington Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Arriva 481 Riverview Pk-Bluewater
Cut back to Gravesend-Riverview
Park Autumn 22
Arriva 423/433 Dartford-New Ash Green Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Autocar 222 Tunbridge Wells-Wrotham Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Autocar 224 St MC School – Tonbridge Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Autocar 235 Tonbridge – Tunbridge Wells Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Autocar 287 Mascalls-Tunbridge Wells Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Autocar 208a Pembury – Tonbridge Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Go Coach S 1 Westerham to Knole Academy Service Withdrawn end July 22
Go Coach S33 Chelsfield to Knole Academy Service Withdrawn end July 22
Go Coach S41 Edenbridge High St to Sevenoaks Schools Service Withdrawn end July 22
Go Coach S 8 Sevenoaks Bus Station to Sevenoaks Schools Service Withdrawn end July 22
Go Coach T13 Wrotham Heath (Royal Oak) to Tunbridge Wells Boys Grammar Service Withdrawn end July 22
Go Coach T3 Knockholt Station to Tonbridge Schools Service Withdrawn end July 22
Go Coach TW1 Kemsing, Noah’s Ark to Tunbridge Wells Woodbury Park Road Service Withdrawn end July 22
Go Coach TW3 Shoreham Station to Bennett Memorial School Service Withdrawn end July 22
Go Coach TW4 Westerham Hartley Road to Tunbridge Wells Woodbury Park Road Stop Service Withdrawn end July 22
Go Coach TW6 Knockholt Station to Tunbridge Wells Woodbury Park Road Stop Service Withdrawn end July 22
Go Coach TW7 Sevenoaks to Tunbridge Wells Woodbury Park Road Stop Service Withdrawn end July 22
Go Coach TW8 Edenbridge High St to Tunbridge Wells Boys Grammar Service Withdrawn end July 22
Kent Coach Tours Limited HS10 Homewood School Service Withdrawn end July 22
Nu-Venture 558 Addington/Maidstone Service Withdrawn end July 22
Stagecoach SE 9 Canterbury-Westwood Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 1 1 Canterbury-Westwood Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 3 3 Margate-Ramsgate Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 3 7 Margate-Broadstairs Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 8 2 Kingsdown-Deal-Mill Hill Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 8 3 Deal-Middle Deal Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 8 8 Sandwich-Dover Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 9 0 Dover-Whitfield-Deal Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 9 6 Dover-Chillenden Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 103 Folkestone-Lydd Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 104 Cheriton-Lydd Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 293 Lydd – Homewood School Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 948 Thanet School Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 949 Thanet School Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 80B Tower Hamlets-Kingsdown Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 81A Deal-Sandwich schools Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 81B Sandwich-Deal-Whitfield pm Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 82A Deal-Kingsdown peaks Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 88A Sandwich-Dover Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 92/92A Dover-Elvington Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
Stagecoach SE 96A Aylesham-Dover Service Withdrawn Autumn 22
2. Route Cancellations already actioned and reported on
Arriva 11 Bearsted to Maidstone Withdrawal of off peak service May 22
Arriva 155 Maidstone to Chatham Service withdrawn May 22
Arriva 455 Singlewell to Gravesend Service withdrawn May 22
Arriva 6A Hale Street to Tunbridge Wells Service withdrawn May 22
Autocar 403 Otford to Tonbridge Service withdrawn June 22
Autocar 230 Tunbridge Wells to Tonbridge Service withdrawn July 22
Compaid Knights Park Shuttle Knights Park to Tunbridge Wells Service withdrawn. May 22
Go-Coach S11 Wilmington to Sevenoaks (School days only) Service withdrawn June 22
Hams Travel 294 Peasmarsh – Northiam – Rolvenden Service withdrawn July 22
Hams Travel 295 Hawkhurst – Sandhurst –Benendnen– Homewood School (SDO) Service withdrawn July 22
Hams Travel 5A Staplehurst to Cranbrook Service withdrawn July 22
Stagecoach 27 City Centre to Rough Common (Monday to Saturday) Service withdrawn June 22
Stagecoach 124 Egerton to Hythe Road Schools Service withdrawn May 22
Stagecoach 925 Stanhope – St Anselms School Service withdrawn May 22
Stagecoach 15S Wye to Towers School Service withdrawn May 22
