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News | Bus services Villagers call for bus review


BUS operators have promised to review the services to Boughton Monchelsea and Chart Sutton after residents complained of the “most dire bus service in the county”.


More than 30 residents – mostly elderly people and young mums – gathered in Boughton Monchelsea village hall to air their grievances about the 59 service – or lack of it – and increasing difficulties faced by the rural communities. Residents complained that the fre-


quent services to Park Wood often ran partially emptywhenthey could be “looped” through Boughton Monchelsea and Chart Sutton. Other suggestions included a link


to Coxheath and back, including the two villages in a loop with Langley, Ulcombe and Kingswood, or divert- ing one or two buses each day from Sissinghurst along Heath Road. One Chart Sutton resident com- plained that the buses frequently broke down andwere often late. She said: “There aren’t many peo-


ple on the bus because they either give up or go home!” Robert Patterson from Arriva apologised to the residents, admit- ting there had been some issues with the 59, but said some new vehicles were being brought in. The 59 suffered financially as


much of the route lay in open coun- tryside and bus operators were not allowed to run routes at a loss, he said. Itwas not permitted to “cross- subsidise” routes with those that were more profitable. Bus companies had also suffered from increases in the price of fuel


Cllr Stephen Munford


and reductions in government tax concessions. He said: “We cannot afford to put


buses on routes where they are not used.” But he said Arrivawas committed


to looking at linking outlying vil- lages with radial routes where pos- sible, and amending routes to take in rural locations. AlthoughMrPatterson said the 59


in its current statewas commercially viable, any decision by the govern- ment to scrap the fuel rebate would have a big impact on service provi- sion. He said that S106 money from fu-


ture housing development could be used to fund new bus routes, but Cllr Stephen Munford, chair of


Boughton Monchelsea parish coun- cil and a member of Maidstone council, said this would be nowhere near enough. A resident of The Quarries said


her children tried to use the bus to get to school, but she invariably ended up taking them and picking them up, in order to avoid them being late. Another said she had paid £800 for


bus passes to get her children to school. “I don’t resent paying for a service – if it works,” she said. “In- stead,we have a massively reduced service for twice the price.” Oonagh Hyndman, fromMeadow


View Road, Boughton Monchelsea, who convened the meeting, com- plained that the villageswere in the south of Maidstone – not the east – and faced different issues to villages on the east side of Sutton Road. She said it was impossible to rely


on the bus service to attend doctor’s or hospital appointments, where pa- tients would find themselves turn- ing up late and then having to re-book. She pointed out that some- one wanting to be in Maidstone by 10.15am would need to be on a bus at 7.30am. “This is a ludicrous timetable!” she


said. Cllr Stephen Munford added:


“With the majority of residents using aGP surgery in Coxheath, you need an ‘away day’ to go to the doctor’s!”


KCC funding ‘generous’ THE local authority – and even parish councils – have the power to fund additional bus services if they believe them to be necessary. Dan Bruce, local transport plan-


ner for KCC, said Kent was the most generous transport provider outside London. He said the 59 was a prime example of how KCC had stepped in to provide a Satur- day service and the 7.11 and 17.45 services. And, if it was not for KCC, the vil-


lages would not have a weekday bus service fromMaidstone during the school holidays from 12.30 one day until 12.30 the next. At present, Arriva provides the services from Monday to Friday but KCC funds the Saturday serv- ice, the 7.11am service into Maid- stone and the 17.45 out during the school holidays.


Check the app THE Arriva bus app allows passen- gers to check if their bus is running on time or has been delayed. The free app contains a range of


features, including timetables, bus stop locations and journey times.


Communication ‘is vital’ MP to monitor progress


THERE is a lack of communica- tion when bus services are de- layed or cancelled, according to councillors. Arriva has launched an applica- tion that smart phone users can access, showing them a map that tracks a bus’ progress. Howev er,


Cllr John Perry


many bus users are older, and they “have dif- ficulty working an app”, ac-


cording to Cllr John Perry, ward member for Staplehurst.


Road closed


PLOUGH Wents Road in Chart Sutton will be closed on December 14 for gas pipe work. There will be no access for through traffic be- tween the junctions with the A274 Sutton Road and Lested Lane. The alternative route is via the A274 Sutton Road, Warmlake Road and Chart Corner.


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He said: “I am inundated with complaints. Buses in rural areas are hopeless. The way to hell is paved with good intentions and this is not working. “Parents are using cars because


they don’t trust the bus service. “At exam time it is really crucial


and we have had experiences of children not making exams be- cause of the buses, and that is not acceptable. “Signage and communication is important.We have had examples of elderly people stuck at bus stops for two hours. This is just not acceptable. We must look at signage and real- time communi- cation.”


“OUR school children can’t get home at night” was a common claim by Staplehurst parents at a meeting called by Maidstone and the Weald MP Helen Grant at Ar- riva's offices in Armstrong Road, Maidstone. Parents were joined by parish


and borough councillors to ques- tion senior Arriva staff. The biggest complaint was that


the 15.55 service that usually takes school children home from Maid- stone could not cope with the num- bers, and left several students strandedwaiting for a later service. Other complaints included a high number of breakdowns, drivers failing to stop at certain locations


Home plan for pub pulled


A PROPOSAL to convert a build- ing on the site of The Victoria pub in East Farleigh to residential use has been withdrawn. The scheme involved converting


the Coach House, which is located to the rear of the pub, in Heath Road, into a two-bed home for the


Maidstone South December 2014


applicant’s daughter so she could move out of the pub. The application was withdrawn


after an objection by Maidstone Council’s conservation officer, who claimed the building would “not make a significant contribution to the character of the area”.


and a lack of service cancellation information forwaiting passengers on the hourly no 5 service from Maidstone to Sandhurst. Mrs Grant said: “The people


from Arriva listened carefully and promised to address these issues. They will be writing to me with their proposals in the near future. I have called a further meeting for January 2015 to review progress. “I must pay tribute to parish Cllr


Peter Spearink, Staplehurst Mums, Louise Brice and long-standing campaigner Tina Jordan, and the local transport accessibility group which has been working on the local bus service problem for the last six years.”


Traffic diversion


DUEto increased Christmas traffic, a no left turn has been imposed from the A229 Lower Stone Street into Romney Place, Maidstone for up to 17 days from December 8. Traffic will be diverted via A229 Lower Stone Street, A249 Mote Road/Wat TylerWay and Padsole Lane.


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