Polly has condemned the announcement by Stagecoach about bus service cuts. In a statement she said:
“In a week when our new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, announced the reinstatement of the £2 bus fare cap, it is shocking to see bus services in Thanet being cut back further and our already unreliable network weakened even more.
“The Government has given Kent County Council an additional £78.2 million to improve local bus services. Yet figures uncovered last year show that just 2.3% of Kent’s bus funding is being spent in Thanet, while areas such as Sevenoaks are receiving more than eight times that amount.
“I will be writing to Stagecoach to challenge these unacceptable cuts, but KCC cannot simply wash its hands of responsibility and hide behind the decisions of a private operator. They must urgently bring Stagecoach to the table and make clear that these cuts should be reversed.
“People in Thanet rely on buses to get to work, access services, and stay connected. They deserve a reliable service that allows them to get where they need to go.”
The impacted services are:
- Service 32 (Margate to Minnis Bay) : Withdrawn with impact of Garlinge and Minnis Bay being left unserved.
- Service 9 (Ramsgate to Dumpton) : Off peak service withdrawn with Minster/Monkton/Nethercourt Estate left unserved
- Service 34 (Ramsgate to Margate via Dane Valley) : Reduction in frequency from half hourly to hourly and curtailed at Westwood Cross.
- Service 43 (Canterbury to Sandwich) and 45 (Broadstairs to Sandwich) : Recast as service 44 providing hourly service between Canterbury and Westwood Cross.