Polly has written to Stagecoach and the Reform UK Leader of Kent County Council, urging them to halt planned bus cuts in East Thanet. In her letter to Reform UK’s leader in Kent, Linden Kemkaran, Polly said:
I am writing to express my deep concern at the recent announcement by Stagecoach of bus service cuts in East Thanet impacting the following routes, and to urge you to intervene and get these cuts cancelled:
- Service 32 (Margate to Minnis Bay) – Complete withdrawal of the service, leaving Garlinge and Minnis Bay without any bus provision.
- Service 9 (Ramsgate to Dumpton) – Withdrawal of the off-peak service, leaving Minster, Monkton and the Nethercourt Estate without daytime connections.
- Service 34 (Ramsgate to Margate via Dane Valley) – Reduction in frequency from every 30 minutes to every hour, with the route also curtailed at Westwood Cross.
- Services 43 (Canterbury to Sandwich) and 45 (Broadstairs to Sandwich) – Replaced by a revised Service 44 operating only hourly between Canterbury and Westwood Cross.
The timing of these cuts is particularly disappointing, coming in the same week that our new Prime Minister has announced the reinstatement of the £2 bus fare cap to make public transport more affordable. The Government has also provided KCC with an additional £78.2 million to improve local bus services. Yet figures uncovered last year showed that just 2.3% of Kent’s bus funding was being invested in Thanet, while areas such as Sevenoaks received more than eight times that amount. As I have said repeatedly, that imbalance speaks volumes about your Council’s priorities.
It is unacceptable that, just as the Government is demonstrating an even greater commitment to improving public transport, residents in East Thanet are once again being asked to put up with a shrinking, unreliable bus network.
Kent County Council cannot simply wash its hands of this issue because these are the decisions of a private operator. I have written directly to Stagecoach to challenge these cuts, but as Council Leader you have a responsibility to get round the table with Stagecoach and come to a solution, so these cuts do not need to go ahead.
Labour’s Better Buses Act, which became law last year, also allows councils to take greater control of bus services and identify routes which they deem as socially necessary, meaning strict requirements must be followed if operators wish to cancel or change them. I would appreciate your confirmation that you are exploring how Kent can use those powers to ensure Thanet maintains the bus services it needs. If KCC chooses not to act, it will be making a political choice to stand by while communities in Thanet lose yet more essential services.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Polly Billington
Labour’s MP for East Thanet