| Through a Government initiative called "Kickstart", Kent
County Council, in partnership with the two main bus operators in
Kent, Arriva and Stagecoach, have been able to make improvements to
commercially run bus services in several areas of the
County.
Two "Kickstart" projects were introduced in Gravesend and
Thanet in 2004 and 2005. The 495/498 services in Gravesend were
upgraded with new buses and better waiting facilities during July
2006. The Thanet Loop service was introduced with 18 new buses
running around the Isle of Thanet in 2004.
Two more projects started in 2006, funded by the Government's
Kickstart project: the Dover - Deal Diamond bus services and route
347 in Sittingbourne.
Improved bus services for Dover & Deal
Transport Minister & MP for Thanet South, Stephen Ladyman
launched the Dover - Deal Diamond bus services in July 2006.
The Dover Diamond services 13 and 15, combined with improvements
to other routes, offer bus users up to a 30 minute link between
Dover, Deal, Ramsgate and Canterbury and improved services to the
villages of Eythorne, Eastry, Aylesham, Elvington and
Whitfield.
Stagecoach spent £850,000 on 8 new 12.5m long, 48-seat single
decker buses to add to the fleet of 45 buses and coaches operating
from their Dover depot.
Over the three years of the project, Kent County Council will
spend £200,000 and Dover District Council £20,000 on improving bus
stops and waiting facilities in the area. The Government's
Kickstart grant contributed £371,000 to the project.
The aim of the project is to improve the appeal of bus services
between towns and villages in the Dover district, make buses easier
to access for all passengers and increase the number of people
using buses for journeys to work, school, shopping and leisure
journeys.
The Dover Diamond will be the first Stagecoach route in the
South East to operate the new Enviro 300 buses that have engines
designed to meet new European emissions standards known as "Euro
3".
Sittingbourne bus services
Service 347 running from Kemsley and Milton Regis to
Sittingbourne High Street and the Forum shopping centre was
upgraded in September 2006.
The changes, which were part-funded by a successful bid to the
Government's Kickstart fund, included four new Arriva single-decker
buses fitted with satellite tracking equipment and CCTV cameras.
Arriva revised the timetable providing later evening journeys till
8pm to connect with train services returning from London.
Kent Highway Services are funding bus stop improvements along
the route of the service, particularly in Kemsley and a new shelter
has been installed at the rear of the Forum shopping centre. An
electronic sign will be added to the shelter providing real-time
information predictions for the next three buses from this key town
centre stop.
For more information on these Kickstart projects
contact:
Kent County Council
 08458 247247
 kent.highwayservices
@kent.gov.uk
Arriva Southern Counties
08701 20 10 88
sccustomerservice@arriva-shires.com
Stagecoach East Kent
08702 433711
Website - www.stagecoachbus.com/eastkent (link opens in a
new window) |