Change for the better on buses?

Whenever new housing is suggested anywhere across our congested county, the universal reaction from residents is to throw hands in the air and say, how will the roads cope with the extra traffic?

The universal reaction from the government and local planning authorities is “on yer bike” or, as they phase it, ‘there is a need for a modal shift to a more sustainable means of transport’.

Planning inspectors – including very recently, the inspector adjudicating on Maidstone’s Local Plan – all emphasise we should leave our cars at home and go by bus (even if they themselves do not do so).

Such a suggestion of course can only work when there is a reliable public transport system.

Most people would agree that the buses throughout Maidstone, Malling and the Weald have been creaking lately, with frequent tales of cancelled services or late arrivals. Sometimes this has been through breakdowns, sometimes roadworks, sometimes the buses themselves are delayed by the congestion.

The problems have been bad enough to arouse the ire of our MPs.

This week Arriva announced its solution, with a comprehensive review of services across the area.

For many of us, the service should improve, with new routes and more frequent buses on popular routes. But as with any “rationalisation” some will lose out.

Those wanting to travel between Tonbridge and Kings Hill find their service slashed. While those in Gallants Lane at East Farleigh have lost access to a bus altogether – unless they are able to walk a mile along a busy road, some of it with no footpath, to reach the nearest stop.