Whoisreallyto blame for bus delays?

Poor old Arriva has come in for some stick from Kent County Council after the authority’s bus complaints portal highlighted a high level of dissatisfaction with its services No 5 and 12 - the key routes from the Weald villages into Maidstone.

But how much is the bus company to blame?

Like the rest of us, its bus drivers are faced with the ever growing problems of congestion. With the constant house building along Sutton Road and in Marden and other villages, it’s inevitable there will be extra traffic adding to hold-ups at each roundabout and set of lights.

And we all know that traffic along the Sutton Road can suddenly and unexpectedly seize up - thanks to a problem miles away on the M20.

How can we expect Arriva to keep to its schedule when we can’t ourselves? Of course, the bus company could alter its timetable to allow more leeway on each journey, which might improve “punctuality” but wouldn’t actually improve the service.

It is a shame that many of those who suffer are our children trying to get from the Weald to schools in Maidstone. Many already have to leave home at a ridiculously early hour. But others suffer too. Headcorn councillor Martin Round told us he was surprised to have received many letters from more elderly residents in Park Wood and Shepway who said they relied on the

No 12 service to travel out of Maidstone to meet friends and shop in Headcorn or Tenterden. Surely Maidstone Borough and Kent County Councils deserve the most blame for allowing constant housing growth without implementing sufficient highways mitigation measures?