Buses are needed to call at station

Following Alex Claridge’s article (Station Multi-storey Could Provide Parking Template For City’s Future, Kentish Gazette, July 28) about plans for the building of a multi-storey car at Canterbury West Station can anyone explain why there is not a regular bus route between the centre of town and the station?

Richard Moore, the city council’s transportation manager, is recorded as stating that “Canterbury West is now the primary rail hub for the city” so why do bus companies ignore this source of business?

The station and the modernised route it offers to London is a great bonus for the city and yet the lack of public transport makes using the station more of a challenge than it need be.

It is possible, on the way to London, to be left in St Dunstan’s street by a Uni bus but returning after a fast and efficient journey, with all the benefits of a hightech service, it is something of a let-down to stand outside the station and find there is no public transport available back to the centre of the city. What a puzzling situation!

There is, of course, a busy taxi service but the extra outlay may not suit everyone’s pockets.

So it’s a question of picking up luggage and bags and trudging up to the London Road to find a bus there.

Not a good experience for the elderly, disabled or those with young families on a dark November evening.

Of course, if the public could take a bus to the station there would be a reduced need for cars, fewer spaces required in the car parks and less urgency to provide costly multi-storey car parks.

So come on, Canterbury bus companies, accept that we’re in the 21st century now and give us a efficient service suited to our needs. June Thorne Ersham Road, Canterbury