A lack of bus integration

I found Richard Townend’s letter on rail and bus integration ( RAIL 832) very apt, as I have been attempting to get the incumbent bus operator between Tenterden and Headcorn (Arriva) to revise its service 12 timetable to make meaningful connections with the Southeastern train service at Headcorn.

Both Up and Down trains call at Headcorn at xx15 and xx45 minutes past each hour, supplemented by extra trains in the morning and evening peak to and from London.

For many years, until last October when Kent County Council withdrew the subsidy, there was a shuttle minibus providing four morning and five evening trips to and from Tenterden, timed to connect with the busiest trains.

Nowadays, with just the service bus, it is not uncommon for this to move off just as the train from London arrives. As a result, most commuters drive to the station or are dropped off, because the bus service is no longer considered attractive or convenient.

Currently buses in both directions arrive five minutes after the trains have departed, resulting in a 25-minute wait for the next train. This only benefits passengers transitting from train to bus. There are other examples of ‘missed connections’.

I suggested to Arriva local management that the timetable could be adjusted to allow a ten-minute dwell time at Headcorn on all journeys (except the school buses). This would enable people from Tenterden and the villages of Biddenden and Sutton Valence to make a seamless connection with the trains, as is so common in many European cities.

The reply from Arriva said: “We know that our customers would not accept such a delay which would result in an increase in their overall travel time.”

I have asked for evidence to support this statement, but have yet to receive a reply.

FirstGroup has made excellent progress in combining bus and train interchange in the West Country, where bus services are shown on the train departure monitors. However, it operates the trains and many of the bus routes, so through journeys are encouraged.

We have a long way to go to effect modal shift so that passengers can interchange reliably. The 450-capacity car park at Headcorn station is almost full on weekdays - a clear example of convenience over price. Donald Wilson, Kent