Free bus travel on the Kent Big Weekend

Next weekend (24-25 June) is the Kent Big Weekend, organised by Visit Kent, which is promoting more than 70 tourist attractions across the county (I will be visiting a couple on the Saturday). It is also the Free Bus Weekend, when bus passengers across Kent and Medway will be able to travel free. 

This results from a collaboration between KCC and the bus companies, and is funded by the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) grant from the Department for Transport. KCC was awarded £35m under BSIP, of which almost £19m has so far been paid (for financial year 2023-24). One of the policy features in the revenue element of BSIP (about two thirds is capital) is initiatives such as this to boost bus usage. 

You can find KCC’s media release here.

This week I am meeting the Transport Minister responsible for this area, Richard Holden, so hopefully there will be more to report.

TW school services for the autumn

There is good news after concerns in the last couple of weeks about the TW1, TW3 and TW4 Go Coach services, with reports of their being de-registered. This reflected operational changes that Go Coach had to adjust to, in particular the difficulties in continuing to use the Sevenoaks campus for overnight parking. 

KCC officers tendered the routes and Go came back as the successful operator even though it will now be holding its vehicles overnight in Swanley rather than at the campus. This means that, for the TW1 and TW4, the service will continue exactly as before. 

With regard to TW3, the additional news is that it will once more serve the West of Otford, starting from Telston Lane (this used to be the case but ceased last year amid the severe pressures on bus routes). This has been agreed between Go Coach and KCC Public Transport, on the basis of cutting back trees and vegetation in Willow Park/ Rye Lane. KCC's soft landscaping team will undertake this work in August, so as not to affect nesting birds. 

This securing of school services is good news for families whose children use these routes, and reflects a continuing commitment by Go Coach to serving the area, and KCC's Public Transport officers who have gone the extra mile in helping secure this.