Kent bus cuts will cause 'absolute chaos' on school-run, parents and teachers warn

Parents and teachers are warning proposed cuts to Kent bus services will cause "absolute chaos" for children trying to get school.

This week, a huge group of protesters gathered in Shepherdswell, near Dover, one of the potentially affected areas.

Kent County Council (KCC) is hoping to save £2.2 million, in a proposed to withdraw of subsidy from 38 supported bus routes, but there is also a risk from separate planned cutbacks by operators Stagecoach.

But it is feared scrapping some routes would particularly affect children trying to get to school, with the new academic year starting today.

Terry Hunt, chairman of Shepherdswell and Coldred Parish Council said: “We have an 88, and 88a and a 92 a service which more or less get us from here down to Dover.

“There are also the school buses that go from here to Dover and Sandwich. I’m concerned about how the children from Shepherdswell, Coldred and even Eythorne will get to school if the buses are totally withdrawn.

“They seem to think they can rely on children going to school by train, but the walk from Dover Priory to any of the schools is a long way, or means catching another bus.

“If the buses go it will be absolutely chaotic."

Alyson Young, 50, of Shepherdswell, is a parent and governor at Dover Boys Grammar School.

She said: “My son is going into year 11, a really important year. Without the bus into Shepherdswell and Whitfield, his travel would be very disrupted.

“We’re told we’re supposed to be getting out of our cars and onto public transport - but it's going to mean more cars on the road.”

Jenny Parker, a teacher at Dover Grammar School for Boys, who also lives in Shepherdswell, says she and her husband rely on the 88 service through the village.

“From a teacher’s point of view, sometimes getting to and from one of the schools on the Tower Hamlets area is a nightmare," she said. "In fact, I go past numerous schools to actually get to work.

“Can you imagine in Dover if each of the parents of the students at St Edmund’s School, Dover Grammar School for Girls, Astor, and my school attempting to drop off their children by car because they have no other means of transport to get them there? Gridlock. It’s bad enough attempting to get home with the traffic over the Tower Hamlets area.

“Schools are inclusive places where we attempt to bridge the gap between those more disadvantaged. By taking away this service, they are directly affecting those from families who can’t afford their own transport.

“As a parent of children who attend Sandwich Technology School, we are completely scuppered and are at a loss as to what to do to get our two children to and from school."

Mrs Parker said if the cuts went ahead her youngest son Oscar, 11, who starts at Sandwich this week, would have to leave home at 6.40am, walk for 20 minutes to the train station, take a train to Dover and then switch to one to take him to Sandwich before walking to school.

This would be against walking three minutes in the morning to a bus stop if services are kept.

The protest petition was set up by Jamie Pout, of Aylesham, where the school bus to Dover Christ Church Academy is at risk.

Bus services in other parts of Kent are also threatened, such as in the Ashford area.

Laura Avery, 44, of Smarden, said: “I don’t drive and my husband does but the only reason we moved here was because it had bus services. Otherwise, how would I get around? Although I don’t drive, I have always been independent and happy to use public transport.

“My eldest son is 16 and uses it to be independent but he can’t now. If they did get rid of it, there would literally be nothing. The children use it to go to college, people use it to go to work.”

Patricia, 80, from Egerton, uses the 123 bus at least twice a week.

"I do rely on it and I have done for the last 10 years," she said. “If the bus goes I will be totally marooned.

“Parents here work all over the place as we are a hub for Canterbury and Maidstone.

“Egerton has nothing. The shops closed before the pandemic and we supposedly have a pop-up post office for two days a week.

“Everything we have is in Ashford and if the bus goes we will have nothing. If we get a lift, there’s no way back the other way.”

KCC had originally planned to make cuts this autumn but members of its scrutiny committee, at a meeting on August 18, spoke against this.

A decision was made to refer the matter to the authority’s next cabinet meeting, on Tuesday, and its full council meeting on September 15, so putting back a final decision.

KCC leader Roger Gough said: "Despite best efforts, we know that there will still be some service gaps, but unfortunately the council is not in a financial position to adopt the services which operators are looking to withdraw."

A spokesman added: “KCC and commercial bus operators have worked together to secure school bus services for as many pupils as possible this September, following notice given by bus operators of their intention to withdraw services across the county.

“Some commercial bus operators had planned to stop running routes that serve schools which were economically unviable, due to the difficult challenges of lower passenger numbers, rising costs and driver shortages. These are not services that KCC subsidises or controls.

“The scale of the planned changes by bus operators and the impact on school routes was considerable, leaving many children and their families facing the prospect of not being able to get to school in September. The severe financial constraints faced by the council means that it is not possible to provide large-scale, long-term additional subsidies to bus operators.”

KCC’s public transport team has worked with bus operators throughout the summer to find measures to provide as many pupils as possible with access to bus services.

These have included restoring connections for pupils attending Harvey Grammar School in Folkestone and retaining some services to Homewood School in Tenterden.

A spokesman for Stagecoach said: "The Department for Transport requires every local authority to review its bus networks and work in partnership with bus operators to put services on a sustainable footing.

"As part of this review, we've been asked to look at the services we currently operate and identify those that would be unsustainable without support funding. No final decisions have been made, and we are working very closely with KCC to minimise service reductions as much as possible.

"There will be no changes to Stagecoach services in the Dover/Deal area before the end of October and we will work with KCC and local schools to communicate any changes well in advance."

Routes planned to be affected from either source of cuts from proposed for the autumn include (operated by Stagecoach unless otherwise stated): 61, 61a, 80b, 81b, 83, 88, 88a, 90, 92, 92a, 96, 96a, 111, 123, 292 (Autocar), 293, 299 (Autocar), 541, 542, 544, HGS3 (Crosskeys Coaches) and Sandwich Connect (Britannia).