18 August 2021

Kent County Councillor's Report August 2021

As some of you may have seen earlier in the year, the government announced a new National Bus Strategy which aims to invest billions into improving bus services across the country.

Part of the strategy is that bus operators and local authorities will work more closely together using mutually agreed Bus Service Improvement Plans. These plans will allow regional bus services to 'level up' by improving both the frequency and reliability of services, which in turn will hopefully increase passenger numbers too. The plans will then be used to help create Enhanced Partnership Schemes with bus operators, which will set the standards for all bus services running in the county.

The first version of the Improvement Plan must be published by the end of October and the Enhanced Partnership Schemes will need to start from April 2022.

KCC are currently running a consultation on the future of buses in Kent which can be accessed via the following link – kent.gov.uk/busfuture.  The questions are fairly minimal currently, but the page promises that a further consultation on the emerging proposals will be available to comment on later in the summer.

If you have a few minutes to spare, please complete the survey and give your opinion on how bus services in the area could be improved. The page also has an option to sign up to be kept informed by KCC about the bus service improvement plans, which you should do if you would like the opportunity to comment on the outline proposals later in the year.

In rural areas like ours, buses have the potential to play a big part in cutting carbon emissions over the coming years by reducing our reliance on cars as the primary means of transport between villages and towns.

We need to break the Catch 22 of people not using buses because the services aren't regular or reliable, and bus operators reducing services because they are not profitable. I hope that this new investment cans help turn this trend around and help buses become a viable, and even an attractive, option for more residents in our area.

Rich Lehmann – KCC Member for Swale East

rich.lehmann@kent.gov.uk

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