On the buses

Last autumn, news broke that Kent County Council (KCC), were planning to withdraw subsidies from a significant number of mainly rural bus routes. These included 23 routes in Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells alone. In some cases the entire services to  several villages and other small rural communities were to be withdrawn in their entirety.

KCC planned to recuperate £2.25million a year by ending these subsidies, the withdrawal of which would have had disproportionate effect on both the elderly and younger people, as car usage amongst these groups is lower than in other sectors of the population.

Now, following a predicted and entirely understandable public outcry, leaders at County Hall have had a  last minute change of heart. This follows the news that central Government grant reductions were less than feared, and KCC needed to only budget for £450,000 rather than the predicted £2.25million. Council Leader Paul Carter (Conservative), ended up apologising for the "premature" release of routes potentially facing the axe.

Councillor Carter stated there is no longer a need for the subsidies to end, and announced on 16th January that a consultation into the proposals, that was due to start on the following day, will no longer take place. Instead, County Hall has budgeted £500,000 for "conversations" about the buses with parish councils and community groups.

“We believe there are smarter, more responsive ways to deliver these bus services,” said Cllr Carter. “We intend to arrange a whole series of big conversations with parish councils and communities on how this can be delivered.”

Many Kent residents have been left wondering why Paul Carter didn't  speak out about this before, and the fallout  from this debacle has seen Cllr Matthew Balfour, the Cabinet Member for Transport, lose his job last week to Cllr Mike Whiting. 

Martin Betts, Campaign Coordinator for Tunbridge Wells Labour Party, said: “The climb-down from making severe cuts to bus subsidies is to be welcomed. It is a direct response to thousands of people across the county who are saying that they have had enough of the austerity embraced by Conservatives at all levels of government. Instead of tinkering with budgets at county level we need proper Government funding to ensure that we get the decent public services we need”. 

Gillian Douglass, Chair of Tunbridge Wells Liberal Democrats , added: “The rural routes had already been cut down which effects chiefly the older people and younger people. It is great we are going to keep these services.” 

Greg Clark, MP for Tunbridge Wells, said: “I am delighted that Kent County Council has listened to our concerns about potential cuts to local bus services. Many people would have been affected so this news will be a great relief. It is vital that our local bus services keep running.”

"Weasel words", some might say, from these politicians, all of whom seem more interested in scoring points off one another rather than doing anything constructive, so let's put politics to one side and look at things from the perspective of bus users.


Now whilst I am one of those who signed the petition, protesting against the cuts, I have to confess the only times I use bus services are for CAMRA socials, in order to visit some of our more rural and outlying pubs. I have occasionally used these services, whilst out walking in order to reach either the start of my walk or as a means of returning me home, but by and large I am a committed car user.

Things might have been different of course, had the government not moved the goalposts and upped the age at which citizens qualify for a free bus pass from 60, to state retirement age (66 in my case). That though is a different story, and one outside the scope of this article.

Instead it does bring up the whole thorny issue of rural bus services and the mantra of “use it or lose it”. I say this because more often than not, my CAMRA companions and I have either been the only people travelling on some of these rural buses, or we have constituted by far the largest number of the passengers.

So whilst I am perfectly happy to see some of my hard-earned Council Tax being used to subside these rural services, I would definitely like to see more people using them. I’m sure there are others who will disagree though, and some will no doubt question the ethics of council-tax payers subsidising "pensioner’s trips to the pub".

To those people I would say, remember that one day, you too will be old. Health or financial constraints may mean you are no longer able to drive a car, or perhaps you will become unable to bear the cost of running your own vehicle. In such instances, that subsidised bus service may just prove the lifeline you are looking for.