Transport

Changes to bus services in Ashford

20 February 2025 0 Comments

Stagecoach is making some changes to bus services in the Ashford area from Sunday 2nd March.

Most bus services around town will have new timetables and some bus route numbers will change. 

These changes are designed to improve reliability and punctuality and help make services more resilient to the impact of traffic congestion – the biggest cause of disruption to local bus services. 

Also from 2nd March, some out-of-town bus routes that are currently provided by Stagecoach will be operated on behalf of Kent County Council. 

You can view a PDF of the new Ashford bus network route map here. 

Ashford Bus Service Route Map

Here’s what’s happening in more detail:

Ashford town bus service routes

Bus service route numberRoute descriptionDetails
Routes A and D
NEW route 501		Singleton – Stanhope – Town CentreCombined into one route numbered 501.
Daytime: Every 20 minutes.
Early morning and evening service (currently route AD) will be renumbered 501E.
View the new 501 timetable here.
Route B
NEW route 502		Park Farm – Town Centre – KenningtonDaytime: Every 20 minutes
Evening: numbered 502E and serve Kingsnorth Road after Asda towards Park Farm.
Evening: Every 30 minutes
View the new 502 timetable here. 
Route C
NEW route 503		William Harvey Hospital – Hythe Road – WillesboroughDaytime: Every 15 minutes Evening: every 30 minutes. 
View the new 503 timetable here.
Route G
NEW route 507		South Willesborough – Town Centre – Godinton Park – Repton ParkOperated by Stagecoach on behalf of Kent County Council. 
There will be some changes to bus times. In South Willesborough buses will operate a slightly altered route.
  • Alfred Road will only be served in the direction towards Orbital Park.Buses to the town centre will serve a new bus stop on Newtown Road.Buses will no longer run along Crowbridge Road but instead serve Mead Road in both directions.
Daytime: hourly.  
View the new 507 timetable here.

Out-of-town bus routes

Route numberRoute descriptionDetails
Route 1X Ashford – CanterburyThis route will be extended to serve Ashford Railway Station, and Stagecoach are streamlining the route to speed up journey times. 
  • Off-peak daytime buses will no longer serve Felborough Close at Chilham, instead
  • buses will serve unmarked bus stops in lower Bagham Lane.
  • Route 1X buses will no longer serve Chartham Village –
  • buses will serve the stops on the main A28.
  • Chartham will continue to be served to and from Canterbury by new route 24, as well as peak-time route 1 and 1A buses.
View the new 1X timetable here.
Route 2 Tenterden – High Halden – Bethersden – AshfordOperated by Stagecoach on behalf of Kent County Council with the support of government bus grant funding.
There are no changes to the timetable.
Route 2A Tenterden – Woodchurch – Shadoxhurst – AshfordOperated by Stagecoach on behalf of Kent County Council. 
There are some minor changes to the timetable.
Some school-time buses will run along Beaver Road between the Railway Station and Asda. 
View the new 2A timetable here. 
Route 10/10A Folkestone – Hythe – Sellindge – AshfordOperated by Stagecoach on behalf of Kent County Council. 
There are no changes to the timetable.
Route 10X
NEW route 510		Maidstone – Lenham – Charing – AshfordThe morning school day journey from Ashford to Maidstone will be provided using one double deck bus – there will no longer be two buses. 
If you use this bus to get to school, please don’t wait for a second bus. 
It will operate at the same time as currently. 
The afternoon school day journey that starts from Maidstone Earl Street
will depart 5 minutes earlier at 15:50. 
The daytime timetable will also be adjusted.
Leeds Castle Grounds will no longer be served on Mondays to Fridays, but buses will continue to serve the grounds bus stop on Saturdays only.
View the new 510 timetable here.
Route 11
NEW route 511		New Romney – Lydd – AshfordOperated by Stagecoach on behalf of Kent County Council. 
It will be renumbered route 511 (and 511A/511B)
Monday to Saturday:
Some changes to bus times.
View the new 511 timetable here.
Route 14
NEW route 514		Wye – Little Burton – AshfordOperated by Stagecoach on behalf of Kent County Council. 
No changes to the timetable.
Route 125
NEW route 525		Aldington – Bonnington – Mersham – AshfordSome minor changes to the timetable at school times. 
View the new 525 timetable here. 
Route 666 Faversham – Challock – AshfordSome minor changes to the timetable. 
View the new 666 timetable here.

News, Transport

On-street electric vehicle charging

27 January 2025 0 Comments

Electric Vehicle Charge Point
Image by Vectorportal.com, CC BY

Kent County Council want to make sure that everyone in Kent is able to make the switch to an electric vehicle (EV).

If you can’t charge up where you live or work, you should be confident that you can access reliable, affordable public charge points within walking distance of your home.

KCC are working closely with many District, Borough, Town and Parish Councils and have already installed around 200 public charge points, mainly in car parks to offer a more cost effective alternative to the rapid charge point options. However, there is still lots of work to do considering that by 2030, 80% of new cars sold in Great Britain will be zero emission, increasing to 100% in 2035.

What are the next steps?

The great news is that KCC have now been awarded vital Government funding for Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) to significantly increase the amount of public charge points in Kent.

Over the coming years, they will help to provide thousands of public on-street charge points for residents who don’t have off-street parking, allowing them to plug in locally.

They will be appointing a charge point operator over the coming months who will run and manage the network.

Charge point locations – KCC need your help!

They are currently identifying potential locations for on-street charging points and welcome your thoughts, especially if you own an EV or are thinking about making the switch.

You can nominate your street for a public charge point using the interactive map below.

If your street has already been nominated don’t let it put you off as it is useful for KCC to know where interest is high. They cannot guarantee that every suggested street will be suitable for a charge point, but will investigate every suggestion made.

Visit the KCC Consultation portal to add suggestions

News, Environment, Kent County Council, Technology, Transport

Road closure Beaver Road

31 December 2024 0 Comments

KENT COUNTY COUNCIL

Beaver Road, Ashford

(PROHIBITION OF DRIVING)

THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984
TEMPORARY ORDER JANUARY 2025

South East Water works.

To allow new service connection works to be carried out, Kent County Council has made an Order to temporarily prohibit through traffic on part of Beaver Road, Ashford.

A closure is planned from 28th January 2025, with estimated completion by 30th January 2025, or where stated on a valid Permit (EB009-53883701-01 – South East Water). The scheduled dates may vary for these works with appropriate signage displayed on site and the works will be displayed on One.Network Beaver Road will be closed outside Stars, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site.

The closure is required for the safety of the public and workforce while new service connection works are undertaken by South East Water. The alternative route for any through traffic is via Beaver Road, B2229 Beaver Lane, Jemmett Road, Bond Road, Beaver Road and vice versa.

Pedestrian access will be maintained during the works.

News, Kent County Council, Transport, Utilities

Easter Bus Services

8 April 2022 0 Comments

Stagecoach logo

Bus services over Easter Bank Holiday weekend

The following timetables will apply over the Easter weekend, on Stagecoach buses in Kent:

  • Good Friday – Sunday Service
  • Easter Saturday – Normal Saturday Service
  • Easter Sunday – Normal Sunday Service
  • Easter Monday – Sunday Service

You can plan your journey now using the Stagecoach journey planner tool:> https://www.stagecoachbus.com/plan-a-journey

If you’re unsure what buses are running, the Stagecoach customer Help Hub is open Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays. Tweet us @StagecoachSE or email at customerHelpSE@stagecoachbus.com.

News, Transport

Storm Eunice advice

18 February 2022 0 Comments

The Met Office Warning for the south-east has been increased to Red.

Potential significant disruption and dangerous conditions due to extremely strong winds on Friday.

What to expect

  • Flying debris resulting in danger to life
  • Damage to buildings and homes, with roofs blown off and power lines brought down
  • Uprooted trees are likely
  • Roads, bridges and railway lines closed, with delays and cancellations to bus, train, ferry services and flights
  • Power cuts affecting other services, such as mobile phone coverage
  • Large waves and beach material being thrown onto coastal roads, sea fronts and homes, including flooding of some coastal properties

Travel

Kent County Council and travel companies are urging you to avoid travelling if you can and to stay at home.

Currently there are no flood alerts in place for Ashford but flooding from drains could still occur.

Reporting damage:

Remember that all services will be very busy, don’t expect immediate response.

Property

Property owners should contact their insurance company.

Tenants should contact their landlord or their landlord’s maintenance contractor.

If your house is likely to cause danger to others ring Building Control on 01233 330282

Power cut or damage to power infrastructure

Check if it has been reported here: https://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/power-cut, if not ring 105.

If your life or health are at risk you should be on your supplier’s Priority Services Register.

Blocked roads

Other than trunk roads and motorways

Report on line at https://www.kent.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/report-a-problem

If a structure or tree on or near a highway is causing danger phone KCC on 03000 418181.

Trunk roads and motorways

Check if the incident has been reported at https://www.trafficengland.com/ if not phone National Highways on 0300 123 5000.

In any situation, if, and only if, there is an immediate threat to life phone 999

Other services are likely to be affected either due to travel difficulties or because staff have been re-allocated to deal with storm damage.

Emergency, Home, News, Safety, Transport

Bus Service Improvement Plan

2 July 2021 0 Comments

In March 2021, the government published a new National Bus Strategy which sets out a framework for recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and a vision for future bus service improvements across the UK.

The strategy places a requirement on all Local Transport Authorities and Bus Operators to create a Bus Service Improvement Plan, which will act as the vision for how they are going to try to improve bus services in Kent in the next few years. This 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.

Kent County Council’s (KCC) first version of the Improvement Plan must be published by the end of October and their Enhanced Partnership Schemes need to start from April 2022.

KCC need your help!

KCC are excited about the opportunity this presents and want to ensure that our Improvement Plan reflects the views of Kent residents.

First of all they want to know what would make bus travel more attractive to you. Answer two quick questions to tell them your thoughts.

Your feedback will help them create proposals for the Plan. They will be shared later in the Summer.

Two quick questions

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

Timeline

  • Early engagement
    Kent Bus Service Improvement Plan is currently at this stage
    Give KCC your views by 25 July
  • Further engagement
    This is an upcoming stage for Kent Bus Service Improvement Plan
    KCC will seek your views on our emerging proposals
  • Publication of first version of Improvement Plan
    This is an upcoming stage for Kent Bus Service Improvement Plan
    By 31 October
  • Ongoing engagement
    on Plan and how its working

Kent County Council, 28 June 2021.
https://letstalk.kent.gov.uk/busfuture

Kent County Council, News, Transport

Stagecoach back to school service changes

7 March 2021 0 Comments

Full service levels restored from Monday 8 March

Stagecoach logo

Stagecoach bus services in Kent and East Sussex will step up to 100% from Monday 8 March. Full pre-COVID school day timetables will be restored on most routes. Stagecoach are pleased to finally be able to return to normal service and welcome the support from   Kent County Council that has enabled this to happen.

Dedicated school services in Ashford

As when schools were last fully open, many school day bus journeys will be running as ‘dedicated schools services’. This means they will only be available for young people to board if travelling to and from their place of education. The general public will not be able to use them, and, in-line with government instructions, these buses will be able to carry more passengers. Unlike normal service buses which have a limited seating capacity, these dedicated schools services will allow the near maximum seated capacity of the bus.

All dedicated schools services will have a special destination display that shows ‘School Service’ at the front of the bus, alternating with the route number and destination. As these ‘dedicated schools services’ are for students only, morning journeys will only stop to pick-up students and drop them at school/college. On the way home in the afternoon the ‘dedicated schools service’ will collect students from school/college and then operate as drop-off only at all other stops.

If you travel to and from school, please check out our schools information web page for the latest news:

Kent schools information

Also from 8 March, Kent County Council have confirmed that concessionary travel passes will no longer be accepted for travel before 09:30am.

Despite this increase in service levels, it’s vital that if you need to make a bus journey, you follow the government rules. Face coverings must be worn (unless you are medically exempt) and windows on most bus types should be left in the open position to allow the flow of fresh air. Capacity is limited to help with social distancing and you should be mindful to keep a safe distance from others (unless travelling with someone from your household bubble).

Want to know how to travel safely by bus? Stagecoach have taken a range of measures to help protect you when travelling. Their buses are clean, safe and ready to go. If you’re planning on travelling and are concerned about what to do, check out this guide. We’ve also put together a ten-point guide to help understand the measures that are in place. Find out more here.  

Education, News, Transport

Bus service changes from Sunday

15 January 2021 0 Comments

Stagecoach logo

Stagecoach bus services in Kent and East Sussex will change from the Sunday 17 January. New timetables that preserve essential journeys have been agreed with Kent County Council. Full details of services in Ashford are available below, including links to timetables.

Stagecoach has worked very closely with the County Councils and  key sector organisations to ensure essential journey opportunities are available for food shopping, medical appointments, support bubbles, carers, key workers and children still attending school. These lockdown bus services will also help support the COVID vaccination programme by providing access to some vaccination centres on the bus network. Stagecoach welcomes the government and local council support that means these essential bus services are able to operate.

It’s vital that if you need to make a bus journey, you follow the government rules. Face coverings must be worn (unless you are medically exempt) and windows on buses should be left in the open position to allow the flow of fresh air. Capacity is limited to help with social distancing and you should be mindful to keep a safe distance from others (unless travelling with someone from your household bubble). 

Want to know how to travel safely by bus? Stagecoach have taken a range of measures to help protect you when travelling. Buses are clean, safe and ready to go. If you’re planning on travelling and are concerned about what to do, check out this guide. They’ve also put together a ten-point guide to help understand the measures that are in place. Find out more here.  

On Mondays to Saturdays the following timetables will apply from Monday 18 January
  • Route 1/1A    – Special timetable. About every 2 hours between Ashford and Canterbury via Little Burton, Wye, Chilham & Chartham. Additional hourly journeys between Chartham and Canterbury. Additional morning journey on schooldays from Chartham to Spires Academy via Canterbury Bus Station. 
  • Route 2  – About every 2 hours between Ashford and Rolvenden via Tenterden and High Halden. Separate route 2 about every 2 hours between Hastings and Tenterden via Northiam. No through journeys. 
  • Route 2A    – Special timetable running about every 2 hours.
  • Route 10  – Non school timetable similar to what we are currently operating. 
  • Route 10X – Special timetable about every 2 hours. 
  • Route 11/11A/11B    – Normal Mon-Fri (non school) timetable spanning across Monday to Saturday.
  • Route 111    – Normal Thursday timetable continuing. 
  • Route 123    – Normal Monday to Friday non school timetable.
  • Route 666    – Normal Mon-Fri (non school) timetable spanning across Monday to Saturday. 
  • Route A    – Special timetable running up to every 15 minutes.
  • Route B    – Special timetable running up to every 15 minutes.
  • Route C   – Special timetable running up to every 15 minutes.
  • Route D    – Special timetable running up to every 15 minutes.
  • Route A   – Special timetable running.
  • Route G  – Special timetable running hourly.
  • Route S – remains suspended.

Normal Sunday timetables will operate, unless stated otherwise.

Stagecoach UK Bus
https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/south-east/government-coronavirus-measures–changes-to-bus-services

News, Transport

Waterbrook traffic management

23 December 2020 0 Comments

Plan of proposed route
Click to enlarge

Temporary traffic management plans announced for duration of Waterbrook inland border facility site operating at the same time as Sevington site; changes to A2070 orbital park roundabout include short ‘loop’ diversion for drivers leaving orbital park wishing to travel south-east toward Finberry, Romney Marsh and Kingsnorth.

The Department of Transport has announced plans to introduce a temporary traffic management scheme at the A2070 Orbital Park roundabout. The Waterbook inland border facility is likely to become operational for a maximum two month period starting 1 January 2021 at the same time as the partial operation of the facility at Sevington (where wet weather has delayed completion of works therefore requiring a period of dual running with functions split between the two sites).

The traffic management scheme, which will be in operation from 1 January as part of the approach to dual operation, consists of portable traffic signal controls on the A2070 westbound from the Orbital Park roundabout, and also Waterbrook Avenue, which is the access road into the Waterbrook site. The lights will manage HGV movements in and out of Waterbrook in the peak morning and afternoon periods.

All traffic on the Boulevard exiting Orbital Park will turn left onto the A2070 eastbound carriageway towards the M20 (even those motorists wishing to turn right at the roundabout to head westwards towards Kingsnorth on the A2070).Motorists wanting to head towards Kingsnorth will drive past the entrance to the Sevington Business Park before arriving at the A2070 Bad Munstereifel roundabout, where they can ‘loop’ around the roundabout before returning westbound along the A2070 back to the Orbital Park roundabout, through the traffic lights and westwards towards Kingsnorth.Motorists living on the Finberry housing development would use the same ‘loop’ because drivers will not be able to use the Orbital Park roundabout in order to turn around as they do now.

Emergency service vehicles travelling under a blue light will be still able to access the closed section of the Orbital Park roundabout.

Ashford Borough Council think it sensible for motorists to avoid this area if they can or allow extra time for their journey, particularly during the early period when the arrangements are bedding-in. They will raise with DfT the need to monitor and fine tune the working of the temporary arrangements, including making sure that those exiting Barrey Road are not unreasonable prejudiced by the scheme.

News, Transport