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The new bus lane on Pencester Road in Dover is now complete and will start to be used by Dover Fastrack from Sunday 20 April.The Pencester Road Bus priority scheme will improve the reliability of Dover Fastrack and will allow better access to the town centre and connections to existing bus services throughout Dover.The scheme has included:adding a contraflow bus and cycle lane along Pencester Roadadding a new northbound bus stop on Pencester Road outside Poundlandrealigning kerbs and pavements at the Biggin Street and Maison Dieu Road junctionsinstalling traffic lights and improved pedestrian crossings in the areaThe new junction signals will be switched on during Saturday 19 April, prior to the opening of the bus lane.Simon Jones, Kent County Council’s Corporate Director, Growth, Environment and Transport, said: “The new bus lane on Pencester Road will be ready for buses to use from Sunday 20 April. The bus lane will support Stagecoach to improve the local bus network, giving local people more reliable and well-connected bus services in Dover.”Stagecoach is currently making arrangements to transfer the Fastrack service to the new bus lane. The updated timetable will be available on their website before the start date: https://www.stagecoachbus.com/timetables.

Temporary changes designed to optimise journey times are set to be introduced on Fastrack Kent Thameside services in response to the continued closure of Galley Hill Road.They will come into force from Saturday 5 April and will build on the service reliability improvements delivered by the November 2024 timetable change.A summary of the key changes include:Fastrack B will have no stops between Bluewater and Ebbsfleet International, providing a journey time saving of 12 minutes between Ebbsfleet International and Bluewater.A new shuttle service (Fastrack F) will run every 12 minutes to connect Bluewater, Greenhithe and Ingress Park. Through ticketing will be available between Fastrack B and F at no extra cost to service users, with a change of bus at Bluewater.Fastrack B to serve Temple Hill, replacing Fastrack C and serving the eastern half of Temple Hill in both directions.Fastrack B to increase in frequency to up to every 12 minutes (from every 15 minutes currently).As well as delivering improved journey times and more frequent journeys between Gravesend, Ebbsfleet and Bluewater, this timetable change will also lay the groundwork for further changes expected in August 2025 on Route A.From August (subject to the completion of the Fastrack busway in the Ebbsfleet Garden City), Fastrack A will extend from Bluewater to Gravesend via Castle Hill and Ebbsfleet International.This will initially operate every 15 minutes and will be implemented from the April timetable change between Bluewater and Dartford via The Bridge prior to the August extension of Route A.This change comes ahead of the introduction of the new electric fleet on Fastrack, which is due to be rolled out on Route B from late Spring, with further routes to follow.These adjustments will have an impact on residents living near to Galley Hill Road, particularly in terms of connectivity. KCC has put in place a mechanism so users will not pay twice for what would usually be a single trip with interchange opportunities at Bluewater maximised.Neil Baker, Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways, said: “The Galley Hill collapse has caused Fastrack significant operational issues. We know that the most important aspects of bus travel for passengers are value for money and journey times.“Against the local trend, Fastrack has retained the £2 fare cap and these service changes will make journey times on Fastrack significantly quicker overall.“We remain committed to all communities on our network and the measures taken to introduce the F shuttle service is a temporary solution until the reopening of Galley Hill.”For a detailed breakdown of the changes on each route along with details of ticketing arrangements, please see www.kent-fastrack.co.uk/

Kent County Council (KCC) has intervened to protect a number of bus services in Ashford that were at risk of being cancelled.Following a review of Ashford services, Stagecoach were due to withdraw several operations in March, including:the 2 and 2A from Ashford to Tenterdenthe 10 from Folkestone to Ashfordthe 14 from Ashford to Wyecertain journeys on the G-Line from Godinton Park to South Willesboroughcertain journeys on the 666 from Eureka Park.KCC has been able to use bus grant funding awarded by Central Government to fund contracts that will allow these services to continue for at least the next twelve months.Residents will notice some other changes to their services from March, including the renumbering of services, however, the funding provided through KCC will ensure that residents continue to have access to a bus service.Recently, KCC was awarded £22 million of funding to protect services and deliver improvements during 2025/26. While this is welcome news, the cost of sustaining buses in Kent continues to grow. With fewer people getting the bus, and rising costs since the pandemic, the council is warning of the financial pressures of sustaining Kent’s network.Neil Baker, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “While the majority of bus services across Kent fall outside the remit of the County Council and are operated on a fully commercial basis, I am keen that we step in when appropriate to avoid what is a very fragile bus network contracting even further.“Bus companies can, and do, change and cut services for commercial reasons. While it is impossible for us to use funding to reverse these decisions, we consider whether we can intervene on a case-by-case basis.“I am pleased that we have been able to use Government Bus Grant funding to save these services in Ashford, but the cost of supporting services that previously didn’t require any additional funding is a concern and a pressure for KCC. While we have been able to support now,  a long-term funding plan from Government is needed to secure a safe future for buses across Kent.”The changes to these and other services in the area take place from Sunday 2 March. More information on the changes can be found on the Stagecoach website.