Families and visitors could hop on a bus to the Harbour Arm for just £1 during summer 2025, with Kent County Council backing cut-price fares from both of Folkestone’s railway stations.
[Archive: This article was originally published in July 2025 and describes a scheme that ran during summer 2025. It is republished here for reference.]
A quid. That’s all it cost to get from Folkestone West or Folkestone Central down to the Harbour Arm during summer 2025, after KCC confirmed it was subsidising fares on services running between the two stations and the seafront. The offer ran from 19 July to 31 August 2025, covering both the Reach the Beach service — operated by Crosskeys Coaches — and Stagecoach routes 102 and 103 along the same corridor.
Normal fares on these routes run higher than £1, so for anyone arriving by train and facing the usual misery of hunting for a parking space near the waterfront, the bus started to look rather appealing.
The money came from the National Bus Strategy, a UK Government scheme that hands councils funding to improve bus provision. KCC used its allocation to back a package of extra summer services to coastal spots across the county. Peter Osborne, KCC’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said the council was “pleased to support these extra summer services to some of Kent’s most popular destinations.”
Folkestone wasn’t the only one to benefit. The same programme added services on the Ashford–Dymchurch route (Service 500) and the Isle of Sheppey (Service 360) — a county-wide push to get people to the seaside by bus during the school holidays.
Key information
- £1 single fare applied on the Reach the Beach service (Crosskeys Coaches) and Stagecoach 102 and 103 between Folkestone West, Folkestone Central and Folkestone Harbour Arm
- Dates: 19 July to 31 August 2025
- Funded through National Bus Strategy money allocated to Kent County Council by the UK Government
£1 bus fares to Folkestone Harbour Arm from both town stations this summer Quiz
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