KCC steps in to save two Thanet bus routes cut by Stagecoach

Passengers in Ramsgate, Minster, Monkton, Minnis Bay and Margate will keep their bus links — for now. Kent County Council stepped in after Stagecoach earmarked both routes to end, and says it has arranged replacement services for an initial six-month period.

The two routes secured are Service 9, running between Ramsgate, Minster and Monkton on a Monday-to-Saturday off-peak timetable, and Service 32, linking Minnis Bay and Margate Monday to Saturday. KCC’s Public Transport Team worked with Stagecoach to put the arrangements in place, with priority going to routes where communities faced losing every bus connection entirely — and where school pupils would otherwise have had no practical way of getting in.

Spencer Dixon, KCC Deputy Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “The withdrawal of these services would have had a significant impact on communities across Thanet, particularly for residents who rely on buses to get to work, school, appointments and other essential services.”

Not every reduced route has been rescued. Where Stagecoach is trimming frequency rather than axing a service outright, or where another bus still covers the same corridor, the council hasn’t intervened. The money simply doesn’t go that far. KCC already spends around £13 million a year supporting roughly 150 bus services across Kent that would not otherwise operate on a commercial basis, backed by Government Bus Grant Funding.

Six months is not a promise. During that period KCC will monitor passenger numbers, assess long-term viability and look at how the routes can be run efficiently alongside other local services.

KCC has said it will review the longer-term future of both routes once the initial six-month period concludes.