Kent Residents Asked to Rate Roads, Buses and Cycling in National Survey

Your Say on Kent’s Roads

Kent County Council wants to know what you think of the roads, buses and cycle routes — and this time, the answers are supposed to actually count. The National Highways and Transport Survey 2025–26 covers six areas: accessibility, highways maintenance, public transport, road safety, congestion, and walking and cycling. You can do one section or all six. Each takes a few minutes.

Responses are anonymous. KCC does ask for basic demographic details — age range, that sort of thing — but only to check who’s taking part and flag anyone who’s been missed.

Why the Results Actually Matter

This isn’t a tick-box exercise. KCC says the answers will directly shape decisions on where money goes — road repairs, bus services, cycling routes, safety improvements.

The survey is run nationally by the National Highways and Transport Network, an independent body operating across UK local authorities. Kent’s scores get benchmarked against other councils — so if residents here are angrier about potholes or bus reliability than people elsewhere, that gap will show up in the figures. Areas where dissatisfaction runs highest may get priority in future work programmes and funding bids, according to KCC.

A New Highways Contract in the Background

There’s context here worth knowing. A new 21-year Highways Term Maintenance Contract between KCC and contractor Ringway kicks off in May 2026, covering pothole repairs, drainage, winter gritting and emergency response across the county. Twenty-one years. That’s a long time to get it wrong.

Resident feedback gathered now could give KCC a baseline to measure whether Ringway actually delivers. Poor scores further down the line may trigger hard questions about performance — and improvements, if they come, would show up in future surveys as something more than a press release.

KCC’s published survey brief states that residents’ answers will help the council understand how people feel about current services and inform future decisions on roads, cycling, bus services and public transport.

Rural and Coastal Communities — Most to Gain

For villages and coastal towns, the stakes are sharper than most. A single bus route. One key road. When those fail, there’s no alternative — and the knock-on effects aren’t small. The survey captures geographic breakdowns, which means specific rural or coastal frustrations won’t simply dissolve into county-wide averages.

Community groups and parish councils have been pushing for more of a voice in transport planning for years. And the NHT Survey gives them a formal channel to log those concerns — potentially strengthening the case for safer crossings, traffic calming or protected bus routes.

The survey is hosted on KCC’s Let’s Talk Kent platform. Kent’s resident population sits at just under two million, making it one of the largest county council areas in England. That’s a lot of frustrated drivers, missed buses and dodged potholes — if people actually engage, the response could carry real weight.

—

Key Takeaways

• Kent County Council is participating in the National Highways and Transport Survey 2025–26, covering six topic areas including road safety, congestion and public transport
• Survey results will be used to guide KCC spending decisions and will benchmark Kent’s performance against other UK councils
• A new 21-year highways maintenance contract with Ringway begins in May 2026, making resident feedback especially timely

What This Means for Kent Residents

If you’ve ever sat in a tailback on the A2, waited for a bus that didn’t come, or dodged a pothole on your way to work — this is the chance to put that on record officially. KCC has committed to using the results to shape future investment, which means low participation risks those frustrations going unheard. The survey is available now on the Let’s Talk Kent platform, takes only a few minutes per section, and your responses remain anonymous throughout.