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About 80% of bus services in Kent are provided by private,
commercial bus companies, for example Arriva and
Stagecoach.
Kent County Council spends around £5 million a year from our
transport budget to offer the remaining 20% of bus services that
are not "commercially viable", in other words services where the
running costs are more than the money received from passengers
fares.
Most of the journeys that are paid for by the council are early
morning, late evening and weekend services or less popular
routes.
We also get about £2 million from the Government to pay for
rural bus services in the County, which provide links to villages
and country areas. Without this funding these services would not
exist.
There is also a wide network of dial-a-ride bus services in most
parts of Kent. These are paid for by the council and offer travel
to those who cannot use normal bus services either because of:
- a medical condition
- lack of mobility
- they live over 500 metres from a bus stop
Although the council doesn't have any direct control over the
80% of bus services that are run on a commercial (for profit)
basis, we are able to influence bus companies and support public
transport improvements.
This section provides examples of projects that Kent County
Council has been involved with to improve and develop public
transport in Kent. These include:
- Kent Freedom Pass
- projects to better integrate bus and rail services
- Quality Bus Partnership agreements with the main bus
companies
- external funding bids to boost existing bus services in urban
and rural areas
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