Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2012 22:02:15 GMT
I've been living in Canterbury for over a year now for uni, and i'm pleased i've gone here as Stagecoach East Kent are excellent!
For those of you who don't know much about this company, they have doubled passenger numbers in EK over the past 9 years. I think this has a lot to do with the large increase of school students using the services with the Freedom Pass (which I understand isn't free but paid monthly/yearly and allows travel on any service). But I think it also has to do with the publicity, customer service and investment.
Next week, the route 3 services between Faversham and Canterbury will increase to a 15 minute frequency (previously 20) with the introduction of route 3B.
And in early October the route 15 services between Dover and Canterbury were increased to every 15 minutes (previously 30) with the introduction of route 15B.
This is despite railway services offering alternative services between these places (although most services on the 3 serve many villages which don't have railways). Maybe having the clean and well maintained bus station right in Canterbury city centre closer than the railway stations help this.
In the past few years, there have been improvements to many other routes, with the most successful seemingly the Triangle routes (4/4A/4B/4X/6/6A/6B/6X) which offer a 10 minute-frequency between Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay (with a lot of the route going through the countryside). This service certainly has a 'London' feel about it, in terms of how busy the buses are, the wide mix of passengers, and how it often stops at almost all the stops.
Also, many people have said that compared to other Stagecoach fleets, there are many older vehicles. If you are an Olympian fan, there are plenty in East Kent. As well as B10M/PS types. There is even still an Mercedes/Alexander Sprint minibus still running around (although usually only for school reliefs and covering for broken down vehicles). Its great being on one of the older buses thrashing along the dual carriageways which many of the routes go along (with some routes offering services as quick as in the car - and possibly quicker as you don't have to find a car parking space in Canterbury).
Thought i'd post this as I have found it quite surprising how this company has improved services, in a time when the bus industry is struggling. Certainly makes a welcome change from my part of Essex.
For those of you who don't know much about this company, they have doubled passenger numbers in EK over the past 9 years. I think this has a lot to do with the large increase of school students using the services with the Freedom Pass (which I understand isn't free but paid monthly/yearly and allows travel on any service). But I think it also has to do with the publicity, customer service and investment.
Next week, the route 3 services between Faversham and Canterbury will increase to a 15 minute frequency (previously 20) with the introduction of route 3B.
And in early October the route 15 services between Dover and Canterbury were increased to every 15 minutes (previously 30) with the introduction of route 15B.
This is despite railway services offering alternative services between these places (although most services on the 3 serve many villages which don't have railways). Maybe having the clean and well maintained bus station right in Canterbury city centre closer than the railway stations help this.
In the past few years, there have been improvements to many other routes, with the most successful seemingly the Triangle routes (4/4A/4B/4X/6/6A/6B/6X) which offer a 10 minute-frequency between Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay (with a lot of the route going through the countryside). This service certainly has a 'London' feel about it, in terms of how busy the buses are, the wide mix of passengers, and how it often stops at almost all the stops.
Also, many people have said that compared to other Stagecoach fleets, there are many older vehicles. If you are an Olympian fan, there are plenty in East Kent. As well as B10M/PS types. There is even still an Mercedes/Alexander Sprint minibus still running around (although usually only for school reliefs and covering for broken down vehicles). Its great being on one of the older buses thrashing along the dual carriageways which many of the routes go along (with some routes offering services as quick as in the car - and possibly quicker as you don't have to find a car parking space in Canterbury).
Thought i'd post this as I have found it quite surprising how this company has improved services, in a time when the bus industry is struggling. Certainly makes a welcome change from my part of Essex.