A new bus service, with dedicated roads and lanes, that goes from Dartford to BlueWater and on to Gravesend.
I use it sometimes to collect my son from nursery - the buses are new and clean. OK, it's not 100% reliable (the displays that tell you how long it is to the next bus aren't always spot on..... last week it was 3 mins to the next bus for nearly 10 mins.... turns out there was a big hold up locally and the bus couldn't get around the roundabout!)
Unfortunately it's not being used that much so far - certainly not enough to justify the disruption that took place building it and the impact of some of the bus lanes and extra traffic lights. Having said that, if the impact on car users means that more people use the bus, then GREAT! I'm all for it..... it's certainly encouraged me to walk to nursery and get the bus back more than I used to (at the end of the day nearly 2 miles carrying my son home on my back is a bit much, so I'll walk there and get the bus back, reducing the walk to less than 5 mins at each end - much more bearable, and much better for the environment)
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I've only just come across a report that was released last Nov, stating that more than a quarter of passengers questioned said that they would have previously used a car to make the journey they had just taken on the bus.
So, it's working! Excellent news. I have to say that I'm using it more (weather permitting) for the nursery run and I'm managing to encourage some of the other parents to do so as well as young children love getting the bus as opposed to the car.
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