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'm inclined to agree with you there - the money that has been spent could have been better invested in a tram system that has the potential to be a lot greener. When publicity material for Fastrack first became available about 6 years ago (I worked on Crossways at the time) they said that it would start as a bus service and if succesful they would replace these with trams - MORE upheaval!
Having said that, I think that it does work well, although the stigma of being a bus service means it's not as well used as a tram service would be.
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