Between 22nd November and 19th December 2018 there was a consultation on the Kent County Council (KCC) contract routes in Thanet operated by Stagecoach. The changes will go ahead, and new and revised services have been registered by Stagecoach, and new timetables are available on Traveline now. You can see the consulation here: https://consultations.kent.gov.uk/consult.ti/thanetconsultation/consultationHome
The KCC routes operated by Stagecoach are:
* 38/38A (Palm Bay - Broadstairs - Ramsgate - Manston - Acol - Birchington, with various school and peak time variations).
* 39/39A (Dumpton Park - Ramsgate - St Peters, with the 39A being a school variation).
* 42/42A (Monkton - Minster - Cliffsend - Ramsgate, with one journey extended to Westwood and Margate, with the 42A being a school variation)
* 56 (Broadstairs - Westwood - Dane Valley - Cliftonville - Margate)
They were previously all Eastonways routes, before that operator collapsed. Some of the other former Eastonways routes were withdrawn soon after Stagecoach took over them.
NB: The documents give the impression that the routes they talk about are the only KCC-funded routes in Thanet. There are two other routes, both operated by Regent Coaches - the 35 (a local route between Mountfield Way estate at Westgate to Margate and Westwood) and the 36 (Margate QEQM Hospital - Birchington - Herne Bay, which doesn't do anything unique in Thanet, with its main aim to connect Thanet with Herne Bay).
Summary of changes:
* Route 38/38A will be withdrawn. The eastern section (Palm Bay - Ramsgate) will be replaced by diverting the existing 33 (Margate-Broadstairs) over the 38 route, and extending the 33 to Ramsgate along the current 38 route. As the 33 runs to Margate, this will benefit Margate and Cliffsend residents with a new direct link to the Palm Bay surgery. Also, this section of route remains hourly, so not much of a difference here really. The western section of route 38 (Ramsgate - Birchington) will be replaced by new route 48 (Dumpton-Ramsgate-Manston-Acol-Birchington), which seems to cover all the route and its variations, but the main frequency reduced from hourly to every 90min.
* Route 39/39A will be withdrawn, with the Dumpton Park-Ramsgate section replaced by new route 48, with less journeys than before. The Ramsgate - St Peters ASDA section won't be replaced, and it doesn't need to be as few people use it, and alternative journeys can be made on the 34 and LOOP.
* Route 42/42A will be withdrawn. Route 9 currently by-passes the Monkton and Minster villages, but some journeys on existing route 9 (Westwood-Ramsgate-Canterbury) will be diverted to serve the villages. I was expecting the 9 to divert some of its early morning journeys (as was proposed in consultation), opening up a new market for commuter travel (the route is very popular at peak times with school and college students, and to a lesser extent workers) from Monkton and Minster, but these plans have been shelved looking at the timetable on Traveline (but still has all the evening peak journeys diverting to serve the villages). Cliffsend will no longer have a link to Minster (for doctor's surgery).
* Route 56 will be withdrawn. New route 37 will replace it following the same route, except will omit Dane Valley and Cliftonville. This means Dane Valley (a large ex-council housing estate) will no longer have a direct bus route to Westwood Cross, Thanet's most popular shopping area (but can still use frequent route 32 to Margate to change to the frequent LOOP). 56 is currently hourly, but the 37 will be less frequent.
Other changes:
* Relatively new route 43 (Canterbury - Wingham - Sandwich - Ramsgate) will no longer operate between Sandwich and Ramsgate (although the current Ramsgate journeys will still operate north of Sandwich to Discovery Park). This will be replaced by new route 45 (Sandwich - Ramsgate), operating to the same hourly frequency. which will also operate around an estate at Nethercourt which the 42 currently serves. Having the 43 and 45 serving Discovering Park (where many businesses including Hornby are based) will have a half-hourly service, probably the best its ever had. From an enthusiasts point of view, it would be great to see the 43 numbered back to the traditional 13 again, seeing as it no longer operates in Thanet which number fits in to the local network.
* Routes 8/8A/8X, 32, 34 all have minor timetable changes
* Peak route 40 withdrawn.
* Route 11 has minor timetable changes, as this route is interworked with the 9. The 11 is an infrequent, rural but surprisingly commercial route.
* The LOOP has minor timetable changes. For some reason, the new timetable has appeared on Traveline as routes 49 and 52. I'm presuming this is a mistake, as I would be very surprised to see Stagecoach giving their successful LOOP route numbers again. The Loop has always been officially registered as 49 and 52, with its public ID as LOOP, so this is why I think it might just a mistake in its translation to Traveline.
The KCC routes operated by Stagecoach are:
* 38/38A (Palm Bay - Broadstairs - Ramsgate - Manston - Acol - Birchington, with various school and peak time variations).
* 39/39A (Dumpton Park - Ramsgate - St Peters, with the 39A being a school variation).
* 42/42A (Monkton - Minster - Cliffsend - Ramsgate, with one journey extended to Westwood and Margate, with the 42A being a school variation)
* 56 (Broadstairs - Westwood - Dane Valley - Cliftonville - Margate)
They were previously all Eastonways routes, before that operator collapsed. Some of the other former Eastonways routes were withdrawn soon after Stagecoach took over them.
NB: The documents give the impression that the routes they talk about are the only KCC-funded routes in Thanet. There are two other routes, both operated by Regent Coaches - the 35 (a local route between Mountfield Way estate at Westgate to Margate and Westwood) and the 36 (Margate QEQM Hospital - Birchington - Herne Bay, which doesn't do anything unique in Thanet, with its main aim to connect Thanet with Herne Bay).
Summary of changes:
* Route 38/38A will be withdrawn. The eastern section (Palm Bay - Ramsgate) will be replaced by diverting the existing 33 (Margate-Broadstairs) over the 38 route, and extending the 33 to Ramsgate along the current 38 route. As the 33 runs to Margate, this will benefit Margate and Cliffsend residents with a new direct link to the Palm Bay surgery. Also, this section of route remains hourly, so not much of a difference here really. The western section of route 38 (Ramsgate - Birchington) will be replaced by new route 48 (Dumpton-Ramsgate-Manston-Acol-Birchington), which seems to cover all the route and its variations, but the main frequency reduced from hourly to every 90min.
* Route 39/39A will be withdrawn, with the Dumpton Park-Ramsgate section replaced by new route 48, with less journeys than before. The Ramsgate - St Peters ASDA section won't be replaced, and it doesn't need to be as few people use it, and alternative journeys can be made on the 34 and LOOP.
* Route 42/42A will be withdrawn. Route 9 currently by-passes the Monkton and Minster villages, but some journeys on existing route 9 (Westwood-Ramsgate-Canterbury) will be diverted to serve the villages. I was expecting the 9 to divert some of its early morning journeys (as was proposed in consultation), opening up a new market for commuter travel (the route is very popular at peak times with school and college students, and to a lesser extent workers) from Monkton and Minster, but these plans have been shelved looking at the timetable on Traveline (but still has all the evening peak journeys diverting to serve the villages). Cliffsend will no longer have a link to Minster (for doctor's surgery).
* Route 56 will be withdrawn. New route 37 will replace it following the same route, except will omit Dane Valley and Cliftonville. This means Dane Valley (a large ex-council housing estate) will no longer have a direct bus route to Westwood Cross, Thanet's most popular shopping area (but can still use frequent route 32 to Margate to change to the frequent LOOP). 56 is currently hourly, but the 37 will be less frequent.
Other changes:
* Relatively new route 43 (Canterbury - Wingham - Sandwich - Ramsgate) will no longer operate between Sandwich and Ramsgate (although the current Ramsgate journeys will still operate north of Sandwich to Discovery Park). This will be replaced by new route 45 (Sandwich - Ramsgate), operating to the same hourly frequency. which will also operate around an estate at Nethercourt which the 42 currently serves. Having the 43 and 45 serving Discovering Park (where many businesses including Hornby are based) will have a half-hourly service, probably the best its ever had. From an enthusiasts point of view, it would be great to see the 43 numbered back to the traditional 13 again, seeing as it no longer operates in Thanet which number fits in to the local network.
* Routes 8/8A/8X, 32, 34 all have minor timetable changes
* Peak route 40 withdrawn.
* Route 11 has minor timetable changes, as this route is interworked with the 9. The 11 is an infrequent, rural but surprisingly commercial route.
* The LOOP has minor timetable changes. For some reason, the new timetable has appeared on Traveline as routes 49 and 52. I'm presuming this is a mistake, as I would be very surprised to see Stagecoach giving their successful LOOP route numbers again. The Loop has always been officially registered as 49 and 52, with its public ID as LOOP, so this is why I think it might just a mistake in its translation to Traveline.