Changes to bus services in and around Ashford

We're making some changes to bus services in the Ashford area from Sunday 2nd March. Most services around town will have new timetables and some bus route numbers will change.

These changes are designed to improve reliability and punctuality and help make services more resilient to the impact of traffic congestion - the biggest cause of disruption to local bus services.

Also from 2nd March, some out-of-town bus routes that are currently provided by Stagecoach will be operated on behalf of Kent County Council.

You can view a PDF of the new Ashford bus network route map here.

Here's what's happening in more detail:

Ashford town bus routes

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Route number

Route description

Details

Routes A and D

NEW route 501

Singleton - Stanhope - Town Centre

These routes will be combined into one route numbered 501 and will operate every 20 minutes during the daytime.

The early morning and evening service (currently route AD) will be renumbered 501E.

View the new 501 timetable here.

Route B

NEW route 502

Park Farm - Town Centre - Kennington

This route will be renumbered route 502 and continue to operate every 20 minutes during the daytime and every 30 minutes during the evening.

Evening buses will be numbered route 502E and serve Kingsnorth Road after Asda towards Park Farm.

View the new 502 timetable here.

Route C

NEW route 503

William Harvey Hospital - Hythe Road - Willesborough

This route will be renumbered route 503 and will operate every 15 minutes throughout the day and every 30 minutes during the evening.

View the new 503 timetable here.

Route G

NEW route 507

South Willesborough - Town Centre - Godinton Park - Repton Park

Following a competitive tender process, this route will be operated by Stagecoach on behalf of Kent County Council with the support of government bus grant funding.

It will be renumbered route 507 and will continue to operate hourly throughout the day. There will be some changes to bus times.

In South Willesborough buses will operate a slightly altered route. Alfred Road will only be served in the direction towards Orbital Park. Buses to the town centre will serve a new bus stop on Newtown Road which is due to be installed in the coming weeks. Buses will no longer run along Crowbridge Road but instead serve Mead Road in both directions.

View the new 507 timetable here.

Out-of-town bus routes

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Route number	Route description	Details
Route 1X	Ashford - Canterbury	This route will be extended to serve Ashford Railway Station, and we're streamlining the route to speed up journey times. Off-peak daytime buses will no longer serve Felborough Close at Chilham, instead buses will serve unmarked bus stops in lower Bagham Lane. Route 1X buses will no longer serve Chartham Village - buses will serve the stops on the main A28. Chartham will continue to be served to and from Canterbury by new route 24, as well as peak-time route 1 and 1A buses. These changes will mean that buses can operate with quicker journey times providing a more convenient link for people travelling between Ashford and Canterbury. View the new 1X timetable here.
Route 2	Tenterden - High Halden - Bethersden - Ashford	Following a competitive tender process, this route will be operated by Stagecoach on behalf of Kent County Council with the support of government bus grant funding. There are no changes to the timetable.
Route 2A	Tenterden - Woodchurch - Shadoxhurst - Ashford	Following a competitive tender process, this route will be operated by Stagecoach on behalf of Kent County Council with the support of government bus grant funding. There are some minor changes to the timetable. Some school-time buses will run along Beaver Road between the Railway Station and Asda. View the new 2A timetable here.
Route 10/10A	Folkestone - Hythe - Sellindge - Ashford	Following a competitive tender process, this route will be operated by Stagecoach on behalf of Kent County Council with the support of government bus grant funding. There are no changes to the timetable.
Route 10X NEW route 510	Maidstone - Lenham - Charing - Ashford	This route will be renumbered route 510. The morning school day journey from Ashford to Maidstone will be provided using one double deck bus - there will no longer be two buses. If you use this bus to get to school, please don't wait for a second bus. It will operate at the same time as currently. The afternoon school day journey that starts from Maidstone Earl Street will depart 5 minutes earlier at 15:50. The daytime timetable will also be adjusted. Leeds Castle Grounds will no longer be served on Mondays to Fridays, but buses will continue to serve the grounds bus stop on Saturdays only. View the new 510 timetable here.
Route 11 NEW route 511	New Romney - Lydd - Ashford	Following a competitive tender process, this route will be operated by Stagecoach on behalf of Kent County Council with the support of government bus grant funding. It will be renumbered route 511 (and 511A/511B) and will continue to operate Monday to Saturday with much the same timetable, however there will be some changes to bus times. View the new 511 timetable here.
Route 14 NEW route 514	Wye - Little Burton - Ashford	Following a competitive tender process, this route will be operated by Stagecoach on behalf of Kent County Council with the support of government bus grant funding. It will be renumbered route 514. There are no changes to the timetable.
Route 125 NEW route 525	Aldington - Bonnington - Mersham - Ashford	This route will be renumbered route 525. There are some minor changes to the timetable at school times. View the new 525 timetable here.
Route 666	Faversham - Challock - Ashford	There are some minor changes to the timetable. View the new 666 timetable here.