Stagecoach South East has announced that a new service will operate between Canterbury, Faversham, Sittingbourne, and Maidstone from Monday 2 August. The operator is to extend its existing Canterbury–Sittingbourne service to allow passengers in Canterbury and Swale to travel as far as Maidstone.
The new routes will be numbered X3 and X4, with buses running every half hour offering journey times of 30 minutes between Sittingbourne and Maidstone and around one hour between Faversham and Maidstone.
With no direct trains, Stagecoach says the new route offers a speedy alternative for travel between the towns. The X4 will serve Ospringe whilst the X3 will operate via Bysing Wood.
As well as expanding the service to Maidstone, Stagecoach says it will adjust existing timetables to improve the frequency of buses between Sittingbourne and Faversham.
The company’s Commercial Director, Matthew Arnold, said: “The new service will provide a quick and direct bus link between the Swale towns and Maidstone whilst also serving Ospringe. We’ve listened to feedback from people in the area and we’re really excited to be able to offer this service, reinstating links that were previously provided by a different bus operator.”
A return fare between Sittingbourne and Maidstone will cost £5.10.
