Councillors want to put up a united front to fight bus service cuts.

They want Dover Town Council (DTC), as a whole organisation, to write directly to Stagecoach to oppose reductions in services.

It is thought that this would carry more weight than responses from individual members.

Cllr Keith Sansum told a full council meeting last Wednesday: “We should be stating what we feel. Stagecoach needs to know DTC does not support this and we represent the people of Dover.

“I believe that DTC should be responding as a body.”

The authority is the latest of the district's three local councils to unify against Stagecoach's plans to change its services, inevitably leading to cuts in some areas.

Cllr John Ward said: “Stagecoach have not considered the geography of Dover, the hilly terrain and the fact that there are a lot of elderly people. “

Cllr Sue Jones said: “Cllr Sansum is right. We need to be a little more proactive.

“This council is on the Joint Transportation Board (JTB) but does not have a vote.”

Cllr Pam Brivio added that because Stagecoach is a private company the town council is not even a formal stakeholder.

Cllr Callum Warriner sits on the JTB, a transport group represented by all local authority tiers.

He told the town council that at the last Dover JTB meeting, on June 15, members had voted to write to Stagecoach complaining about the shortness of the consultation periods, which was only from June 13 to July 3.

That letter also said that the JTB believed there was a lack of detailed information provided on the proposed changes to services and a poor level of publicity given to the consultation.

The town council heard Stagecoach had reportedly decided to implement its changes, review after some months and make any changes necessary.

Stagecoach has also been accused by MP Charlie Elphicke for not heeding the concerns of passengers in its consultation.

The company has now confirmed that it will stick to its original proposals.

But the Dover and Deal MP says this could lead to some villages losing their only regular service.

Mr Elphicke had met the company’s area managing director Philip Norwell on June 30 to discuss the problem.

He has written again to Stagecoach urging the firm to listen to the concerns raised by many residents.

Mr Elphicke said: “I feared Stagecoach’s consultation would be meaningless, given how ludicrously short it was. Sadly that has been proved correct.

“The whole consultation is a shambles. If Stagecoach thought Kent County Council could take over some services, why was this not sorted out a long time ago?

“I urge everyone to keep up the pressure on Stagecoach and make their voice heard. Buses are vital for so many people. Residents deserve a decent service."

The changes to the routes and timetables begin in September.

In general poorly used Dover town routes will be withdrawn and there will be a reduction in frequency on most Dover local routes on Saturday afternoons.

Stagecoach says that its plans reflect detailed analysis of passenger usage and journey patterns and takes into consideration increasing traffic congestion.

It plans follow the noting of under-used routes and looks at new journey opportunities.

Philip Norwell, Stagecoach South East managing director said: “The vast majority of bus services in east Kent run by Stagecoach are commercial services - that is they do not receive any subsidy. Some services do not cover their costs and for our part we will always look at innovative ways of being able to provide these, but they cannot run at a loss.”

“We’ve listened very carefully to the responses we had to the consultation. While some people expressed concern, others are excited about the new journey opportunities that these changes will bring.”

He added, “There were specific concerns raised by Charlie Elphicke regarding reduced services in Northbourne, Tilmanstone and Great Mongeham.

As discussed with Charlie, KCC already subsidise another operator in the area that could cater for these villages.”

Stagecoach say that full details of the new routes and bus times will be published on their website by mid August.

They also point out that they’ve expanded the area in which their £4 ‘dayrider’ tickets are valid for a trial period - allowing one day’s unlimited bus travel across the entire Sandwich, Deal and Dover area.