RADICAL improvements to bus services linking Canterbury with the east Kent coast have been announced as part of a £1.4million boost for the local public transport network.

The provision of more buses to outlying villages and a greater frequency of services is the jewel in the crown of the Department of Transport’s Kickstart programme.

The joint scheme, involving the Government, Kent County Council, east Kent local authorities and the Stagecoach bus company, is designed partly to help persuade the public to switch from cars to public transport to alleviate Canterbury’s traffic congestion.

Stagecoach, the largest investor, has put in £856,000 on eight new single-deck buses that will provide easy access for the physically disabled, the elderly and parents with pushchairs.

The Department of Transport’s grant of £371,000 will enable services between Canterbury, Dover, Deal and Sandwich to be upgraded with more frequent buses and new more direct journeys to more rural areas.

Planners are hoping the routing of more buses on the A257 between Canterbury and Sandwich and Deal will help reduce the daily traffic flow choking Littlebourne.

An hourly service will operate between Canterbury and Dover through the old coalfield areas.

For the first time ever, buses will carry passengers from Aylesham to Dover, and the residents of Elvington and Eythorne will have a direct bus service to Canterbury for the first time.

The county council, Canterbury city council and Dover council have invested £150,000 to upgrade bus shelters and improve kerbs at bus stops.

Some of the revenue will provide satellite tracking equipment for buses that will feed electronic data to bus stop queues giving information on the precise time of arrival of the next bus.

Stagecoach managing director Paul Southgate said: "Stagecoach is hoping to boost passenger use by 20 per cent as a result of this initiative. It will also mean new jobs. I anticipate the need to recruit 10 more drivers and maintenance engineers."

Canterbury and Whitstable MP Julian Brazier said: "The funding is designed to improve local bus services from Canterbury to parts of the Kent coast currently not particularly well served by buses.

"The Kickstart funding will go a long way to improving reliability and frequency of buses, which is important if people are to make a long term switch to bus travel."