Park and ride users faced another blow this week with a decision by Maidstone council to increase fares.

From January 1, peak fares will rise by 25 per cent from £2 to £2.50. The £8 weekly season ticket will be replaced by a book of 10 single-trip tickets costing £10.

A 12-weekly pass will rise from £80 to £100 and an annual season ticket from £320 to £400.

The off-peak fare of £1.50 remains unaltered. The council hopes it will raise an additional £82,500 to counter its expected £61,000 budget deficit in the current year.

Meanwhile, the decision by Cllr Mark Wooding (Con), cabinet member for the environment, to accept Arriva’s tender for the five-year park and ride contract will be debated by councillors at the Town Hall on Thursday.

The contract would see the dedicated park and ride bus serving the Allington site replaced by the diversion of the regular Snodland to Maidstone 71 service during off-peak times and on Saturdays from February.

Clive Cheeseman, the council’s public transport officer, said the proposals would save more than £100,000 while “delivering improvements to the services”.

He said it would link the Willington Street service to Sittingbourne Road, instead of to London Road, enabling more customers to get to Maidstone East Station and County Hall, and off-peak services to London Road would be more frequent.

Norman Kemp, who owns the Nu-Venture bus company, has criticised the borough for leaving everything too late.

He had offered to run a regular, unsubsidised service to the park and ride sites at Allington and Willington Street but has adjusted his registration to run a service to Allington only.