The chairman of the East of Maidstone Transport Group is urging bus passengers to respond to a KCC consultation on service cuts - or risk losing the Service 13 and 59 (Grafty Green to Maidstone).

Mike FitzGerald, a former Mayor of Maidstone, said the bus cull was putting residents at risk of being "locked in their own villages."

He said: "This must not be allowed to happen."

His transport group represents the interests of Kingswood, Ulcombe, Leeds, Boughton Monchelsea Langley and Chart Sutton parish councils.

KCC is consulting on 48 routes across the county - 11 in the Maidstone area - that it proposes to axe or to reduce services on, following the withdrawal of Government pandemic support, and reduced passenger numbers due to Covid.

At present, KCC subsidizes private companies to run a number of services that would otherwise be uneconomic.

But now it is looking to reduce the £6m annual subsidy budget to £4.3m.

Mr FitzGerald said: "The consultation document is a challenge - its 28 pages and more."

He said: "KCC is talking about developing a Bus Improvement Plan in mitigation, if it were to win Government cash that it has bid for, but most people will fail to see how that is a mitigation for culling 48 services and leaving people stranded in their own village."

The 13 and 59 currently make over 10,000 passenger trips annually, but are subsidized by KCC to the tune of £126,000.

Mr FitzGerald said: "This is a serious issues.

"I urge all bus users to respond to the consultation to let KCC know just what I would mean to them if their service was lost."

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This consultation closes at midnight on April 20.