Arriva buses could be returning to Medway City Estate after a top-level meeting between council transport chiefs and the bus operator.

Customers who work on the estate were angry when the company withdrew its services last month forcing them to make detours and pay more expensive fares.

Arriva has now agreed to talk to people working on the estate to gauge the best times to operate a viable route. The move comes after the company introduced a revised timetable across Medway which has sparked fury among hundreds of passengers.

The company has been forced to make changes following a barrage of protest with more than 800 people signing a petition.
Cllr Phil Filmer, who is charge of the Towns’ transport network, demanded the meeting after complaining about a lack of consultation by Arriva.

Cllr Filmer said: “It was a productive meeting and I was happy with the response. They conceded the consultation was not as it should have been. Arriva has acknowledged that the process was flawed and has vowed that the lessons have been learned.”

Cllr Filmer said officers were given insufficient time and information to reply to Arriva before the timetable came into operation on July 12. He added: “Arriva is happy to work with the council, to take into consideration upcoming improvements to the Medway City Estate and utilise the new bus lane from the estate to Canal Road.

“Arriva has taken on a commercial manager who will visit businesses, liaising with them to create a bespoke service at the times and locations most useful to workers. Within the foreseeable future, we look to set up a viable route to serve the Medway City Estate.

An Arriva spokesman said: “We are happy to be working with Medway Council to see what can be done to help provide a service for the Medway City Estate.”

Sally Webb and her mother Marian have had to find alternative ways to get to work on the estate from their homes in Rochester since the changes.

They looked into taxi-sharing which would have cost them £10 between them or lengthening their journey by going in a different direction and catching another through the Medway Tunnel. The fare is £5.55 compared to the £2.30 they used to pay on Arriva’s 198 service from Star Hill.

Miss Webb, 37, who works in recruitment for the KM Group, said: “It’s good news that Arriva are listening. Let’s hope they see the way forward and make the much-needed improvements.”

Cllr Filmer’s colleague, Cllr David Brake, who is in charge of older people’s services, has already won an agreement to re-route the 179 service between Walderslade Village and Chestnut Avenue.

And from Monday, September 7, the 176, which used to run along a stretch between Walderslade Road and the Poachers Pocket pub, is to be reinstated.

The 116 service, which served Medway Maritime Hospital until it was scrapped and replaced by a circular route, is to be reviewed. Elderly residents living in the Rainham area have complained they were missing appointments at the hospital because the new service was unreliable.